Homily Short: Fr. Chas Canoy
God calls each of us to be a spiritual watchman—sharing His truth, using our blessings to build His Kingdom, and lovingly reaching out to those who are far from Christ or the Church. Who is the Holy Spirit placing on your heart today?
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So back in the day when cities were fortified by these high walls for protection, there were watchmen on duty whose charge was to be on the lookout for impending dangers. So in the Old Testament, God sent prophets as figurative watchmen who were tasked to warn the people of God of the impending doom. But God calls such prophets not to be popular with everyone, but to faithfully deliver God’s message, and God would hold his prophets accountable.
If I tell the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself. The apostles were given the charge to be those spiritual sentinels who would teach to all the nations all that Jesus had commanded them, and to warn the people of God of any impending danger.
When Jesus said, Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. But why is that so? You who have been blessed with much have that much more to be detached from, and have that much more to steward rightly for the building up of the kingdom of God.
How do you view your wealth? Do you see it as yours for the building up of your own personal kingdom? Or do you see your wealth as part of the blessings God has given you in order for you to build up the kingdom of God, to love your neighbor as yourself, to do corporal and spiritual works of mercy, to have a preferential option for the poor? Are you giving in a way that’s truly sacrificial, that reflects that you trust in God and not in yourself? And so how does this relate to you? Well, under the new covenant that Jesus established, that calling to be a watchman are to be watchmen in the world. And so you too are to be that prophetic voice for the people in your life that do not recognize the mortal dangers of the soul present in a godless way of life, and who have yet to follow Jesus and enjoy the protection and the riches he bestows in the sacramental life of the church. We’ve seen the manifestation of that godless way of life.
It results in moral chaos and the division of the human family. And God wants to bring that human family back into real unity, not a superficial one. So how are you doing in that role as a watchman? And if you’ve forgotten, is there anyone in your life who is a non-Catholic or a fallen away Catholic with whom you’ve had a faith conversation or you’d like to have one, or that the Holy Spirit is placing upon your heart? Make it a point to contact them today.
So who is God putting on your heart?