I heard two Sunday homilies this weekend, with a striking difference. One was written in advance and delivered with gusto, the other was a complete tirade delivered off the cuff. One was well organized and directed in terms of delivering the message, the other rambled from point to point. One used precise language, the other was delivered in an extremely casual fashion.
Guess what homily mentioned Jesus? The one that was planned and calculated.
I’d like to propose some guidelines for any priest that might be listening.
1. Plan your homily. Write it down even, and read it with fervor. You will say what you mean and mean what you say. Words mean things. If you don’t plan out your homily down to the last word, you risk miscommunicating and miscontruing your message.
2. Talk about Jesus. Your homily is not about you or how you feel. With a less educated and less holy crowd, you need to get to the heart of the message: God on Earth, Jesus Christ in flesh and blood among us. Every discussion of theology and morality needs to be rooted in Jesus Christ.
3. Don’t get angry without planning to be angry during your homily. The tirade I heard on Saturday evening was truly depressing. The priest was bitterly talking about abortion votes of Virginia politicians, about how the Church has been dragged through the mud in the media – all in the context of the fraternal correction passages of this week. It was very ineffective simply because there was no context for the anger – it wasn’t righteous indignation, it was a bully pulpit. Righteous indignation is just fine and can be effective in getting people to change their ways. But if you just sound bitter and angry without a sacred context then you are doing a great disservice.
That’s all for now… time to walk the doggie.