Bishop Glen John Provost
Bishop of Lake Charles
Homily for Ordination 2008
Reverend Ruben Buller; Reverend Nathan Long
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
 
"Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival." Luke 12:37

The Lord Jesus himself sets the theme, as He should, for our reflection at this ordination ceremony. "Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival" (Luke 12:37). The defining word here is "vigilant", which in the original Greek means "to be awake." In some translations the word is translated "watching". I must say I find the English word "vigilant" much more demanding and in keeping with the tone of the image. The master returns from a wedding. He has left the servants in charge. He expects to find them waiting. Why is the master so thankful to his servants for being vigilant? A subsequent verse tells us why. "If the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into" (Luke 12:39). Vigilant servants keep the thieves away. The master is thankful because the servants have protected his house from thieves. As servants, you are being ordained to vigilance.

St. Paul takes up this theme in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. St. Paul, hurrying on his way to Jerusalem, cannot stop at Ephesus. Instead he disembarks at Miletus, just down the coast. At Miletus St. Paul summons the presbyters of the church at Ephesus. To that group of church leaders, St. Paul addresses these words: "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock" (Acts 20:29). The Greek word here translated "savage", which has the connotation of being weighed down with a load (cf. Lucian, Aeschylus, et alii). The wolves are a burden. They are a heavy nuisance. They will not spare the flock. What makes them burdensome is that these "wolves" will arise even from the presbyters. "And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them" (Acts 20:3). Then, using the same word in Greek that we found in the admonition of Our Lord in the Gospel, St. Paul says, "So be vigilant" (Acts 20:31). Be vigilant as good servants, so that the Master will seat you at His meal and feed you, in thankfulness that His flock, His possession, has been kept intact. The true servant is the vigilant servant.

And what is the state of the flock, at least in this country? On the eve of the Holy Father's visit the newspapers were filled with studies. They told us nothing that an observant pastor doesn't already know. One third of those who claim to be Catholic never attend Mass. Another 25% attend only a few times a year. A majority never frequents the Sacrament of Penance. Of Catholics born since the 1980s only 10% say they attend Mass at least once a week (Center for Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University, 2007). Ten percent of the nation's population are fallen-away Catholics (Pew Report). Is this progress? Is this keeping the flock intact? And what of the vigilance? The problem is best summarized by the expression so often heard, "I'm spiritual but not religious." It is an ecclesiological problem. Some sheep simply do not find any reason to be part of the flock. Their understanding of the Church is superficial, if it exists at all. A flock, unified with the shepherd in belief and worship, is an option to them. Add to this what Pope Benedict calls the "dictatorship of relativism", and you have total indifference, a "feel good", self-absorbed society, placing its faith in the latest process, hoping in progress and embracing technology as if it were a god. Into such a climate, you are being ordained to preach the truth. You must "be vigilant."

The truth is Jesus Christ. Jesus is not the Jesus of your imagination. He is not subject to your opinion, much less your feelings. He did reveal Himself and the Father who sent Him. He also founded a Church, a flock that must be one with Him. It is the Body of Christ as St. Paul speaks of it, and to dismember it is not an option (cf. Ephesians 5:29-30; I Corinthians 12:12ff). Jesus is true because He is real. My favorite insight into truth is that of the scholastics. Truth is that which corresponds to reality. As ordained ministers, you should have no difficulty with reality because you are men of prayer who have met Christ. In prayer, solid, open, frank, and sincere conversation with God, you cannot ignore reality. The truth about you will become apparent. In prayer you will strive to know even as you are known. All façade will fall. All deception will be negated. You will encounter Jesus himself. You will stand exposed before God. "Savage wolves" have no defense against such truth.

To keep this truth steady the Church is giving you the assistance of obedience and celibacy. In obedience, you embrace God's will first and foremost. If that were not challenge enough, you must learn to see that will in proper authority. In a world where truth is relative, obedience makes no sense, because I am too busy being myself, whatever that is. Even when it appears unreasonable or not to your liking, obedience like a fine tool carves away the self and reveals the humility that makes His yoke easy and His burden light.

In celibacy, you will take upon yourselves a commitment to chastity. No one and nothing must keep you from the one and only love of your life, who is Jesus Christ. He is your only friend. He is your only companion. He is the truth that you believe, preach, and serve. Again a world of relativity cannot understand celibacy, because there is no ultimate commitment. In turn, that world will try to discredit your commitment because that celibacy is a contradiction to the world's superficiality. You must live exemplary lives, so that a self-indulgent and materialistic world can be called back to the truth because it sees in you a commitment that it should be living. The world will see in your celibacy a witness to the truth, a truth that it has made relative but you say is real.

I have saved the last words for the author of Hebrews. The "high priest", he says, "is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness" (Hebrews 5:2). Your "weakness" is the entrée to your soul for sympathy and understanding with the flock. You can never "lord it over them," if you know the truth about yourself. Again the truth sets you free to be a servant. You will see yourself in those you serve. As men of prayer, the truth, the reality of Jesus Christ, is made known to you. If you bring your obedience and your celibacy to your prayer, then you cannot help but know your "weakness." Then, like a door, "weakness" will open and reveal a strength you never thought you had. It will come from God. It will be His grace working in you.

No priest is ever alone. He lives in Christ and in His Church. He is vigilant in the truth, confident of his relationship with the master, watching for his return. And, when the master comes, He "will gird himself", have you "recline at table", "and proceed to wait on" you (Luke 12:37), serving you with the banquet of His Eucharist. The thieves will not have entered. The flock will be safe. The master will prove that you are his beloved.