The Seventh Sunday of Easter

May 4, 2008

Homily for the Anglican Usage Mass

of the

St. Thomas More Society

celebrated at

St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church , 1013 Wood Street

Scranton, PA

John 17:1-11a

            In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen

            Last week I was contacted by another publication asking that I write for them my conversion story.  Naturally, they offered to pay me for my trouble, and they assured me that the history of our little group here in Scranton would be of interest to their readers.  The temptation that comes with every such offer is to engage in self-promotion, whereby I might glorify myself more than I would glorify God.  In our fallen state, still struggling with the efforts of concupiscence, man’s natural inclination is to draw attention to himself.  However, this inclination must be resisted, whether we are writing our autobiography for a national publication, or simply deciding how to behave on a daily basis.  We must ask ourselves:  am I glorifying God through this life He has given me?  Or am I glorifying myself? 

Because this issue is of such importance to us as followers of Jesus Christ, because this relates to our eternal destiny—to whether we shall spend eternity in heaven or hell--, this morning I would like to talk about how to glorify God without unnecessarily drawing attention to ourselves.  That is, how to glorify God without glorifying ourselves. 

            The primary way we glorify God is through our good works.  Jesus says in today’s Gospel that He has manifested His heavenly Father’s name to the apostles. The way that He did this was through the signs that indicated He is, in fact, the Son of God.  From turning the water into wine at Cana, to raising his friend Lazarus from the dead at Bethany, the miracles that Jesus worked showed the apostles that Jesus is who He said He is.

            What made His works truly good, however, is that Jesus used them to point to His heavenly Father.  Unlike a magic worker who performs amazing feats to show off his skills and sell tickets to the next show, Jesus tells his disciples that “everything the Father has given me is from the Father.”  Whereas in the desert the devil tempts God the Son to set Himself against God the father, Jesus asserts, “I and the Father are one.”  The Son of God does not desire glory for Himself but for the entire Godhead.

            The willingness to do good works and to give the entire Godhead the glory stems from Jesus’ acknowledgement that He has a mission to fulfill while He walks the earth.  He says He has “accomplished the work which you gave me to do.”  He is not a lone ranger but a missionary sent out to complete a task.  Thus, he resists taking credit for the good that He does, and He even tells us that the initiative to do the good works was not His alone.  Certainly it was His initiative, but not His alone.

            Following this example, whenever we undertake a good work, we must be ready to give God the credit.  The only way we can be sure that a work is of God is if it originates in Him.  How then can we demonstrate that our good works originate in God? The simple answer is, “Through the Church.”

            Whenever I relate my conversion story to those who ask me to tell it, I am careful to include the names of those clergymen whose influence on my life drew me into full communion with the Church.  Rather than pretend that my conversion consisted of reading books by myself in a room from which in 2005 I suddenly emerged enlightened, I speak of those men, those Pastors, those priests, who led me into the fold by repeatedly calling my name as Jesus Himself calls each of us by name.

            This illustration indicates a distinct advantage that we Catholics have when talking about who inspired our good works.  Whereas a person outside full communion with the Catholic Church, that is, a Protestant, can claim the Holy Spirit inspired him to undertake a good work, he cannot demonstrate that this is the case and that he is not simply glorifying himself.  On the other had, the obedient Catholic, like the obedient Son, can always point to the authority who sanctioned the work he is doing.

            Therefore, no obedient Catholic will, in the name of the Church, undertake a missionary endeavor without first seeking permission from his pastor, either the pastor of his parish or the Pastor of the Diocese, the Bishop himself.  Otherwise, the good he accomplishes cannot be ascribed to the Church, to the Body of Christ, to whom we want to give the credit if we are faithful to begin with.

            For example, whenever I am asked to appear on television or be interviewed on the radio, I first seek the Bishop’s permission.  I do so not only because I am required to, but also because I would do so anyway.   For the Bishop’s permission is the means to keep me centered upon the mission I am undertaking, which is the conversion of souls, not the glorification of Eric Bergman.  When I am asked to write an article, not only do I make reference to others more learned and holier than I am, I actually have the Bishop review what I have written.  I am not the arbiter of whether I have been inspired by the Spirit, the reception of which we will celebrate next week on Pentecost.  Our Bishop is the arbiter of whether my work is of the Spirit, and by pointing to the properly constituted authority, I can be certain that my works are indeed good.  I have, in fact, been given a mission, and I am seeking my Pastor’s guidance to fulfill it.

            The lesson of today’s Gospel for us then is two fold:  On the one hand, we must beware of those who are peddling good works that do not have the blessing of a Catholic bishop.  There are all kinds of charitable organizations appealing for our assistance.  I am sure you receive as many appeals for money as I do each week.  Assist and contribute first to those endeavors that have the clear support of the Church.  If not, we may find ourselves scandalizing the Faith by giving to an organization whose real mission is to glorify itself and the people who run it rather than God.

            Second, seek the guidance of your spiritual superiors before setting out to save the world. Recall that the shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City was begun at the urging of a humble Indian peasant, and all of us know his name – Juan Diego.  However, Juan Diego effected nothing until after he had sought the permission and blessing and assistance of the local bishop.  As Catholics, we are not lone rangers, but even more significantly, we need to be able to point to a concrete authority greater than ourselves to show we desire not our glory but God’s.  In this way, and only in this way, can we be sure we are following the example of Jesus, who was happy to share the credit and give the glory to others.  Thus, only in this way can we be sure we are giving glory to God and are deserving of the eternal reward Jesus has prepared for those who love Him.