October 12, 2014 Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A Father Larry Richards

Good Morning! So, today God tells us about the banquet – the banquet of heaven first of all. He invites everybody. He wants everybody to come to the banquet. Now again, in those times, He was talking about the Jews and the Jews didn’t accept the invitation so He went and got the Gentiles. The reality is that God invites everybody. This banquet is forever in heaven but where do we get to participate in this banquet on Earth? At Mass, right? It’s the Mass. So, I think that the Gospel really is talking today about the sin of indifference or apathy. In hearing confessions for 25 years, rarely have I, rarely, rarely, rarely have I heard somebody come and talk about, “Oh Father, I’ve been indifferent or I’ve been apathetic." But, it’s really one of the core realities of sin. Even in the Book of Revelation, when Jesus talks He says, "either be hot or cold because the lukewarm." which would be apathetic or indifferent, "I will vomit out of my mouth." That’s Jesus talking – the gentle loving person we all like to make a la-la and tiptoeing through the tulips. That’s not Jesus. Jesus is saying it’s a big thing. It’s a decision – a decision that costs you your life.

So, first we have to focus on the reality - are we indifferent when it comes to religious realities? Are we indifferent to it? Are we apathetic to it? So first, it comes to the reality that God invites all of us every week or every day to the mass. The God, the Creator of the universe says, “Listen, I have prepared a banquet and the banquet will cost Me everything. It will cost Me My Son. My Son will feed you with His own precious body and blood that you might live forever.” There’s nothing more important that the banquet that God gives us. Nothing! The Church has taught from the beginning that the mass is the source and the summit of our lives. There is nothing – not even going to Oktoberfest, which is more important than going to mass – absolutely nothing. Most people, even those who call themselves Catholic, don’t get it. Even sometimes people come here and it’s like even going to mass on Sunday – it’s an apathetic reality. If I feel like it, I’ll go. If I don’t feel like it, I won’t. If something better comes up like the Steelers and playing the Cleveland but it’s at 1:00 but I have to prepare so I won’t go but God understands.

Well, if you listen to the Gospel today, He does not understand. He does not understand when you and I are apathetic to His Son giving His life. He does not understand that when we put other things before mass. God does not understand that. You might hope He understands. Will He forgive us? Of course, but He doesn’t understand when we say mass is second to everything else in my life.

The second thing, of course, is the people who go to mass all the time but are apathetic toward what happens there or indifferent. You know, they’re the ones who go to mass and think, “OK, I’ll go. I don’t like it. I can’t stand the pastor but I’ll sit there and I’ll go anyways because I was told once that if I miss mass on Sunday, what? I’ll go to hell. So really don’t want to go to hell but I really don’t like mass either so, I’ll show up but I’m not going to like it.” So, we become indifferent to what is going on at the mass. We become apathetic about it. We wish it would just get on so I can go do my real life because this is just something I gotta do to get it done.

Remember, when Jesus tells the parable today, everybody is invited to the banquet but they don’t come so he goes to the highways and byways and then what He sees in there is someone who is not dressed in a wedding garment. Now, they give the wedding garments. They would have helped with the wedding garments but he chose not to care – to be apathetic – to be indifferent. So, the God of all understanding has him thrown out where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Sometimes that can be us. We are at mass but we are apathetic. We don’t put the garment on. We dress any way we want to dress because it really doesn’t matter because God loves me as I am. Then, the God of the universe says, “Excuse me! Do you know what this mass is going to cost me today? It’s gonna cost me my Son. Everything! Why isn’t that important to you?”

Why do you come apathetic, dressed the way you want to dress because He accepts you as you are and yet what it will cost the Father is that He will give His very Son for love of you and me. It will cost Him everything and sometimes we don’t want to get dressed up even the littlest bit because, you know, I have to take care of myself and be comfortable. Well, it’s more than us being comfortable. The Mass is the banquet of God. Here on this very altar, the God of the universe will feed us with His own precious Body and Blood. Nothing is more important than that and we have to stop.

You know, most of us here are not apathetic. I get it. But there are people listening to me now on the radio or different things that will say, “Oh yeah but Father you don’t get it”. I do get it. You don’t get it that God is not apathetic about what will happen at this Mass and neither can any of us be indifferent or apathetic about what happens at any Mass. We cannot take Mass as something I choose or not choose – it doesn’t really matter. It cost God His life. It must cost me my life. A life for a life. Mass cannot be something I just choose or be apathetic or indifferent about. It must be something that costs me my life and when I’m here, it’s just not enough.

Years ago Fr. Detisch was over at Blessed Sacrament. You know Blessed Sacrament. They’ve had that Youth Mass for a long time – a packed Mass, of course. Well, when I was there once to visit Fr. Detisch, he was having the Mass and I came in toward the end of the Mass. As I was there, and I can understand it because it was Fr. Detisch having the Mass but there were kids sitting in the vestibule, you know, and they weren’t even sitting facing the church – you know on 26th Street over there? They were facing 26th Street during consecration. Now, I was a newly ordained priest filled with gentleness and compassion. I walked into that back vestibule and I start screaming. I know you’re shocked. I said to them, “Get in or get out” and then the ushers came running toward me and said “Oh Father! Oh Father – at least they’re here”. And I said, “Ohhh” and I screamed all the louder “Get in or get out”. Now everybody went in because I must have been scary at that moment.

The reality is that people think that as long as they show up, that’s OK. It’s not OK. It’s not Ok to the Father. That’s the Gospel of Christ. This is Christ preaching today. This is God telling us what He expects of us and we decide to dismiss it and say, “Oh, no, no no. We’re in America. We get to do what we want, whatever we want, whatever I believe is OK." It’s not. God has expectations of all of us when we come into His presence. Though we are sinners and though God will always have mercy on us, those who are indifferent and could care less, He has a concern about that and He wants us to change.

So, if you and I are convicted today and there are days when I don’t feel like saying mass. Can you imagine? There are days when I might have four Masses and I know the people out there, or depending on what Mass I have here, people out there are dead and no one told them yet. Here I am trying to get them excited and they look at me and think “Just stop it, Father. Just stop it." That’s what some of you are thinking now. The reality is, I gotta still do it because God says, “I don’t want you to look at yourself or how you are feeling or how they are responding. I want you to look at me and what it cost me and I invite you to participate in eternal life. And Larry, I don’t want you to be indifferent or apathetic at any Mass you celebrate."

So, all of us, when we find that yes, we are guilty of being apathetic or indifferent, just today look at Jesus and say, “Jesus, I’m sorry. I’ve made Mass all about me instead of making Mass all about You who have loved me and gave everything for me. This Mass, Jesus, today will cost You Your life. May this Mass, Jesus, today and everyday cost me my life.” May each of you know His love today and forever. Amen.