Many people ask me how a priest figures out how to preach
everyday. I follow a few rules to
assist me. First, brevity is
best. Second, I must make fun of
Fr. Rich. Finally—and the most
serious—is what St. Paul states in his second letter to the Corinthians: “For we do not preach ourselves but
Jesus Christ as Lord…” A priest or deacon must always preach Jesus—neither himself,
an agenda nor anything else. This is
also true for all of you as you live your promoting not yourself, but Jesus.
St.
Paul has another nugget we must all live by: “Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is freedom.” We are able to
live in freedom when we follow Jesus’ teachings—especially those on which we
currently meditate from the Sermon on the Mount.
In
this great discourse, Jesus fulfills the Old Law and teaches that in order for
us to be free, we must live in love with God and neighbor. We must not live in accord with a
simple checklist of do’s and don’ts, but to treat others as we wish to be
treated and God above all else.
Today,
may we both follow the example of St. Paul by preaching Jesus Christ and not
ourselves, and also live in the freedom of the Spirit.
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