Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B.

Change is hard for people.   They don't like it when things change.  So many times I have heard someone declare "That's it!  I'm going to church somewhere else."   Or the even more dramatic "I'm not going to come here till he is gone!"   That second one is often an excuse never to go there again.   Even when that person is gone, they don't come back.   The question is:  Why do we go to Church? 

We don't go to Mass for ourselves.   That's a very unpopular statement.  It isn't about getting something out of it, but about giving something back.  We go to Mass to worship Jesus Christ.   It is for Him and what He has done, is doing, and will do in the future, that we gather together and sing His praises.   So all of those statements:

"I don't like the music."
"The Pastor isn't nice."
"I can't understand that guy when he speaks."
"I just don't feel good when I am there."
"They changed the way we do this, and I think I'm leaving."

They all start with the wrong thing.  These statements all begin with self, I.   They forget that it's not about me.   It's about Him.   All of those things can be annoying to ourselves.   Sure, it's nice to have someone you understand and get along with in charge.   It's nice to get a recharge of our spiritual cup, which happens more often than not.   It is beautiful when the music is well performed and uplifting.  All of those things are good things, but they are not what it's about.

Is God's grace enough?  Saint Paul desired to rid himself of some nagging issue that he had with his body.   Some think maybe his eyesight was going or he was in chronic pain.   Regardless of what it was, it stayed there and annoyed him.   Those thorns in our Church homes?   What if they are there to sanctify us?   "Your grace is enough for me."   Why are you there?  Jesus?  Or yourself?  Is Jesus not enough?

The key to all of this is found in today's Psalm reading.   Humility.  Being able to not make it about you, and to remind yourself that God is in charge.  This community is our Parish home.   It is where he wants us.  There is no Church shopping in Catholicism.  You don't look for someone who agrees with you or with different beliefs, because we have one set of beliefs and One Church.    Are we humble enough to get out of the way and say: "This is my home, these are my spiritual family"?  Lord give us all a spirit of humility, which we might be able to look at the world the way you do.