Word to the Wise
Sunday, February 5, 2012 - 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Job 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39,132]If I preach the gospel, this is no reason to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then IHave been entrusted with a stewardship.
My full time ministry is itinerant preaching. I travel all over the south and sometimes beyond to preach events like parish missions and retreats. Unlike St. Paul, this ministry did not come to me suddenly on some "road to Damascus." One day a phone call came in to the office looking for a priest to preach a parish mission, and I decided that "there's always a first time." The same was true of getting started in preaching retreats to priests and deacons and others. A chance phone call and invitation got me started on this. Again I said, "There's always a first time!" Those "first times" led to other times and I gradually developed the ministry that I do now. I cannot put myself into the zeal of St. Paul, but my membership in the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) does make me conscious of the desire to be an effective preacher. As St. Dominic put it, "to be useful to souls." St. Paul's conviction, however, goes beyond simply the verbal proclamation of the gospel.
I fully believe that all baptized Christians are called to be preachers. When St. Paul speaks of becoming all things to all people in order to save some, he is mentioning a difficult challenge that any pastor has. Yet, if we all had a kind of collective consciousness that we are called to be preachers, the task of evangelization would be infinitely easier. The sad fact is that too many of us would prefer to be passive or feel intimidated by speaking to an audience. But pulpit preaching is not the only kind, even if we need some vast improvement in its quality and a greater awareness of its power. There are the everyday opportunities to become "all things to all people" when we give an encouraging word, even a "God bless you!" We cannot leave the task of preaching to clergy or other official persons. My online preaching is a sign of the importance I give to my vocation as a Dominican preacher, but it arises from the same thing that we all share: baptism. Try this simple test. Before going to Mass on Sunday, look at the scriptures for the day and say, "If I was going to say something about this, what would I say?" Then go to church and see if your preacher agrees! Your own awareness of your preaching vocation may come alive! "There's always a first time!" AMEN