SEPTEMBER 24, 2017
7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES
Today is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear:
Seek the LORD while he may be found,call him while he is near.In a certain sense, this passage from Isaiah is the middle of three parts.
In other words, there’s something that comes before “seek,” and something that comes after “seek.”
The full complement from the prophet’s instruction is:
Come,Seek,Worship.Regarding these three parts, I would hazard that most of us are good at getting around; so coming and going is not too difficult. Seeking can become a bit more difficult. Maybe you’re a whiz at finding things on Google search, or maybe St. Anthony gives you a special hook-up when you mislay your car keys.
But worship. What is entailed in worship?
We have a category of music that’s called praise and worship … in British courts, magistrates are called your worship … and in some countries, mayors are known as his worship (or her worship).
At it’s core, worship is the acknowledgment of a person’s worth, dignity, or superior position.
Etymologically, worship comes from an Old English word whose original meaning was “worth” + “scape” … that is the state or being of being worthy or of value.
While in religion, an act of worship has three parts:
1. Acknowledgment – or recognition of God’s infinite perfection
2. Prayer – that is, asking for Divine help
3. Sacrifice – or the offering to God something precious or valuable
Acknowledgment starts in the recognition that God is God, and we are not. Maybe, however, even before we get to that point, we have to decide what it is we recognize as God. Sadly, for too many, “god” is money, power, or position. For others, the only acknowledged deity would be themselves - the not-so-divine trinity of “me, myself, and I.”
And so the first step in worship is to acknowledge who God is, and that there is a God.
Secondly, is prayer. Prayer is at its root, asking for help. The old saying that there are no atheists in foxholes, realizes that in desperate situations, pretty much everybody is looking for help, even if they aren’t sure where that help is coming from or who it is that can help them.
Yet, prayer without that recognition of a divine source falls short of worship.
St. Paul tells us that he “magnifies [Christ] in his body.” And in our prayer, we have what some call “Catholic calisthenics” of “sit, stand, kneel.”
And in these postures of prayer, we engage our full self … after all, we aren’t disembodied spirits, but rather are human beings of flesh and blood. And hopefully, in these physical actions, we “magnify [Christ]” by what we do right here … right now – as well as what we do, and what we say … hopefully, how we live our lives out and about in the world in some way magnifies, and makes visible Jesus Christ, Our Lord.
And so, after acknowledging God for Who and What He is, and calling upon His divine help, we come to part three: sacrifice.
In the old law, this entailed live animals, and physical sacrifice. It also involved burning the choice portions, as well as consuming other portions.
These sacrificial animals weren’t the left-overs, either. These were the “firstlings” the best, choice, and unblemished sheep, goats, lambs, and cattle.
In the Mass, we re-present the offering of the firstborn Son of God on Calvary … Sacrificed two thousand years ago … for our sins and the sins of the world.
And more than just a memory of the physical sacrifice, we consume a part of that Sacrifice – the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.
And so, we have come to this place, and we seek God while He may be found, and we have come to worship Him: acknowledging that He is God and we are not, offering prayers for our needs and the needs of the world, and re-presenting that great Sacrifice of Jesus Christ and sharing in that sacrifice through the Eucharist.
As we continue to pray this great prayer-of-prayers in the Divine Liturgy … the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, may we experience God’s mercy, and kindness, His goodness, and compassion … for ourselves and for each other. May we become ambassadors of God's mercy, kindness, goodness, and compassion … and magnify Christ in our selves and in the world.
