Homily for Mass @ CHS September 20, 2018
Fr. Albert Catholic High, New Iberia
Would you kiss my feet? I mean, I’m a pretty clean person, and these are fresh socks, so it’s probably not too bad. This woman in the Gospel is willing to kiss Jesus feet, and he wore sandals in the desert. Can you imagine how ripe those things would be? Maybe that’s why she washed them first…
Still, it’s kind of crazy isn’t it? There are all these people at a dinner party and this woman walks into someone else’s house and just starts crying on his feet and kissing them in the middle of the party. Even worse, this woman had a… reputation. What would you do if someone burst into your homecoming party and started making a fuss, kissing the feet of one of your friends? Can you blame Simon the Pharisee’s reaction?
Yes, yes you can. Jesus does. And Jesus does it because he knows who he is. Unlike one of your snapchat followers or sports buddies, Jesus is not just another friend at dinner. This “sinful woman” sees what Simon does not, that Jesus Christ is her savior, that he can see past and then forgive the sins that blind everyone else to who she is.
And you might think this is just an odd little story from a long time ago. But the fact is that this same story happens at least once a week right here at Catholic High, in this very gym. Every Mass is two things. It is first and foremost the re-presentation of Jesus Christ crucified as an offering of Love to the Father. It is also always the sharing of a sacred meal, a supernatural dinner party to which we are invited.
Like the dinner party in the gospel, Simon the pharisee is there, but so is the “sinful woman.” Which one are you? Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist and that’s amazing. Our faith tells us that just being around the Eucharist is a gift – it means being close to God and being close to God makes us holy and being holy is what ultimately makes us truly happy! But! Jesus was also truly present at this dinner party. He was equally present to Simon and the sinful woman, but only one of them actually benefitted. Only one of them actually got holier and happier. In fact, she was so happy that she simply couldn’t hold back showing that joy with this dramatic display of affection and humility. Ever heard someone say, “I’m so happy I could kiss you!” This woman was so happy she could – and did – kiss Jesus’ feet.
So, what is the difference? What determines whether or not you are the useless pharisee or the joyful woman? The answer is Jesus’ last command to her: “your faith has saved you, go in peace.” Faith. As great as it is to have Jesus in your house, if you don’t have the faith to recognize and genuinely worship him, it doesn’t do you much good. As great as it is to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, if you don’t have faith, it doesn’t do you much good. Even serving the poor and helping other people – as good as that is – if you don’t have faith, it doesn’t do you much good.
Jesus saved this woman and forgave her sins, but he did it… and still does it through faith. I don’t know how to stress enough that your faith is important. If the story of the sinful woman kissing Jesus’ feet isn’t enough, maybe today’s saints can make the point. St. Andrew Kim Taegon was the first native Korean priest. Until him, all Korean Catholics had to rely completely on imported priests.
Actually, that’s not quite true. St. Andrew Kim Taegon was born in 1821, but Christianity came to Korea almost 300 years before. But they almost never had priests because Christianity was outlawed. When a Chinese priest managed to sneak into Korea around 1789, he found over 4000 secret Catholics. 4000 believers who had never even seen a priest. We always stress the importance of the Eucharist and vocations – which is a great thing – but if you don’t have faith, I can’t do much for you even with my powers to make the Eucharist and forgive your sins.
But if you do have faith – even if you don’t have the Eucharist and Confession – you can still grow in holiness and therefore, in true happiness. These secret Korean Catholics, most of whom never saw priests, were not only faithful, they were courageous and many of them are saints – the saints included in today’s feast of St. Andrew Kim Taegon and companions. St. Andrew’s grandfather died as a martyr, killed for being Catholic. St. Andrew’s father was killed for being Catholic. Over 100 other Koreans, mostly lay people like you, died for being Catholic in the 1800s, not to mention many who came before.
And so many of them did this even though they rarely, if ever saw a priest or the Eucharist. Their faith was so genuine that they went much further than kissing Jesus’ feet, they died for him even though they rarely saw him. Because they had faith. By faith they truly recognized Christ in the Eucharist and Confession in the few times they got a chance to receive them.
These sacraments are amazing. Having lots of priests is a great thing, but they only serve to foster and increase faith; They aren’t much help if you don’t care. So, do you take me for granted? The other priests of New Iberia and throughout the diocese? Do you take First Fridays for granted? Even worse, do you just not care?
So many Catholics have fallen for the horrendous lie that they don’t have to be holy – that’s the priest’s job… that’s the nun’s job. Wrong. There are an awful lot of saints in heaven and most of them aren’t priests and nuns. Most of them are ordinary Catholics: students, teachers, farmers, mechanics, doctors, and every other profession you can imagine. St. Andrew Kim Taegon was a priest, but his priesthood and his faith would have never existed if not for the faith of the laity, the “ordinary” Catholics all around him.
The Church needs you to be holy. You need you to be holy. And if you want to stop wasting your time here at Mass, if you want to stop wasting your life, then I suggest… no, I urge you, take your faith seriously. It is a gift. It is supernatural. But it is also a virtue, a habit. That means it takes practice. The sinful woman practiced it by kissing Jesus’ feet. The Korean martyrs practiced it in secret until they were killed for it. You may not die a martyr and you probably won’t have to kiss my feet, but you have the opportunity every day and at least twice a week to have God himself placed on your tongue in the Eucharist.
So here’s my question to you: do you have faith? What are you willing to do to get it? To prove it? And to live it? Would you kiss my feet – or anyone’s feet, really – if it helped? Then why not do what is even easier than that? Pray, go to confession, and just pay attention to God so that when you do die, you will hear what this woman heard: “your faith has saved you, go in peace.”