4th Sunday of Easter (2024)

Dream Big, Act Small. That was the strategy Jesus encouraged the Apostles to use as they set about their post-Easter mission of building up God’s Kingdom on Earth. According to Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus commissioned them when he said:

“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

Mark, in his more concise style, records Jesus’ commissioning the Apostles by saying to them:

"Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

Finally, Luke records Jesus’ statement a little differently:

“Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem."

Jesus had big plans for his disciples. He wanted them to spread the gospel everywhere in the world. Jesus could have transformed everyone into a follower using His divine powers, but he wanted it to come about through small interpersonal actions.

The disciples carried out Jesus’ plan not by establishing an exclusive club but by forming an ecclesia. As explained over the last couple of weeks, ecclesia is a Greek word for a group of people who organize themselves not for their own good but for the betterment of the greater community. They establish themselves to influence the larger community for the common good. An ecclesia isn’t so much focused on the people in the group as it is on those who aren’t part of the group.

We translate ecclesia into the English word church. Church, therefore, isn’t an organization intended to cater to its members but to encourage members to reach out to influence nonmembers to establish a relationship with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church is all about equipping fellow Christians to become influencers for Jesus.

Think about it: the church isn’t where we work to get to heaven. Jesus told his disciples if they were faithful, through their baptism, they would overcome death and share eternal life with him in heaven. Therefore, church is where we grow in faith to equip ourselves to use our influence to help others share eternal life with us.

Most influencers have a short shelf life. They are famous for a few months or years, and then someone new comes along, and they fade into oblivion. Jesus has been the world’s greatest influencer for over two thousand years. Today, a little less than four billion people claim Jesus as the driving force in their lives. Jesus even influences people of other faiths or no faith at all. Over the centuries since he lived, he has influenced every aspect of life worldwide.

Jesus is such an incredible influencer because he is such an unlikely one. He was born to a poor family in an obscure corner of the world. He never wrote a book, led an army, held high public office, or founded a multi-national corporation. Nothing about Jesus’ life suggests his power. The only explanation is that he and the church he established are divine and come from God.

Jesus wants all his followers to become incredible influencers. Last weekend, Deacon Art spoke about how influencers are good coaches. They recognize someone’s gifts and empower them to use them. A good coach helps develop a person’s hidden skills and guides and encourages them to strengthen their weaker attributes so they become better all around. Deacon Art asked us to think of some people we can coach to deepen their relationship with God.

Today, I’d like you to consider how you can be an influencer with children and young people. I had a funny experience this week. I met with a parishioner over a cup of coffee to ask him to take on a role in the parish. I telephoned him last week to set up the appointment, but I was intentionally vague about my plans for him. Once I shared my plan, he laughed and, with just a little sarcasm, said, “I was hoping it would be the youth group they can’t meet more than once a month.”

The lack of youth in our parish isn’t unique to Holy Redeemer. The demographics for the Chatham population tilt heavily to the over-65 crowd. Yet we should have more families and children coming to Mass. COVID took a severe toll on children who lost the biggest part of a year of in-person education and socialization in 2020. Research tells us they have yet to make up much of that loss, and it reflects on their academic standing and mental health. Young people need coaching in many areas of life, including developing a relationship with God. They and their families need our encouragement.

In my “From the Pastor” column in last week’s bulletin, I told you about research that finds church membership and participation are getting to be an upper-middle-class activity. Rather than a refuge for those in need, church is becoming a sanctuary for people already seeming to be doing everything right. People who are married with children, have a college education, and a professional job are the most likely to attend church. Many families in our area with children don’t fall into that category. We need to reach out and coach them so they can see they are welcome here. A few weeks ago, St. Peter’s Luthern Church in E. Harwich had an amusing sign. It read, “Come as you are. You can change inside.” That is the attitude of welcoming Jesus and the early disciples intended to share. It needs to be our attitude to families with children.

Parish parents with children need to be good coaches for them. It grieves me to see families who allow teenage children to stop coming to Mass after Confirmation. I realize it can be draining for parents to drag children to church, and it might not seem worth the struggle, but would parents allow their children to quit high school and lay in bed all day? We need to remember we are talking about our children’s immortal souls. Aren’t those souls worth the struggle? Don’t you want to enjoy heaven with all your family?

Parents can coach their children by sharing with them what touched them during Mass. Share your takeaway from Mass with each other. Was it something from the homily, the words of a song, the warm greeting you got from a fellow parishioner? Don’t expect a lengthy response from a child or teenager, but keep your eyes and ears open. You might be surprised to hear a reaction later in the day or week. If parents show that faith is important to them, their children will also catch it.

In today’s second reading from the First Letter of John, we heard God has established a parent/child relationship with each of us. God wants everyone to be part of His family. The ecclesia movement the Apostles founded aimed to be a family of all believers. No family is complete without children. Children add so much to family life. I have an eighteen-month-old grand-nephew. His presence at my family’s St. Patrick’s Day gathering was a blessing last month. He added so much life. Our highest privilege is the opportunity to partner with God to help pass our faith on to the next generation. We can’t let them lose faith or never get a chance for an introduction to it.

The parish leadership and I are working to rededicate the parish to the call to formation, education, and celebrating our faith with young people. As a parish, we must be creative in developing plans to revitalize faith formation at Holy Redeemer. The old school model doesn’t work anymore. Holding classroom sessions where children are dropped off by parents who then drive off for Sunday morning breakfast isn’t working. Parents are the primary educators of their children and need to be empowered to fulfill their role.

Since September, the parish has used a Children’s Liturgy of the Word format for our faith formation. Children come to the 10 am Mass with their parents. We dismiss children after the Opening Prayer so they can hear and reflect on the scriptures on a less adult level. They return to be with us for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This model gives parents a respite from trying to manage squirming children so parents aren’t distracted from trying to listen to the scripture readings and sermon.

It seems to be working over the next several months. We will be evaluating it. Are you an educator or a former one? Is trying to help strengthen our ministry to children and their families something weighing on your heart? We could use your input. Let me know if you can help.

Make how you and Holy Redeemer parish can better invite families to parish life one of your prayer intentions. I’m not talking about just saying an Our Father and forgetting about it, but listening to how God might be trying to plant some insights in your heart to share with the parish.

Our parish hosts the most children and families during the summer. The problem is they are only with us for a week or two. Is there some way to reach out and encourage them?

Do you have children in your neighborhood year-round or for the summer? Do you make a point of trying to get to know them? You can have conversations with them when you are in your yard or walking along the street. Just like adults, children like to tell people their stories. They enjoy having people take an interest in them. They want to hear your story, too. You can be an influencer in their lives. Invite families to church or to watch our Livestream of our Mass on our parish website once we restore it when we return to Holy Redeemer in a few weeks.

You can be an influencer with your extended family, even if they don’t live locally. In your conversation, share your experience of Mass today with them. If they visit this summer, invite them and everyone who is your guest to Mass with you. Don’t miss Mass yourself because you fear your guests don’t want to attend church. Your steadfast faith will be an example to them even if they seem disinterested.

You can be a next-generation influencer. I recently read an article about a significant increase in baptisms performed in France this Easter. At a press conference commenting on the rise, a young man baptized last Easter explained his decision to enter the Church. He said, “It is clearly the encounters, which include attentive priests, a joyful and dynamic parish community. Through them, I discovered an open and welcoming Church, and extremely diverse!”  Never underestimate your ability to be an influencer, even to only one person.