Sermon preached Thursday, March 1, 2007
Lent 1, Thursday, Mass: Psalm 138: Esther 14:1-6,12-14; Matthew 7:7-12
I noticed that in our first reading Esther prays for eloquent speech. We have a new microphone system in place this afternoon and so I'm going to use this as my example. Without a microphone, I basically have to shout to be heard at the back of the church, and even then what I say isn't so clear. I think its important for people to hear what we have to say as well as understand it.
Our Gospel today gives us a parallel to what is commonly called the golden rule: Do to others as you would have them do to you. In the conext of speaking and hearing, I'd like to look at that idea. All of us here found Jesus because someone else told us about him or about God or about how the love of God in Christ worked in their lives. For many of us it was our parents or other family members, our friends, people we work with. I don't know how you ended up being in church today, but I am confident that someone, somwhere along the way told you about Jesus and you listened.
I think that one way to practice the words that Jesus gives us today is to evangelize others as we were once evangelized. By telling others what the love of God means to us and what it can mean to them, we can pass on the gift that has been handed to us. I think that Lent is a great time to practice this aspect of our faith, and I invite you this Lent to pass along to someone else the faith you have recieved from others.
