Deacon Mike Meyer / Sunday, October 1, 2023 / Categories: Blog, Homilies Christianity is a Verb Homily for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A I’m not ashamed to admit that much of what I know I learned from School House Rock. You remember School House Rock, the series of cute, catchy clips that aired in between Saturday morning cartoons, teaching children about math, grammar, history, science, and civics. From School House Rock, I learned that “A noun is a person, place, or thing.” I learned to count by threes: “3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30.” I even learned the preamble to the Constitution: “We the People, in order to form a more perfect union. . . .” A few days ago, I stumbled across a School House Rock episode that I’d never seen before: “Verb! That’s what’s happening,” and, of course, I learned something new – “I can take a noun and bend it. . . . Make it a verb and really send it!” We can turn nouns into verbs, like plow into plowing or rake into raking. That makes sense to me because that’s what Jesus does in today’s Gospel. He turns the noun Christianity into a verb. Our Gospel passage presents the parable of the two sons who represent two types of people: sinners who change their ways and do God’s will; and folks who hear God’s Word and even proclaim it but fail to act on it. This parable paints for us “a picture of two very imperfect sets of people,” but one is better than the other.[1] Which group is that? The one that does something. The people who repent and do God’s will get into heaven; those who do nothing won’t. Why? Because Christianity is a “Verb!” You’ll recall that we’re baptized priests, prophets, and kings (or queens if you prefer). Those are jobs. They require us to do something. As priests, we worship God. As prophets, we proclaim God’s truth; as kings/queens, we lead others to Christ. Worship, proclaim, and lead are Verbs!”, and as School House Rock tells us, verbs put our hearts in action. Hearts in action? That’s Christianity in a nutshell. Christians are doers. We don’t become authentic followers of Jesus Christ by affixing a label on our lapels and wearing it proudly. It isn’t conferred upon us by simply declaring that Jesus is our Lord and Savior with nothing more. Yes, we believe that we’re saved by faith alone, but as Saint James makes perfectly clear, faith without works isn’t faith; it’s dead (James 2:26). What makes us true daughters and sons of God, what makes us Christians is doing God’s will. What’s God’s will? Doing what Jesus taught us to do. Living as Jesus lived and died. Christians conform our lives to Christ, who Saint Paul so beautifully describes in our second reading as the humble servant who emptied himself to take the form of a slave and was obedient to God’s will, even to the point of death on a cross. Christians serve; Christians sacrifice our lives for our friends; Christians love. Serve, sacrifice, and love are “Verbs!” OK, we get the point: Christianity’s a verb. So how do we become authentic Christians? Well, believe it or not, we look to the examples of the first son, the tax collectors, and the prostitutes in today’s Gospel. What’s the pivotal act that turns them from sinners into disciples? They change their minds. They repent. The original Greek word translated in today’s Gospel as “changed his mind” is metamelomai (μεταμέλομαι), a verb that suggests a profound, emotional adjustment of our priorities. It involves refocusing our values and internalizing God’s will. And guess what? Changing, refocusing, and internalizing are “Verbs!” that lead to authentic Christianity. So if we want to be authentic Christian disciples, we have to commit ourselves to action. Research shows that when we think about doing something, we have a completely different frame of mind than when we’ve committed ourselves to doing it. Before we commit, we’re deliberative, we give equal weight to pros and cons, and we shy away from risks and challenges. It’s easy to get stuck in this deliberative space and do nothing. That’s probably what happened to the chief priests and elders in today’s Gospel. But once we commit to action, we move into implementation mode. We focus more on the pros, while the cons become obstacles to overcome and problems to solve.[2] With this mindset, nothing can stop us. We work to achieve our goals and pour our minds, hearts, and souls into them. Commit, focus, and work are “Verbs!,” and we need more Christians to do just that. There’s no shortage of opportunities to put our faith into action, to do God’s will, and to earn the title of Christian. For example, this weekend we celebrate Respect Life Sunday, the day we set aside to acknowledge that God wills that we cherish, defend, and protect all people from the beginning of life to its end, and at every point in between. Real people are suffering all around us. They lack food, shelter, and adequate medical care. They’re shut out of educational and occupational opportunities because of the circumstances of their birth. Their lives are extinguished because they’re not considered viable. This tragic situation is a human failure, not God’s, and, to borrow Ezekiel’s words in our first reading, it’s not fair. We need to do something about it. Here at Saint Catherine’s, we contribute food, clothing, Christmas gifts, and much more to help the vulnerable among us. While it’s important to address people’s immediate needs, which we do very well and should continue doing, we need to take our active Christianity to another level. If we want to show that we truly cherish all human life at every stage and that we understand that Christianity is a verb, we need to identify the root causes of these societal woes and do something about them. Perhaps we adopt a school in a vulnerable region of the country or the world and commit to the success of every student who passes through it. Maybe we can help a poor parish develop programs to lift its parishioners from the depths of poverty, loneliness, or addiction. These are just a few examples. I hope we can begin a conversation about what more we can do and then do it. We are Christ’s hands and feet in this world. We are his “Doers,” and doing is what Christianity’s all about. Worship, proclaim, lead, serve, sacrifice, change, commit, work, and love are all verbs that are essential to an authentic Christian life, or as School House Rock would say, “They’re positively, very, very necessary.” Why? Because Jesus turned Christianity into a “Verb!” Readings: Ezekiel 18;25-28; Psalm 25; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32 [1] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 302. [2] Angela Duckworth, “Think It, Do It,” Character LAB (May 5, 2019). Christianity is a Verb Watch! Print 927 Please login or register to post comments.