Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz - 02/03/19 Disqualified: Remarkably Average

Episode Date: February 4, 2019

Homily from the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Being unqualified does not disqualify when God calls. There are many people who would look remarkably average on paper. Our stats would reveal that we are unqualified for being a part of God’s great work. But the Lord calls us to the greatest of these: love. Mass Readings from February 3, 2019: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19 Psalms 71:1-6, 15-171 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 Luke 4:21-30 Read More About Blessed Chiara Badano Download the Homily Study

So I've been thinking about that idea of being average, like the question we asked at the beginning of mass. So it's just the idea of like, I don't know that many of us would say like, yeah, that's awesome. That's what I'm shooting for. I'm going for like middle of the pack. That's where I want to finish the race. Whether it's like in class and school in an actual race or in life, just I want to, I'm going for average. I want to have a very, very remarkably mediocre life. I don't think anyone is shooting for that.

I think very few of us would want that. I mean, maybe a lot of us settle for that. But I don't think any of us looked and say, like, my heroes are the ones who are remarkably mediocre. Like, people I look to are the ones who are remarkably average. And yet at the same time, maybe I kind of find myself doing that. There was this young woman that I've been captivated by, she died in 1981.

I mean, when she was 18 years old, I've been captivated by her story for a number of years. Her name was Kiara. She's an Italian woman, young woman, Italian teen, and if you looked at her life on paper, it's just like she is remarkably average. Just an ordinary, not just Italian teen, an ordinary teenager. Her list of like, what did she do with her life?

Like, well, she went to school. Whoa, no way. She did okay. No, you're kidding me. She liked sports. Amazing. She hung out with her friends. She played tennis, she danced.

If you look at her life on paper, you'd say, okay, neat. Why is the priest in 2019 fascinated with the teen from 1981? Because Kiara was on paper. She is remarkably average. She is someone who is not qualified. She's massively unqualified to be a part of God's great work. She's unqualified. She's average.

We started this little mini-series. last weekend called Disqualified. We talked about that idea that there's so many things in our lives that can be part of our life, part of our past, part of our present. We can look at ourselves and say, well, this reality of my life, it disqualifies me from being part of God's great work. And one of the things that we can look at our lives is I'm disqualified is because I'm unqualified.

I'm disqualified from being part of God's great work because, well, because I look at my life and I believe I'm disqualified from being part of God's great work because I'm remarkably average, that if you had my life on paper, my stats are really, really low, completely unimpressive. Just average. You can say, if people looked at your stats, if people looked at your information, people looked at your life on paper, they might say, okay, I don't think you have it, whatever it is, whatever people look for in great people, and the great ones. Kind of funny.

Speaking of The Great One, I watched a documentary a while back about greatness, and one of the people they featured was The Great One. If we're in the northern Minnesota, we knew who the Great One is, right? Wayne Gretzky is the Great One.

No, that's the real thing. They call him the Great One. Someday, what if you lived your life in such a way that your nickname was the Great One? I just want to go to there. But Wayne Gretzky, he's known as the Great One. And in this documentary, by his own description of himself,

he said, on paper, I shouldn't have been a great hockey player. In fact, I shouldn't have even played in the National Hockey League on paper. I said, I wasn't the biggest guy out there. I was one of the smaller guys. He said, if you were to have me line up and race around the rink, do a lap around the rink, I would not be among the fastest. I wouldn't even be among the average.

He says that I'm nowhere near the strongest guys in the league. He said everyone out there was faster, almost everyone out there was faster, almost everyone out there was stronger, almost everyone out there on paper had better stats than me. If you're looking at his stats, he'd say he doesn't have, he's remarkably average, unqualified to be great. And yet, after his hockey career, I think 20 years, he holds the all-time leading points scorer, or not that score, but all-time leading points by over 1,000 points from number In fact, in 2016, there was a guy to be Yerimer Yeager who tied Mark Messier for second.

And they tied at 1,887 points. That includes your assists and the actual goals. So 1,887. They tied at 1,887. Wayne Gretzky, the great one, he had 2,857 points, almost 1,000 points more. In fact, he had so many points that if they took away his goals, he would still be number one all-time leading score in the NHL. It's something that blew my mind even more.

Just like, again, this guy who on paper is like remarkably average, on paper, he is unqualified to be great. They said this. They said, okay, the age that year, Mirjegger was when he got 1,887 points, he was 44 years old in the 309 days. When Mark Messier got 1,887 points, he was 43 years old and 71 days. When Wayne Gretzky scored his 2,857th point, he was 208. years old.

On paper, he's unqualified to be great. He's remarkably average. And he's not the only one. I mean, I know sports examples can be redundant for people not into sports, but believe me, I'm not like a big Super Bowl fan. But here's the deal. I know some of you hate him. I know some of you love him. But the reality is, on paper,

Tom Brady should not play in the NFL. When he was drafted, I don't know, maybe you know the story. In 2000, some of you, guys, don't be mad at me. I'm not cheering for him. I'm telling you, on paper, when he was drafted in the year 2000, here's how he was described in the NFL draft. Here's how they described him. Poor build, skinny, lacks great physical stature and strength,

lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush, lacks a really strong arm, can't drive the ball downfield, does not throw a really tight spiral. system type player who can get exposed to forts to ad lib and get knocked down easily. Some of you are like, yeah, it's right. You know, when he was in the combine, you know, the whole thing, they measure all your strength, speed, all these kind of things. When he's in the combine to get into the draft, his 40 time and his vertical leap, there are all time up to that point, 2000, near 2000, maybe even beyond that, there's been 576 quarterbacks who have gone through the combine. His 40 time and his vertical leap put him at 576th all time.

He is literally the slowest quarterback to ever go through the combine and with the smallest vertical leap. That year he was drafted in 2000. He was 1099th. And yet, you know, we had this series last semester called The Greatest of All Time, The Goat. And the first person to ever be called the Goat is the 199th draft. from the year 2000, who has the all-time slowest quarterback 40 and all-time shortest vertical leap.

And yet, he is arguably not according to Father Mike who doesn't know squat about football, but according to people online, he is arguably the greatest quarterback of all time. On paper, remarkably average and in fact the slowest and least able to jump. And yet he is the great one. because there was something in him that everyone else missed. There was something in Wayne Gretzky that everyone else missed. What everyone was looking for when it came to Wayne Gretti, what everyone was looking for when it came to Tom Brady,

what everyone was looking for on paper was not what made them great. They had something that no one was looking for. Jeremiah is the prophet who's called into God's service this morning. Jeremiah is what they call one of the major prophets. He was a significant prophet. He was one of the greatest prophets to live. ever. And we hear how the story opens. We heard it this morning. He says the Lord God came to me and he said, before, Jeremiah, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born,

I dedicated to you. A prophet to the nations I appointed you. Now, we skipped over the next couple lines. But the next line is this, is Jeremiah saying, Lord, okay, I'll quote him. Actually, I don't have to paraphrase. He says, ah, Lord God, I said, I know not how to speak. I am too young. God comes into Jeremiah's life and says Jeremiah I want to be part of my great work Jeremiah looks at his stats and he's like ah Lord you don't understand I am remarkably average

I don't know how to speak I know about prophets prophets prophets have to be able to speak really well I don't know how to speak I know the stats on the other prophets Isaiah dude that guy can kill it when it comes Ezekiel man he just walks off drop the mic and walks away everyone's like oh lament

come back to the Lord. But Jeremiah says, God, I know what you're looking for in a great prophet. You need someone who can speak. I can't speak. I'm remarkably average. I am unqualified. And my being unqualified makes me disqualified. I'm too young. Prophets are wise. Prophets have amazing beards. And once they shave them off, they're just fools. With unusually small chins. At least that's what it feels like. Jeremiah is like, I'm too young. I know what you're looking for. You're looking for profits who are wise and are old and experienced.

I can't do it. On paper, I am unqualified. Therefore, in reality, I'm disqualified. I think a lot of times we can say those words. We can look at our lives and say, oh, my gosh, my stats are really low. I'm nothing special. You can look around and say, it seems like everyone else has. I mean, they're doing so well.

I'm not like them. Then I am middle of the road. I am remarkably average. And yet God speaks to Jeremiah and he says, Jeremiah says, I'm unqualified. God says, the Lord answer me. Say not, I am too young. To whomever I send you, you shall go.

Whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them because I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. And then the Lord extended his hand and touched my mouth and he said, see, I place my words in your mouth. See, Jeremiah was right. He's remarkably average. He is unqualified to be a prophet to the nations. So when he says, Lord God, are my stats are low? I don't have what it takes to be a prophet. You almost can hear God say, yeah, I know. That's why I chose you. See, what everyone else is, what everyone else is looking for in a prophet, someone who can speak amazingly, someone who has this great wisdom and great experience. I don't need that. I need

something else. What was Jeremiah's superpower? What was the thing that set Jeremiah, part. It was something that no one was looking for. It's kind of funny, you asked the same question about Wayne Gretzky. You asked the same question about Tom Brady and all these, you know, people who are experts in it, they say, well, it's, you know, it's kind of a tactical brilliance they had. It's kind of a genius they had. It's this eloquence or this kind of elegance that they had, which all boils down to what sets Wayne Gretzky apart, what makes Tom Brady great. The experts say, we don't know. It was their genius. What they do know is what we thought it was wasn't it.

What we thought it would be was not what it actually was. Jeremiah is the same. What makes Jeremiah a great prophet for the Lord? What he thought it would be was not what it was. Because you have to understand that when it comes to God's great work, it's not our great work, it's his. When it comes to the reality that your past, doesn't prevent you from being part of God's great work,

it prepares you for being part of God's great work. Realize it's not your great work, it's his. When Jeremiah says, I'm too young, I don't know how to speak. God doesn't say, no, no, no, you're fine, you're fine, just go out there. He says, that's right. Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to go with you. Jeremiah's superpower is that he was available to the Lord.

Jeremiah's superpower, the secret, the thing that made him great, was that he was available, not exceptional. He was available, not exceptional, which is really great news for every person in this place who feels that they're disqualified because they're unqualified. Really great news for all of us who think, maybe God has a great work for me, but I don't know, I'm remarkably average.

On paper, I'm just like everyone else. But in reality, you could be one of the ones who are part of God's great work that transforms this world, that you're not disqualified because you're unqualified. you're not disqualified because you're remarkably average in fact even st paul talks about this he goes to the list of stats i mean things sometimes i know sometimes i would like to have

like the great powers like great miracles i would love to have like the the sheet of like dude he can he has so much faith he's cast the mountains into the sea that guy's got such faith he can prophesy with the best he's he's got what does he say he says you can speak in human angelic tongues? Check. That's awesome. Gift of prophecy? Check. Amazing.

Comprehend all mysteries, all knowledge? Man, yeah. Check. Goes on to say, give away everything I own and even hand my body over. You read the story of someone who lived like that, you'd be like, okay, that person's on fast track for greatness. Faith, prophecy, mighty deeds, martyrdom. Amazing. And St. Paul says, all of that is nothing.

None of those things are what makes a person great. None of those things are what part of God's great work. None of those things are actually that exceptional. Those are, in some ways you could say, those are remarkably average. He says, what makes one exceptional is love, the missing ingredient. on paper I may not be anybody but like Jeremiah's missing ingredient the secret ingredient

his superpower was being available here St. Paul says actually your secret power, your secret superpower for becoming the person God wants you to be for being part of God's great work is not can you do miracles is not can you speak prophetically is not can you go out and like massively

transform the world the question is can you love can you love can you love because if I do all these things and yet have not love, that's what disqualifies me. If I do all of these things and have not love, that's what disqualifies me. And I need to clarify. What I'm saying is not a Disney-love, not Disney love, right?

It's not like, oh, when you have that flutter in your heart, you just have to sing and like little birds come and they sing with you and like, it's amazing. That love, you guys, just capture it. No, that doesn't exist except for in the movies, which I love. It's great, wonderful. But real love is what? We heard this yesterday all day at the theology of the body. Love is, very simply, very practically, willing the good of the other.

Love is something every one of us can do. It is willing the good of the other. It's seeing the other. Whoever the other is and wherever the other is and saying, actually, I choose your good. Oftentimes that kind of love is so hidden and that kind of love is so small that it doesn't show up on your stats. But it makes all the difference. It's a difference between someone who's good, someone who's part of God's great work,

to will the good of the other. So you have to say, oh, I'll wait. I'm going to wait until I find someone who's able, I should be able to will their good. Actually, you don't have to wait, the person next to you, to will their good, to choose their good. The person you're going to walk out of this room with, to will their good, to choose their good.

The person you happen to live with who's really, really hard to love, and to will their good. you know my friend Nick yesterday at the Theology of the Body, he said something very important because I think a lot of times when we're called to love, the people around us, the people right next to us, I know myself, I can say, well, we'll see. We're going to wait to see what they do, and then I'll maybe see how I'm going to love them. And he pointed this out, and it blew my mind. I had to write it down immediately as he was talking. He said, he made this statement, and I just was so moved by it. He said, love is a one-way street. Love is a one-way

street. Relationships are two-way streets, he clarified. But love is a one-way street. It is never about will the good of the other for oneself. It's will the good of the other, period. Love is a one-way street. Relationships, yes, give and take. Receive and give. Not give and take. Receive and give. But love is a one-way street. And if love is a one-way street, then you can always love. And this is the secret. To not do it is what disqualifies, but to do it, regardless of how one is unqualified, or regardless of how one feels remarkably average, to do that is to be part of God's great work. This is the last thing. I mentioned my preoccupation with that girl Kiara. As I said, she died when she was 18 in 1981.

When Kiara was about 16-17, average girl, remarkably average, she was diagnosed with a really aggressive form of bone cancer. And within a number of months, she became incapable of using her legs. She was paralyzed. This woman who used to young girl, average girl, teenager, just loved to dance, love to play tennis, love to do things like walk, you know, stand. At one point she couldn't. She was confined to a hospital bed in a hospital, which is where they keep hospital beds.

People would go visit Kiara, like her friends and other people. Like she had, you know, her bishop come and visit her a couple times, her parish priest and other, you know, family. And they would always go there to try to cheer Kiara up, but they all left saying the same thing. I came to cheer her up, but she, I walked in all somber and I left joyful. I came to cheer her up and to show her that I loved her. But she cheered me up and showed me how much she loved me.

And even with her, like, as her physical strength was, being taken away from her by this disease that was killing her. When she became this remarkably average girl with less and less strength and less and less power and less and less to give to people, she became, got to the point where she could hardly speak. She said this. She said, I may not be able to stand anymore. I may not be able to sing anymore. I may not be able to dance.

I may not be able to do much anymore. But I still have my heart. And with that, I can always love. I may not have all the power, might not have, I might not be exceptional, but I still have my heart. And with that, I can always love. This remarkably average girl, who is completely unqualified to be part of God's great work.

Her stats on paper show that she's going to be no one, and she's going to be nothing, she's going to make no impact, is blessed Kiara Badano, who will be declared, who will be declared a saint soon. Because here's what God does. He calls the remarkably average to do things that are remarkably exceptional. He calls those who are unqualified

to be part of his great work. And he calls those who have no stats on paper to be part of his great work in this world, his great mission in this world, that long after that paper is gone, and long after those stats don't mean any. thing. There will be one thing that remains. Of the three great things, there'll be faith, there will be hope, and there will be love. And that one thing that will exist for eternity

is the one thing that makes us great. He's the one thing that we need. Is the one thing that endures. And that one thing is love.