12th Sunday of Ordinary Time (2024)

I've felt a little like Chip and Joanna Gaines from the Home and Garden Channel's program "Fixer Upper" this week. As our renovations to Holy Redeemer Church reached a critical mass, there were final details to decide and some anxiety that everything would fall into place so we could celebrate daily Mass at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, the anniversary of the first Mass ever celebrated at Holy Redeemer. Everything isn't quite complete, but we have things where we can celebrate the first Mass at the renovated Holy Redeemer on Tuesday. 

One of the features of the show Fixer Upper was that at the end of each episode, Chip and Joanna would take their clients to the renovated property to reveal how they had transformed it. In front of the house, a giant banner with a picture of the property before its renovation was spread. Chip and Joanna then invite their clients to break through the banner to see their transformed home for the first time. When the homeowners do that, they Oh and Ah and are often moved to tears. I don't know if the first viewing of the renovations will move parishioners to tears, but I do expect there will be Ohs and Ahs. 

Since we began our physical renovation of the church, I've told you that a spiritual renewal of the parish was also my focus. I told you I hoped our efforts to make the church more physically welcoming would make it more spiritually welcoming, too. To do that, we need to open ourselves to a spiritual renovation.

In today's second reading, St. Paul tells the Corinthians he underwent a profound spiritual renovation when he met the risen Christ on the Road to Damascus. In his letters and the Acts of the Apostles, we hear how Paul vehemently opposed Jesus and his followers. He felt Jesus and the disciples were renegades preaching a false message opposed to Judaism. Paul, then known as Saul, was the ringleader who engaged Stephen, the first martyr, in debate and ended up stoning him to death because they accused him of blasphemy. Paul sought permission from the religious authorities in Jerusalem to go to Damascus to arrest Jesus' disciples and bring them back to the Holy City in chains. 

On the road to Damascus, Paul experienced a divine renovation. While he was traveling, the Risen Lord Jesus spoke to Paul. He knocked Paul down and asked him why he was persecuting him. As part of his transformation, Paul became blind for three days. During that time, the Risen Lord appeared to Paul. Jesus didn't convert Paul through theological debate but by sharing God's unconditional love with Paul. When Ananias came to pray over Paul and restore his sight, Paul was a new person. Like the house renovated by Chip and Joanna, Paul broke through the barrier that was his old self and was transformed into Jesus' most persuasive apostle. 

Paul says that after his conversion, he looked at life from a new perspective. He felt God took him by the hand and showed him a different set of values. Jesus had delivered him from being preoccupied with his own needs and self-centered goals and freed him to serve others. God showed Paul that the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ was a total renovation of the world. God revealed to Paul that Jesus had come to transform our world into the reign of God. Paul says that after he encountered Christ and accepted God's love, his life became a case of not judging anyone by worldly standards and conventions, but by God's love. Paul discovered that Jesus had brought a new way of thinking that would allow every Christian to encounter God's love through a relationship with Jesus. 

In today's readings, Paul tells the Corinthians:

"So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold. 

The new things have come."

The Corinthians are new creations through their baptism into the suffering and death of Jesus. God's love has radically transformed them. They are now to live for Christ and have faith in God, who has power over everything. They can participate in a whole new creation reconciled to God and radically transformed into a community of love that makes Christ present. Like Paul, they can experience deliverance from a preoccupation with hoarding goods into a life that treats everyone as a brother and sister.

As we return to our newly renovated church, Christ calls us to renew, refresh, and rebuild our relationship with him. We will begin a spiritual renovation that transforms us into people who live for Christ. We are called to participate in a whole new creation radically transformed to the point where the love of Christ governs our every action: a new creation that reconciles the world and all people to God. We must entrust ourselves to a loving, living God who cares for each of us unconditionally and wants to protect us from the storms of life. 

Our spiritual renovation can't happen if we are satisfied being a Sunday Catholic. It won't come if we are only lukewarm about our faith. Yes, weekly attendance at Mass and receiving the Eucharist are essential. We can't let anything stop us from attending Mass, even if we might be hosting family or other house guests this summer. Invite them to see the newly renovated Holy Redeemer with you. If you come here to Our Lady of Grace during the summer, it is nice too.

A consistent prayer life is essential for a spiritual renovation. We must set aside time each day for prayer and spiritual reading. If you don't pray daily, commit to as little as ten minutes every day. Find a quiet place at a good time where you won't face distractions. Invite Jesus to come and rest with you. Resist talking to Jesus and commit to listening to him instead. Listen to how Jesus encourages you to become the complete person God desires. Let God do some renovation work on you. Expand your prayer time a little more each day. Consider shooting to spend a Holy Hour with God. Use some of your prayer time to reflect on scripture or spiritual reading. I guarantee you that spending time with the Lord daily will transform you. 

As part of our spiritual renovation of the parish, we want Holy Redeemer to become a church of small groups. Being a member of a small faith-sharing group transforms many people's faith. A small faith-sharing group has from eight to ten people who regularly meet to reflect on scripture and how God works in their lives. It isn't a Bible study group, although members read from the scriptures. It isn't a catechism class, although they discuss questions of faith. It is a group that supports its members and helps each other grow as faithful Christians. It is the place where our larger church can become smaller. 

Over the spring, the church organized five small groups, and those participating are happy they are part of them. During the summer, we will emphasize organizing groups for seasonal members. If you're a seasonal resident, you can join a group in person this summer and maybe use Zoom or another tool when you return to your off-season residence. We'll also be recruiting members who are full-time parishioners for more small faith-sharing groups, so prayerfully consider joining one during the next membership drive. Even if you feel you're not a group-joining person or have had a bad experience with a group setting, consider joining a small group. You aren't required to make a lifelong commitment, but our prayer is you'll love it so much you will. 

When the coverings come off a new renovation, there is always so much to "oooh and ah." Committing yourself to deepen, renewing, and renovating your faith will cause those you contact to be so impressed with the new, more loving you; all they can do is "oooh and ah."