13th Sunday of Ordinary Time (2024)

In 2012, the Diocese of Orange, California, bought the famous Crystal Cathedral from the Rev. Robert Schuller’s bankrupt ministry for $58 million. The growing diocese needed a new cathedral, so it seemed like a good purchase when the renowned edifice became available. While the modern building might not fit many people’s image of a classic Catholic Cathedral, it is an outstanding architectural edifice. The price paid by the diocese was less than it would cost to try to duplicate such a building, and it preserved it as a place of worship. The Orange Diocese renovated the building and rededicated it as Christ Cathedral. 

At the time, there were critical comments that the money should have been spent on the poor. Those comments reminded me of the gospel story of the anointing of Jesus at Bethany. A version of that story is one of the rare ones that appears in all four Gospels. My favorite is the one that comes from John’s. In that version, Judas objects when the unnamed woman anoints Jesus with the costly ointment. He says the ointment should have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. Jesus responds that the woman was trying to do him honor. He said, “The poor you will always have with you.” John, the Evangelist, claims Judas was only concerned about the lavishness of the woman’s action because he held the community purse and would dip into it for his purposes. In my experience, people complaining about the church spending money on buildings do not contribute to upgrading them or helping the poor. 

As Christians, we believe all our actions must give God glory, whether caring for the needy or building beautiful buildings. Building great buildings such as the medieval Cathedrals and Renaissance Churches was not a waste of money but the vehicle for advances in engineering, arts, culture, and science. Being lavish in the buildings and decorating majestic buildings helped draw attention to God’s glory. Social action is necessary and reasonable, but even today, constructing beautiful churches and other symbols of our love for God draws attention to God and helps build up God’s reign. 

Last Saturday, in anticipation of our Sunday afternoon Sneak Preview for parishioners who donated to the Renovation Capital Campaign, a crew from the cleaning company was cleaning the church. I looked out the rectory window and saw they were finishing up, so I decided to come over to shut off the lights and lock the church. As I entered, one of the crew members, a Brazilian woman I know from her coming to clean the rectory and who cleaned the church before the renovation, was at the door. She smiled broadly and exclaimed, “Wow, Father, this church is beautiful. I think I’ll start coming here to Mass!” 

On Friday, another person paid the newly renovated church a compliment. It came from the flooring contractor. I met him at the back of the church. As we passed, he turned to me and said, “Father, this church is beautiful. I think it is the most beautiful church I’ve ever seen.” That might be just a bit of hyperbole, but it felt terrific. 

These are the type of people our renovation here at Holy Redeemer aims for. I’ve said before the church renovations aren’t aimed at making this a comfortable clubhouse for Catholics. They are to make our church welcoming and accessible to everyone. The new elevator welcomes those who are less mobile. New restrooms and other amenities add to everyone’s comfort. Our work to make our church attractive is one way to give glory to God. 

I’ve previously spoken of research by Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University and an American Baptist clergyman. He conducted a study that found religion in America is increasingly believed to be the enclave of people who have done everything right. Americans most likely to attend church regularly are those with a college degree, married with children, and a middle-class income. Those with the lowest religious affiliation haven’t graduated from high school, are separated, divorced, or never married. Decades ago, the church seemed to be a refuge for people struggling in life, but it is no longer. Now, they seem to avoid religion. 

Today’s gospel illustrates Jesus reaching out to both the religiously connected and those estranged from faith. Jesus promptly responds to Jarius, a synagogue official, who possibly would have been opposed to Jesus’ religious ideas yet pleads for him to come and heal his young daughter. On the way, Jesus reaches out to the hemorrhaging woman marginalized from her religion because of a medical condition. Her flow of blood made her unclean, and Mosaic Law restricted her from participating in her Jewish faith. Anyone who came in contact with her was also in danger of becoming unclean. Even her touching the clothes of Jesus would make him ritually impure.

For twelve long years, she has suffered from her condition. It causes her to be physically unable to bear children, which is a great stigma for her in her society. Whatever her condition is, it is also getting worse and endangering her life. Despite her handicaps, she still has faith. She has such a strong faith that she feels that if she can only touch Jesus’ tassels, she will be cured.  

It is always painful for me to hear from faithful parishioners who felt excluded from Mass because the church was inaccessible. Our renovation project aims to help people like them now reconnect with faith and the Catholic Church. 

So many people, members of your family, some of your friends, neighbors, and co-workers are like the woman with the hemorrhage or those who feel marginalized from the faithful practice of their faith because they haven’t or aren’t doing everything right in life.

All of us can help our parish reach out to the marginalized if we renovate our faith. A faith that feels participation in religion is only a duty to get over and done with every week is appealing to no one. Over the time we have been physically renovating Holy Redeemer, we have been working to offer opportunities for all our parishioners to renovate their faith. 

Renovating our faith begins by growing closer to the sacraments. Suppose we recommit ourselves to celebrating them faithfully at least every weekend, regardless of whether we are on vacation, entertaining house guests, or being house guests ourselves. In that case, we are a sign of Christ’s presence. The Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. It is the sum and summit of our Catholic faith. The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is the fountain of Grace that directs our lives and helps us do everything right and live according to God’s plan. 

Celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Confession is also essential if we want to be a sign of God’s presence in the world. If we confront our sinfulness, we can become more merciful and relate to those who don’t do everything right. Feeling the joy of God’s compassion helps us encourage other sinners to come to Jesus for healing and a fresh start in life. As part of our renovation, we moved the Reconciliation Room to make it more accessible. It doesn’t have a sign yet, but that is on our punch list. 

Daily prayer is essential for a relationship with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Take some time to reflect on your prayer life. Is it as fruitful as it could be? Is it limited to telling God of your needs and failing to listen to God? Does it need renovation? If you aren’t praying daily, today is the best day to begin.

Holy Redeemer Church is becoming a church of small faith-sharing groups, an objective of our spiritual renovation. This spring, we established several groups. Over fifty parishioners are enthusiastically participating. I’m sure joining a small group will bring about your spiritual renovation. Look around you, isn’t it beautiful? Won’t it be made even more stunning by your growing and sharing your faith?