Welcome to Holy Family! We are in this together. You will hear this statement more this coming year and I believe that it is a way for us all to connect with our 2017 theme—reNEW. The past three weekends have given us Gospel passages that refer to Baptism, John the Baptist, and reflections on the Baptism of Jesus Christ. Because of the rich imagery of the sacrament of Baptism, it’s history and importance, I have focused on the original role that Baptism played in the Christian Community, and that is Welcoming. Adults were welcomed into the community through Baptism. They participated in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Every Catholic parish in the world offers that same Rite today. Jesus Christ was welcomed into humanity through Baptism. That was part of what God wanted for us as people of faith.
One of the ways that I like to present ALL of the Sacraments is that they each provide a concrete, ritualistic way of expressing God’s desire for us. God has a strong desire to forgive us, so Christ instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation. God has a strong desire to be with us in a real way so, through Jesus Christ, we have the Eucharist. Each of the other Sacraments expresses a different desire that God has for us as his people.
God has a desire to welcome us into the community, so Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Baptism. He walked into the river of human life, he immersed himself in our lives, and in doing so he reNEWed the covenant that God made with the people in the desert, namely, “I am your God and you are my people.” (Exodus 6:7, Jeremiah 30:22, Leviticus 26:12) He said through this powerful action that he is in this with us. The THIS is life. All life! Jesus Christ entered the arena of human life to be one of us. He did not make a commitment simply to individuals, he made a commitment to ALL people. He walked into ALL of human life. And humanity welcomed him. Were there moments when humanity rejected him? Absolutely, but as the centuries unfold and we live the most recent chapter, we are called to welcome him again and again in our midst.
That is why I believe the second part of our introductory statement is so important. We are in this together. My hope is that by sharing this statement that we, as Holy Family Catholic Community, will experience even greater unity this coming year. We will be reNEWing our baptismal promises more during the coming year than we do most years, because everything from the rich symbol of water, to the location of our font in the worship space, to the commitments that we make personally and the manner that those commitments are carried out in the larger community, to the mission that we have as a parish, to the mission of each ministry here at Holy Family, to our families, careers, education and other significant pursuits—all of these and more can be reNEWed.
The THIS will vary for each of us. THIS might be the celebration of a Mass and so saying, “Welcome to Holy Family. We are in THIS together.” We are affirming two important aspects of reNEWal—Welcoming and Unity. Try it. Greet people with “Welcome to Holy Family. We are in this together.” Start your meetings or SCC’s or Bible studies with this statement. The THIS may be your family, your marriage, significant friendships, or your health. The possibilities for reNEWal are endless.
I would encourage each ministry in our faith community at some time to gather around the Baptismal font in church, share the time and place of your baptism, commit to reNEW this year, dip your finger in the water, make the sign of the cross and say, “We are in THIS together.”
This weekend we welcome Pastor Jenn Moland-Kovach and her husband Pastor Seth Moland-Kovach to Holy Family. Jenn and Seth will preach at all of our Masses this weekend and I will have the privilege of preaching at their church, All Saints Lutheran, during their 8:30 and 11:00am services. All Saints is located on Quentin Road, just north of Illinois Avenue and Fremd High School.
Our pulpit sharing is part of a series of events that mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Often referred to simply as the Reformation, which was a schism from the Roman Catholic Church initiated by a Catholic priest, Martin Luther, and was continued by John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli and other early Protestant Reformers in 16th century Europe.
Timing most commonly used for this period is 1517 when Martin Luther published the Ninety-Five Theses. These were 95 reasons he identified as either problems with the Catholic Church or things desperately in need of change and renewal, and certainly points that he disagreed with. Most historians will say that the Reformation lasted until 1648, the date of the end of the Thirty Years’ War. That religious war was very violent and took many lives and, sadly, marked a repeated human fault – that so many wars are fought over religious differences.
I am hoping that as time goes on that we may experience greater unity among various Christian denominations. I am sure that many of you share my pride in our collaboration with our Jewish friends at Beth Tikvah. When you see Pastor Jenn and Pastor Seth, please greet them with, “Welcome to Holy Family! We are in this together.”