My homily is going to be short tonight for two reasons. Number one,
that’s a pretty long gospel reading and it stands on its own.
Secondly, after communion, if you don’t mind, I would like to take
about three minutes to share with you my comments and reactions to
the four-part series that was on the front page of the Contra Costa
Times this week, about clergy abuse.

Road to Emmaus: That is the longest and most detailed account of all
the apparitions of Jesus after Easter and the Resurrection, the most
detailed and yet, with all the details, it never tells us whether
these were two women or two men or a man and a woman. And I think
that’s good because it lets us remember that the story of the Road to
Emmaus is our story too. It’s really about us. It’s a story with
three chapters or three steps. The first step is they were losing
hope. They had lost hope. The second was that they didn’t recognize
Christ, even though they had spent a chunk of their lives listening
to his stories, to his teaching and being in his presence. Finally,
or thirdly, their hearts were burning within them, and then they
recognized him in the Eucharist, in the breaking of the bread, and he
sends them out to tell others. That’s the way it always is. Don’t
just stand there. Do something.

Our lives are also the Road to Emmaus. It’s the same story with us.
It’s the same three steps, the same three chapters. First of all,
there are plenty of times when we seem to be losing hope. We may be
losing hope about our planet and global warming. We may be losing
hope about the efforts for peace, mired in a war that seems
impossible to get out of, with plenty of other wars to go around.
Losing hope for our nation, whether it is the economy or justice or
the politics or losing hope even in our Church. Losing hope is the
first step.

The second is, we don’t recognize Jesus in our daily lives, even
though we spend a chunk of our lives listening to his word, to his
story, in his presence.

The third step is that our hearts are still burning. There is still a
longing in our hearts, tugging at our hearts. God is calling us to
long for the message of Jesus, the values of Jesus, the kingdom of
Jesus, the ways of Jesus ,,,,just hoping for a better world and a
better life for ourselves and for other people. And then, at the
Eucharist, because of the word of Jesus, because of the community,
because of, most of all, the consecrated bread and wine, we recognize
Jesus in the breaking of the bread. And then we get sent to tell the
world, to make a difference. Don’t just stand there. Do something.
That’s the Emmaus story. It’s our story too.

You know, this evening we are inviting you all, not to Emmaus, but
over to the gym because we’re having a ministry fair, and we hope you
all take some time to go over there, because this is our annual
“Ministry Fair.” Now, I go back further than anybody else here or
than some of you. And I can remember when the word “minister” and the
word “ministry” were very clear, what they meant. If you said “a
minister” it was a Protestant clergyman and nobody else. And when you
talked about “ministry” it was a career that you studied for, or you
were ordained, or you entered or you left “the ministry.” But, the
Second Vatican Council in the 1960’s reminded us that every baptised
Christian is called to be a minister in this world, is called to
ministry. And so we have our “Ministry Fair.” I think it is important
and important that you stop over there, but I want to begin by
thanking you and congratulating you. You are all ministers and you
work in ministry in wondrous ways. You support our ministry and life
in this parish. But, more than that, I think of two stories, two
people who came to me. One was a single mother raising her three
children, who said, “You know, I can’t sign up for any ministry. When
the kids are raised, maybe then I will be able to do ministry.” Give
me a break!! Her whole life, her career, was a ministry. Her work was
a ministry. You are all doing ministry. A gentleman came to me, years
ago. He was an attorney and he said the same thing, “I’d like to be a
lector. I’d like to be a Eucharistic minister. I’d like to work with
St. Vincent dePaul, but I have so many legal issues that I am dealing
with right now. He was changing the law of our land to allow
immigrants who were under persecution into the country. If that isn’t
a ministry, what is?

So, I want to thank you all and congratulate you, even though it
doesn’t dawn on you some of the time, that you are all ministers,
doing wonderful ministry. But I do want you to come over to the fair,
because, over in the gym, you are going to see the organized
ministries that are done in the name of the parish, and a huge,
fantastic array of ministries. What I want you to do is go over and
look at what is going on. Just look at what’s going on, a range of
ministries, everything from as simple as people who are
projectionists, who put up the Powerpoint (We need help with that.)
to people who are in Lifeworks, young couples with young children
before Kindergarten who gather a network together and support one
another, to our huge religious education ministry where we are asking
those who are teachers, who are involved already, to re-commit once
again for the year ahead. But there is such a range of ministries.
Just look at what is going on and now, it may not be your ministry,
but one of the things you will be able to do is tell others. I don’t
mean tell them to work, but let them know what is going on. It may
touch their lives and they may not know about it. And then, finally,
find a place for yourselves.

So, no road to Emmaus tonight, a road to the gym, where you look at
what’s going on, tell others and find a place for yourself. Amen.