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Feast of the Epiphany

Added Aug 28, 2017 •

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as a high-school student I got to live the dream of at least a handful of high school students when play made the the quiz Bowl team for for my high school and and part of it was obviously it was answering kind of the General Knowledge Questions but the way was done back then is that they was actually part of a TV show and it was a single-elimination tournament between competing high schools most of us were on it because we wanted to answer questions and beat the other team not because we were enthralled with being on TV but when we got when we got to the station that was that was broadcasting it we walked in and the it was it was quite underwhelming essentially the studio was nothing more than a backyard garage with some very very bright lights and I remember very very clearly to two experiences from from that time in my life the first one was when we walked in the first time that it when the bright lights went on the cameras went on we were all very very nervous we are incredibly nervous and but we are fortunate off to win a couple of times and the the third time we were there we play noticed the lights and the in the cameras we had become fairly accustomed to it and it was it was no big deal the second thing that that I remember very clearly is that once we were on the 126 or so people in the Twin Cities that turn this program on on Sunday morning would ask us a bunch of questions about what in the world we were doing on TV that's how can you know that obscure knowledge set like being on TV what is it like meeting the local weatherman and we didn't really bargain for that we we we were on the team we try out for the team because we could answer General Knowledge Questions not because we wanted to answer a bunch of personal questions often times from people didn't even know nnr but our advisor for the team reminded us when that started to happen so you know what that's what comes with being part of this Any Man part of the program and every time you you see somebody you are not just representing yourself but you're representing your school and you're representing the program so be polite and do the best you can at answering the questions whether you like it or not you got it you got to do it and the truth is that we know when receive gifts there comes responsibility with those gifts some of them we can anticipate most of them we cannot and as we as we conclude our Christmas season this season of gift the season of Jesus Christ coming into the world the greatest gift that that we can ever receive the person Jesus were in that spot again we have received in faith the gift of the person of Jesus Christ the light of the world the weight of the world but with a gift also comes a responsibility on this Feast of the Epiphany we are reminded in the Old Testament and Isaiah the glory of the Lord will shine on Israel that the Nations will follow the light that is come into the nation of Israel people of Faith have been past have been given the gift of the light and the power and the glory of God and his son Jesus Christ and with that then comes the responsibility pet the rest of the world would know him Saint Paul reminds us that his own gift of apostleship his own gift of faith in and Revelation to him was not given just for him it was given that other people might know Jesus that in fact the rest of the world Jesus had come not just for the people of Israel but also for the for the Gentiles for the rest of the world it's a very very clear message at the end of this Christmas season that Jesus At The Gift of the light of the world isn't meant for just those of us who have received it enliven it now in a receive that gift but it is a gift that is meant to be shared and the truth is the truth is as as Catholics it's part of our spiritual DNA typically to be sharing her faith it's not we're pretty good about responding to calls of service we're okay and Stan the the the obligations of faith in the in the in the Norms that go along with it even if we not all that great at times of actually living them out but the truth is there's more to it there's more to it as a disciple of Jesus Christ and just following the set of the rules and end just receiving the gift our own personal benefit and an constellation of Faith there is an obligation to share it and I think if we look around the world wait that we live in now there has never been more evident certainly in my lifetime of the need of the presence of Jesus Christ in the world with another Mash putting on Friday in in Florida I don't know how many events like this that it's going to take for the world to recognize that we did God in the world he needs to be invited back into the world he needs to be invited back into the hearts of people that we can't keep straying away from him without pain plans the world needs Jesus in the only way the world is going to get Jesus is through us who have received the gift and most of us given the gift of a faith as as children when we receive it had no idea that someday we were actually going to have to share that's part of the challenge that we live in and the truth is safe is Faith is it having a very very difficult time at this particular in history locally nationally and internationally and if it look at the statistics they are alarming they are alarming lots and lots of people simply don't believe even more people who do believe and have some sense of the presence of God will still next there's no reason in my individual Faith to be connected to a community I don't have to do that that's not part of Faith well the truth is chair in a few minutes it actually is and it's not it's this isn't something that's that's distant that's far away it's actually very near David in our little very small slice of of the Catholic Christian Community here at All Saints in in Lakeville on a good weekend on a good weekend we will have about 35% of the people in our in our Parish actually attending mass and I modern Lifestyles I get that people take off for the weekend I get that they need to need to go places and and maybe going other places but I am going to the farm that there aren't 65% of our people that are going to mass with their mothers someplace else okay there's not so there's a deep there's a deep need to be presenting and sharing Jesus Christ with with people and in people very very close to us maybe in aren't even in our own homes and we're not necessarily that equipped to do and we've been studying this as as Parish leadership for for several years and we came up after studying our community studying the face studying our our call with a very simple mission statement right it should be the mission of every single Catholic that is leading people to Christ in liturgy learning sacraments and serviced sharing the person of Jesus in the ways that we live our life as a community and yes it may be isn't in our DNA to lead people to Christ right we are going to bring begin to provide tools that will how was Anne and help us to do that in every aspect of our life not just in church not just in our and our faith community but but elsewhere in it starts at the end of at the end of January January 30th to February 1st we're having our Parish mission that Parish Mission will be preached by by Mike Gormley from from here Texas a great guy Dynamic guy who's going to help us who's going to help us to appreciate the extraordinary gift that our faith is the gift of life we receive Angie's has the gift of call that we receive in Jesus and the gift of being part of the mission of leading people and bringing people to Jesus Christ and it will be no work for most of us zero the only work involved will be actually showing up on those three nights it will not difficult to write and we're encouraging everybody to come bring a friend or two or three or four from your neighborhood just to get rebooted Andra search eyes in the extraordinary gift of faith that we have in Jesus Christ and from that we will be invited then every parishioner to join small groups that will that will begin during the during the Lenten season and the truth is we do have a very very individualistic approached faith in our in our culture and the truth is it has never been individual faith in Jesus Christ life in Christ has never been individual reali not from the very beginning and we get a lesson of that today in the Epiphany with the Magi the Mage I came together they made their plan to come to Jesus together they made their journey together they struggled together they were joyful together and they worship honored and adored the king Jesus Christ together with other people our walk with the Lord is never alone never alone especially in a very large community like we have getting it getting into small groups is a very very important thing for for for learning and growing Lord and being able to share that share that walk with the Lord that we all have and then finally finally every single one what is going to be asked to sacrifice so that we can allow more people to hear the gospel the more people where the gospel there are barriers to people hearing them many of them have been placed very very unintentionally but more people need to hear it right and I will get can you one thing very very personal and frankly very very difficult for me for years people have encouraged me and and the priests here to have our homilies recorded and put online and send out there wherever out there is I don't like that idea personally it's very uncomfortable it is very uncomfortable personally for me to have my words recorded and run the if somebody taking something out of context and sending off or worse yet coming and challenging me on one one small sentence or one half of a cent is there a couple of words three or four or five or 10 years down the road it's a very very unnerving and uncomfortable but the truth is the is it is far more important that other people be able to hear the gospel then for me to be comfortable than the me be comfortable it is it is a challenge and all of us all of us will be asked to sacrifice all right we're going to be doing some liturgical things and some some some things musically at are at 11 Mast it's some people might find very comfortable others may not find comfortable at all and and we're all going to be faced with those things but what we're trying to do is not make ourselves comfortable but to allow the gospel to be heard and listen to buy who are not hearing it or listening to it often enough we have to reorient ourselves as individuals and as a community to looking to the needs of the world to receive the light the mercy the peace and the person of Jesus Christ that's what we are that's what up to beginning beginning this week be getting this week we are eliminating the term volunteer from everything that we do alright we are not just another service organization that needs volunteers to do the work but we are a community of Disciples of Jesus Christ that is on a mission a mission to lead people to Jesus Christ and so now everything that we do in service and administry within the church is done by paw who are Partners in Mission we will be Mission Partners no longer volunteers and I told our staff anybody who says or writes the word volunteer anything is fine they are going to be fine alright alright will give you guys a couple of months to get used to it alright then we'll start finding you as well put a Wok it out there and give it to the give it to the poor and some in some way right and finally one more thing that people may rejoice in you will hear less for me right you will hear less from that you hear Last from the priests okay what we have discovered and in much of our of our study is that the more the priest facts about particularly about different things the more the word of God actually gets blurred and what's being said in the message gets gets distracted by other things so beginning today the announcements are going to be done by our lecter's instead of instead of the the priests is there just simple changes and sacrifice is that recognized the right that recognized the gift we have received and the importance of doing everything that we can to allow people to hear the gossip and to receive the person of Jesus Christ we've all been given that gift when I was giving that gift of being on that TV program when I was in when I was in high school all I wanted to do was sit there and answer questions but there was a lot of other responsibilities that went with it right and the truth is when we receive the gift of faith the when we received at men are we received it and also came a responsibility that maybe we didn't plan for maybe we didn't bargain for but the truth is if we respond and listen to that Paul of Jesus Christ we can in end in grow in our faith and we will be prepared Foley in in terms of growing in terms of making the sacrifices necessary we will in fact as a community be able to Faithfully joyfully bring the person of Jesus Christ to the world and lead people to him

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