A homily for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 14, 2022
Jer 38:4-6, 8-10, Heb 12:1-4, Lk 12:49-53
We’ve all seen the photos and TV coverage of people waiting in line to buy the newest iPhone.
We’ve all seen the photos and TV coverage of people breaking down the doors at stores as they open on so-called Black Friday.
We’ve all seen the photos and TV coverage of people sleeping on the sidewalk outside the box office to buy Springsteen tickets.
We’ve all heard the stories and seen the TV coverage of how Beyonce concert tickets sold out online in 30 seconds.
And how ’bout them $70,000+ Super Bowl tickets!
Yet all too many seats in church — our church, other churches and synagogues and mosques and temples — are empty.
Here is the latest report from the Gallup Organization, the legendary poll-takers:
Americans’ membership in houses of worship continued to decline last year, dropping below 50% for the first time in Gallup’s eight-decade trend. In 2020, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999.
U.S. church membership was 73% when Gallup first measured it in 1937 and remained near 70% for the next six decades, before beginning a steady decline around the turn of the 21st century.
I don’t have the answer to the macro problem. Somehow, somewhere along the line, some people stopped seeing value in worship and communities of worshippers.
Then again, does today’s situation echo the past?
Let’s look at today’s Scriptures and see what, throughout history, believers have faced in preserving or enlarging their flocks.
All three readings say that proclaiming the word of God and attracting members to God’s family comes with consequences.
Banishment and bloodshed. Family feuds. The depression that accompanies sheer physical and mental exhaustion.
Those are some steep dues to pay. How can this be worth it?
How can having a relationship with the Almighty, the Divine, the Ultimate be worth human struggle?
How can accepting a freely offered invitation to a never-ending flood of love and goodness and joy be worth a little ridicule? A little cold-shoulder treatment?
It doesn’t take much to figure that one out.
And once we understand how valuable our relationship with God is — hint: it’s priceless — we will have the grace and wisdom to share the Good News with our sisters and brothers in ways that respect where they are in their lives but also open the door for them to be church. To embrace fellow believers in community and communion. To likewise forge a bond with I Am.
Will gentle, honest, sincere evangelization fill God’s houses again? It’s worth trying.
