{"id":2232,"date":"2008-01-18T22:26:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-18T22:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2008\/01\/homily-for-january-20-2008-2nd-sunday-of-ordinary-time.html"},"modified":"2008-01-18T22:26:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-18T22:26:00","slug":"homily-for-january-20-2008-2nd-sunday-of-ordinary-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/01\/homily-for-january-20-2008-2nd-sunday-of-ordinary-time.html","title":{"rendered":"Homily for January 20, 2008: 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Last winter, the Washington Post decided to try something unusual. <\/p>\n

A reporter wanted to see what would happen if they hired a world famous violinist to play during rush hour on a Washington subway platform. Would anybody notice? Would anybody stop and listen? Would they toss any money into his violin case?<\/p>\n

To take part in this experiment, they enlisted Joshua Bell \u2013 by many accounts, one of the greatest violinists of his generation. He\u2019s recorded a number of best-selling albums, plays around the world and routinely collects thousands of dollars for one performance. He\u2019s young \u2013 just 39 \u2013 and recognizable. Bell thought the idea sounded like fun, so he agreed to do it. <\/p>\n

So one morning last year, he put on jeans and sweatshirt and went down into the DC subway during rush hour. He unpacked one of his most prized possessions — a Stradivarius violin, worth an estimated three million dollars. He opened the case to collect some money, and started playing. He played Bach. He played Schubert\u2019s \u201cAve Maria.\u201d He played a series of classical pieces by Manuel Ponce and Jules Massenet. Once in a while, someone would hurry past and throw some pennies in his case. At one point, a little boy paused, enthralled, but his mother pulled him away. <\/p>\n

No one stopped to listen to the most beautiful music in the world being played by one of the most gifted musicians in the world on a three million dollar violin. <\/p>\n

Nobody noticed. They were too busy running to work. <\/p>\n

For his 45 minutes, Joshua Bell collected $32 in change. <\/p>\n

When the Washington Post published the article about all this, the reporter quoted the poet W.H. Davies: <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this morning\u2019s gospel, we encounter John the Baptist at a moment when he does<\/i> have time to stand and stare. He sees Jesus walking toward him and says, very simply, \u201cBehold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.\u201d He recognizes Jesus for who He is. John sounds a little bit amazed at himself \u2013 twice, he says, \u201cI did not know him.\u201d But finally, he comes to the realization: \u201cI have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.\u201d <\/p>\n

He saw the signs. He understood their meaning. <\/p>\n

Could any of us say the same?<\/p>\n

If we saw Christ approaching us\u2026would we realize who He was? <\/p>\n

Or would we \u2013 like the thousands of people who passed by Joshua Bell during
rush hour \u2013 just keep going, blind and deaf to what was before us?<\/p>\n

Would we hear the music? <\/p>\n

We just completed National Vocations Awareness Week, when the church tries to get all of us to think more deeply and seriously about religious vocations. I don\u2019t need to tell you we have a serious crisis in vocations in this country. We are desperate for priests, and deacons, and nuns. People who will carry the faith to others in a profound and very particular way. <\/p>\n

But I would suggest that one reason we\u2019re in this crisis is because too many of us are not seeing Christ as John the Baptist did. We are not recognizing Him when he approaches us. We are not understanding the signs. We\u2019re too busy, too distracted, too pre-occupied with just racing through to catch the train and get on with life. <\/p>\n

We\u2019re not hearing the music. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s customary when you talk about vocations to try and reach the young \u2013 people who are still choosing a path in life. <\/p>\n

But I\u2019d like to address my thoughts this morning to the not-so-young. Because vocations aren\u2019t like milk. They don\u2019t have an expiration date. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m a perfect example. I didn\u2019t really sense God\u2019s call until I had already lived half of my life. <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until my 40s that I finally heard the music. And stopped. And listened. <\/p>\n

I read the other day about a man in Wisconsin who is 57 years old. He was an insurance agent, and a waiter, and a husband, and a father. He\u2019s now a widower. And in June he will be ordained a priest. That kind of story is becoming more common. <\/p>\n

Maybe, just maybe, someone here this morning knows exactly what I\u2019m talking about, and is sensing the first stirrings of a vocation, the first inkling of possibility. <\/p>\n

Maybe, for the first time, you are hearing something you\u2019ve never heard before. Noticing something you\u2019ve never noticed before. <\/p>\n

Maybe you aren\u2019t in your 20s anymore. Maybe you think you\u2019re too old. <\/p>\n

You aren\u2019t. <\/p>\n

You are never too old to begin fulfilling God\u2019s dream for you. <\/p>\n

So look. And listen. And look again. <\/p>\n

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?<\/i><\/p>\n

We could all ask ourselves that question \u2013 and ask ourselves, as well, if we see what the Baptist saw. <\/p>\n

Do we recognize Christ when He approaches us? <\/p>\n

Do we acknowledge Him in the way we live our lives? <\/p>\n

Do we see Him in those around us? <\/p>\n

In a few moments, we will be challenged to see Him in the most unlikely and most humble of things \u2013 a tiny sliver of bread. The priest will hold it up before us and speak the same words as John the Baptist. <\/p>\n

\u201cBehold the Lamb of God.\u201d <\/p>\n

John says those words with awe and with love \u2013 and, I have to think, with joy. <\/p>\n

Let it be our prayer this morning to experience that same awe and love and joy — to behold the Lamb of God the same way. <\/p>\n

And let us pray, as well, to hear the music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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