Thursday, December 24, 2015

Thursday of the fourth Week of Advent

(II Samuel 7:1-5.8b-12.14a.16; Luke 1:67-79)

Frank Leahy was a legendary football coach at Notre Dame during the 1940’s and 1950’s.  During his tenure, he recruited the Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung.  He did not have to lure the high school star from Louisville with a car or money.  Leahy just asked his prospect whether he would like to use the body God had given him to honor God’s mother.  In today’s gospel Zachariah prophesizes that his newborn son will similarly not work to bring notoriety to himself but to God’s Son.

In the passage Zachariah notes that God is fulfilling the promise he made to David in the first reading.  He says that his son John will prepare the way for a savior of David’s lineage.  John will preach repentance so that the savior could bring about forgiveness of their sins.  The savior, of course, is Jesus, the dawn guiding his followers on the road to peace.

One of the hardest lessons in life is learning how not to draw attention to ourselves but to God.  It’s not that we just want people to think well of us, but that we want them to think of us as better than others.  It is part of our sinfulness that Jesus has now come to reconcile.  Humility will draw us closer Jesus.  It will make us more like him and more reliant on him as our recompense.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(Colossians 1:9-14; Luke 5:1-11)

Frank Leahy, the legendary football coach at Notre Dame, once told how he recruited the Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung. Hornung was a high school star in Louisville when Leahy talked with him. “God has blessed you with a magnificent body,” the coach said and then asked, “Wouldn’t you like to use it for the glory of His mother?” This may seem incredible but those who knew Leahy say that he had a sincere, almost naive charm.

Perhaps Jesus in the gospel today speaking to Peter sounds as simple as Leahy. “Put out into the deep,” he says but more in the imperative than interrogative mode, “and lower your nets for a catch.” Jesus comes from the family of a carpenter, but Peter has just witnessed his casting out Peter’s mother’s demon. He cannot not comply with Jesus’ wish. The resulting catch of fish becomes a parable of how Peter will convert masses of people to the Lord with his preaching once Jesus rises from the dead and sends his Spirit upon his disciples.

We may hear the Lord make a similar, seemingly naive call to us. Perhaps it will be to give up our career to become a priest or religious. Or maybe he will want us to dedicate a portion of time to serve the needy. We need to discern carefully to make sure that the urge is not our own desire to appear as saints or even martyrs. But like Paul Hornung it may very well be that the Lord is really asking us to give ourselves more thoroughly for his glory.