Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz - 10/27/24 Made for Worship: Presence and Sacrifice

Episode Date: October 26, 2024

Homily from the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The heart of worship is sacrifice. We know that the sacrifice of Jesus once-for-all is the moment that saves us. It is possible to be present to this moment and offer that one sacrifice now. Mass Readings from October 27, 2024: Jeremiah 31:7-9 Psalms 126:1-6Hebrews 5:1-6 Mark 10:46-52

Welcome to Sunday homilies with me, Father Mike Schmitz. I hope today's homily inspires and motivates you, and I also hope that it leaves you hungry for the one who gave everything to feed you. If you want to get this in other Sunday Mass resources sent straight to your inbox, sign up at ascensionpress.com slash Sunday, or by texting Sunday to 33777. You can also follow or subscribe on your podcast app for weekly notifications. God bless. The Lord be with you.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark. Chapter 10 verses 46 through 52. As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Temaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have pity on me. And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, Son of David, have pity on me.

Jesus stopped and said, Call him. So they called the blind man, saying to him, Take courage. Get up. Jesus is calling you. He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

Jesus said to him and replied, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man replied to him, Master, I want to see. Jesus told him, go your way. Your faith has saved you. Immediately, he received his sight and followed him on the way. The gospel of the Lord.

Praise you, Lord, Jesus Christ. Wait you to have a seat. So years ago, there was a wedding. I was doing a couple. Their name was our Tom and Natalie, and they had scheduled their wedding. I mean, I imagine that when you schedule a wedding in Minnesota, in the winter, you don't anticipate a snowstorm.

But they had literally the worst storm I've ever, maybe even been and had to drive in because this wedding was going to happen. And it was a situation, like, honestly, it was kind of tragic in some ways because I think only, I think less than a third of their guests actually made it to the wedding and even fewer made it to the reception. It was just horrible. But Tom and Natalie were awesome. Like their attitude was this. I remember they said, Tom was like, bother, it doesn't matter. Like if the three of us are there, that'll be enough. I remember thinking like, two things. I was like, that's awesome. Like, bro, that's a great attitude.

My second thought was like, oh, thank you for including me. He's like, no, no, no, like, we need a priest. I don't care what priest it is. And I'm like, okay, well, that's fine. also, in that case, you don't just need the three of us. You need two witnesses, so take that. But there's something about this, right? He knew the truth, and so did his wife Natalie. The reality is, when it comes down to it, what's the most important part? Most part, part of a wedding is not going to be all the guests or the catering or any of

those other things. The most important part is if you got to be present and you make the offering, that's the whole thing, right? If you're there and you're present and you're able to make that offering, like the bride says to the groom, the groom says to the bride, I take you as my spouse. that's the most important part. Without their presence and without that offering, a wedding wouldn't exist.

All the other stuff is good, but what you need, the most important part, is for them to be present and for them to make the offering. So we started last week. We started a new series called Made for Worship. And the reality is, the reason why we have to do this is because, A, we're made for worship. That's naturally in us.

that even if we don't have God, we'll either invent something, create something, or find something to give our lives to. Because that's what we're made. We're made to worshiping. Yet, when we come to Mass, we don't often know what to do. Oftentimes, mass feels hollow. Often worship feels hollow because either we don't know what's going on, we don't know what we're supposed to do,

or we don't know how this relates to us. And we don't know the fact that what God has brought us here to do involves us. And so what we end up doing is we end up just watching. We end up becoming passive observers of the sacrifice because we highlighted this last week as well that the heart of religion is worship. That the creed is good, morality is good,

what we believe is important, how we live is important, but the heart of religion is worship and the heart of worship is sacrifice. And we know this because sacrifice is the critical piece. We talked about last week. We asked the question.

We said, how do you know what something is worth? And the answer is, a thing is worth whatever someone is willing to sacrifice for it. That a thing is worth whatever someone is willing to sacrifice for it. And that's why we're here. Because we're made for worship,

but we don't know how to do it. So let's go back to the first reading. First reading is from the book of the prophet Jeremiah. So Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, all those prophets, they're prophesying to Israel at a really, really devastating time in their lives. It's right before the exile, right? So right before they're taken out of Jerusalem and they're brought to Babylon.

Now, that's devastating for many reasons. One of the reasons is devastating is because you're losing your possessions, you're losing your home. Maybe many of your family members are being either left behind or killed or you're the ones who are deported and put into exile. But the most devastating thing for Jeremiah, the most devastating thing for Ezekiel, the most devastating thing for Isaiah is not simply them leaving their homeland. It's not simply them losing their possessions.

it's in being exiled, they're losing the temple. Like that's the critical thing. Yes, obviously, it would be incredibly painful to lose all your stuff and to be moved somewhere you don't want to go. But to lose the temple was to lose everything. Why? Because we can't understand this. Because sometimes we think as modern-day Christians,

we think that, well, yeah, you have a temple, of course, but you also have synagogues and that's the same thing. They're not the same thing. A synagogue, back in Jesus' day, was a place for prayer, a place for study, a place where people come together. That's all good. But the temple, and the temple alone, had two things.

One is the temple was where the presence of God would abide. Now, obviously Jews would believe that God's presence is everywhere, but God's presence would abide in a particular way, in a unique way. His real presence would be in the temple. And secondly, the temple was the place of worship. And so all of a sudden, your temple is taken away.

And when the temple is taken away, their identity was taken away. I mean, this is why Jeremiah today in the first reading, this is why Ezekiel, this is why Isaiah, all the prophets were warning the people so thoroughly because they knew that once God's temple is destroyed, once you're brought into exile, not only is that presence taken away,

but the sacrifice is taken away, the worship is taken away. Remember when COVID happened? there was a sense where and churches were shut down. And it was one of those situations like, what do we do now? And I know that for many Catholics there was a situation where like, that's where I go to worship. I go to worship the Lord in person, in his presence, and offer the sacrifice. We go to the altar and now we have to watch it on the internet or watch it on TV.

And it's not the same thing. And in those cases, our experience was something, something similar to the experience of the Jewish people in the exile, where they said, you know, in our days, we have no prince, no prophet, no leader. In our days, we have no place to offer first fruits. In our days, we have no place to offer the sacrifice. Why? Because you needed the temple for those two reasons, because the temple was the place where God was present, truly present, and the temple was the place where the sacrifice

would happen. That's why in the second reading today, the letter to the Hebrews, the author makes a point of saying, Jesus is the great high priest, and he says, now every priest is taken from among others and they're tasked with a certain duty. Here's the question. What is the main job of a priest? It says it in the second meeting today. The main job of a priest is not like, well, I guess he stands at a little table and mumbles

some words. A priest, like, a priest does all these things. No, the main job of a priest is to offer a sacrifice. That's it. The main job of the priest is to offer sacrifice and to reconcile people to God. That is the primary job of the priest. in the letters to the Hebrews, he offers gifts and sacrifices to the Lord. And so you go back to the history of the priesthood in the Old Testament.

I don't know if you knew this, but originally, the father of every family was the priest of that family. That's how originally it was structured. That if you go back to the Passover, who would offer the sacrifice at the Passover? The dad of the family, because it was given to the people of Israel that there were actually meant to be a kingdom of priests, a nation of priest. So the father of every family would be the priest of that family. But then what happens is, God sets his people to people.

free from slavery in Egypt, they go into the wilderness, and immediately they make a golden calf. And in that, they lost their priesthood. And the priesthood was given to a particular tribe, the tribe of Levi. And so from then on, priests would only come from the tribe of Levi. And what would happen is, when the tabernacle was established, when the temple was built in Jerusalem, those priests every day, multiple times a day, they would go into the temple and they would offer a sacrifice every single day, all day, offer sacrifice. And there were three times the year when they offer sacrifice in a unique way

and invite the people who would participate in them. One of those times is the piece of Passover. I don't know if you ever wonder, like, what would Passover be like? Well, again, Passover back in the day, and Jesus' day would involve these aspects of like, here's the temple where God's truly present and where the sacrifice happens.

So if you were a Jew in the first century, this is what Passover would look like for you. This is how you worship to God. Remember, because the heart of religion, is worship or worship a sacrifice. What you do is a week before Passover, you would get a lamb somehow. Maybe you raised that lamb, maybe you purchased that lamb somehow. Maybe you went to Bethlehem where they had a bunch of shepherds who watched their flocks by night and buy one of those lambs. And what you would do is on that Sunday of the week before Passover, you bring that lamb

into your own home. And you bring it into your own home for two reasons. One is because the lamb had to be unblemished. And so you bring it to their home to protect it, basically keep it unblemished. And the second reason why you brought that lamb into your home is unique. It actually touches the heart because this lamb has value on its own, right? This lamb costs something. But it doesn't mean anything to you because you just purchased the lamb. So you bring it into your home. And this lamb that's valuable on its own all of a sudden becomes precious to you. Because why? Because you're living with this lamb for a whole week. And this lamb is sitting at the foot of your table while you're eating supper together as a family. This lamb is maybe,

sleeping next to your bed as you're sleeping at night. And this lamb that has value now means something to you. So that on Friday, when you were going to offer the lamb, this lamb now is significant. This offering, the sacrifice is significant. So what you do, maybe your dad would do this if you're going with him to the temple. On that Friday morning, he'd take the lamb and you put it over your shoulders and be your job to carry that lamb through the crowds over your shoulders. This lamb that now you love.

and you bring this lamb to the outer wall of the temple. And one of the outer walls of the temple would be chest high. Your dad would take that lamb off of your shoulders and he would drape the lamb over this chest high wall. And on one side of the wall was you and your father and other people. The other side were the priests. And the priests would take a knife and they'd take these bowls and they would cut the lamb's throat and drain its blood into these bowls.

Now this is where the lamb is being presented. Like the lamb is being offered in this moment. This is not the sacrifice moment. This is not the moment where the lamb is being sacrificed to the Lord. It's not until the priest would take those bowls with the blood of the lamb. And they would walk up to the altar. And they go to the altar. And they would pour that blood out on the altar.

And into that moment that the lamb would be sacrificed. So remember, the heart of religion is worship. The hard of worship is sacrificed. It's this moment of presenting the lamb at the chest high wall. The lamb that you love. And then that blood being poured out is an offering, as a sacrifice to the Lord. Now, what you would do, they would then skin the lamb,

and this is fascinating. They would impale the lamb with a stake through its spine and a stake across its shoulders. And then you would carry that lamb. The lamb you carried across your shoulders as a live lamb, you would now carry that lamb that was essentially crucified back to your home. You roast its flesh and you eat its flesh.

And that's the ceremony. That is what it would be to worship. God. To worship God is to offer the sacrifice and then to partake of the sacrifice, to eat the sacrifice. Now, you ask the question, what's the most important part? Like when it comes to the wedding, that's the most important part. When it comes to this sacrifice, what's the most important part? Well, the most important part, all of it's important. But the most important is the moment that the sacrifice is poured out, that moment where the blood is poured out onto the altar. It's all important. But the critical moment is where the blood is poured out on the

altar. So last week we talked about this too, we asked the question, okay, Jesus, he's our savior. When did he save us? And we know that he didn't save us when he, in the incarnation, right? God became one of us, but that didn't save us. Jesus, his saving work didn't happen when he did miracles, didn't happen when he cast out demons. It didn't happen when he preached or taught. Jesus, when he saved us was when the word became flesh, right? The incarnation. And then he poured out his very life to the Father. It cut off of the reading and letters to the Hebrews today, but the very next verse from the letter to the Hebrews says with loud cries and tears and supplications.

Basically that Jesus offered himself on the cross. We talked about this last week. Jesus offered himself on the cross that he is the priest, right? Remember, the priests offer sacrifice. He is the priest, he's the one doing the offering and he's the sacrifice. the sacrifice, he's the one being offered. And this changed reality for Christians. This changed reality for Jews. Because what happens?

Well, in 70 AD, right, just under 40 years after Jesus died and rose from the dead, the Romans destroyed the temple for good. It's never been rebuilt. So I thought the exile was bad for 2,000 years. The temple has ceased to exist. And Christians, when this happened, Christians were saddened, but they weren't devastated. And the question is, why?

Why weren't they devastated? The Jews were devastated when this happened. Why weren't Christians? And the answer is because Jesus had already given them a new presence and Jesus had already given them new worship. The night before Jesus died. You know this story. At the Last Supper, at that Passover meal, Jesus took bread and he said, take this all of

you and eat of it, for this is my body which is given up for you, sacrificed for you. a chalice filled with wine, to take this all of you and drink from it. This is the chalice of the new and eternal covenant. The blood of the new eternal covenant. We poured out for you. Do this in memory of me. This is the most remarkable thing. Here is Jesus.

He is the new priest. What's the job of a priest? The job of a priest is to offer sacrifice. Jesus is also the new temple. Remember he says, he was referring to the temple of his body. So this is the most amazing thing. The true presence of Jesus, that he's truly the temple, and the true worship of Jesus, which he is.

He is now the sacrifice offered once for all. So the question comes up, like, wait a second. At every mass, what is the thing that's being sacrificed? Remember, if the heart of religion is worship and the heart of worship is sacrifice, where is the sacrifice? And the answer is, this is not a table. This is an altar. It's incredibly different.

An altar is the place of sacrifice and Jesus is the one who is sacrificed. Now, here's to keep in mind. Jesus offered himself once and for all. This is not re-sacrificing Jesus. This is his once-for-all sacrifice that we get to be a part of, we get to be present to, we get to actually participate. Remember last week, I talked about this invitation to participate in the cup that Jesus was to drink. We're meant to drink as well.

We're meant to actually offer with him the one sacrifice he offered of himself once for all. So here's the question. What's the most important part of the Mass? Is it when we gather? That's important, but I mean, I've been to Mass where there's only one other person. So it's not the most important part. Is it where we hear God's word? Proclaimed. That's very important.

That's not the most important part because you can proclaim God's word at any time. It's awesome. It's great that way. Is it the moment where here's transubstantation right, where the priest says, this is my body, this is my blood, and that bread, that wine becomes the very body and blood of Jesus. That's important. In fact, I have a sister who says that whenever she goes to Mass,

and that moment where the priest says, this is my body, and holds the Eucharist aloft and says, this is my blood holds the Eucharist up. She says, she reminds you. herself. She says, okay, to her inner, quietly she says, okay, that's the miracle, that's the miracle. Reminding herself, that's the miracle. And it is the miracle, but that's not the most important part. It is the most important part when we receive communion. It is vital, but it is not the most important part. The most important part of the Mass is the sacrifice. So let's go back to

first century. Here's the presentation of the lamb. You brought that lamb. You brought that lamb. that you love through the streets of Jerusalem and went to that chest-high wall. That's the presentation of the lamb. That's like when Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate, and Pontius Pilate said, behold the man. That's that moment. That's the presentation of the Lamb of God. And that in the Mass is the moment where the priest says, this is my body, it aloft,

and this is my blood and hold that aloft. That's the moment, the presentation of the sacrifice. This is where you get to see the sacrifice. Behold the man. This is the lamb. This is my body. But remember, that chest-high wall. wasn't where the sacrifice was offered. It wasn't until the blood was poured out onto the altar.

That's when the sacrifice is offered, and similar with Jesus. When did he reconcile us to the Father? In the very moment he poured himself out completely. In the moment he uttered those words, Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit, and then gave up his spirit, poured it all out. That is the moment when you and I were reconciled to the Lord. That's the moment you and I were reconciled to God himself. And so what's that moment? That moment in the Mass is the moment where the priest, standing at the altar, takes the sacred body of Jesus and the sacred blood of Jesus and says, through him with him in him. Him here is Jesus. Through him with Him in Him. In the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is your Almighty Father forever and ever. That moment is the moment where Jesus is pouring

himself out on the cross. That moment is the moment is the moment where the blood of the lamb is poured out on the altar. But it is the fulfillment of every moment. The moment that saved us when Jesus gave himself completely to the Father, is represented to us at every single Mass. We just watch. We're standing at the foot of the cross as Jesus is pouring out his spirit to the Father, giving his humble and loving, trusting yes.

We're just passive observers. In fact, we're such passive observers that in response to the priest sang through him with him and him in the unity of the Holy Spirit, I'll glory and honor his yours, Almighty Father, that moment of salvation that we're, we're present to again, our response, in the book, it calls it the great amen. But in most Catholic parishes, I call it the lame amen.

Because we just like, oh, what, amen? Because we don't know what's going on. We don't realize that this is the moment of worship. This is the moment of sacrifice. This is the moment of reconciliation. This is the moment where the world has changed. And this is the last thing. This is, because we miss this so much.

But we're made for worship. We're not made to watch this happen, this mass or any mass. To give our amen is to participate in the salvation of life. the world because that's what the mass does. Here's a question. As the last thing, you realize that there are two things that happen at every single mass. There are two things, no matter what, if it's just one priest by himself in a garage chapel or a bishop in the cathedral of the Pope and St. Peter's Basilica, surrounded by thousands

and thousands of people, the same two things happen at every single mass. And I know that you know what these two things are. One of the things will do this exercise with students. and like you know not only what these two things are that happen at every Mass, but you could actually say word for word, what are the two things that happen at every Mass? Two things are, well, say, in a few moments, I'll say this. I'll say, pray my brothers and sisters

that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father. And you'll respond with, may the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His Holy Church. What's going to happen is the sacrifice will be offered. Two things will happen. for the praise and glory of God's name, the Father's name,

and for our good and good of all his holy church. The two things that happen at every Mass is God is glorified and the world is sanctified. That God is loved and the world is saved. That happens at every single Mass. And we stupidly and timidly just watch that happen as opposed to participate and offer the sacrifice in the next couple days,

next couple weeks, I want to talk more and more clearly about how exactly, how exactly do we not just watch but worship? How exactly are we not just passive observers, but active participants in this offering of the sacrifice of the Son to the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit? But right now, we're about to do this. We're about to do the thing I'm just talking about right now. So what do you do? My invitation to realize what's going on. To realize that yes, here is the incarnation. God is present and here's the sacrifice God is offered. Here's the temple where God is present and where God is sac, where the sacrifice is offered. And what we're about to do is we're about to offer the great sacrifice of the Son to the Father and the

power of Holy Spirit and it will do two things. It will glorify the Father and sanctify the Father sanctify the world. The Father will be loved and the world will be saved. So don't just watch because you are made to worship.