A Homily for the Annual Blue Mass offered for First Responders, Armed Forces and Veterans
Prince of Peace Catholic Church
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Revelation 12:7-12; Psalm 138; Matthew 25:31-46
Audio Recording
Welcome to all of you here today! We are here to give thanks for your tireless service to our community and our country. My name is Deacon Scott Maentz, and I’m a newcomer to Sun City Center. Since my wife and I moved here in April, we’ve heard so many good things about all of you and the services you so tirelessly provide to our community.
While we, thankfully, have not had need of our EMT’s and Emergency Squad’s medical services or the services of our Firefighters, we are certainly comforted to know you are just a call away if we ever do need you. We are also comforted to see the vigilant monitoring of our neighborhood streets by our Security Patrol and the faithful presence around town of our law enforcement officers. I can honestly say that we have never lived anywhere where we have felt so safe and secure in our home, our neighborhood and in our community at large.
We are also so grateful to the members of our active armed forces and for our veterans who gave so much to protect this wonderful country and our freedoms. Allow me to offer my sincere thanks to each of you for all that you do and all you have done! Thank you! (applaud)
In our first reading today from the Book of Revelation, John tells us about a great war in heaven between the angelic beings. We’re told that the outcome of the battle between the archangel Michael and the dragon is that the dragon and its angels are defeated and lose their place in heaven, and are thrown down to earth.
This defeat, however, does not yet render Satan and his minions powerless. For awhile they continue to have power and influence here on earth.
I know that each of you encounters the effects of evil in in your service to our community. Evil manifests in illness, criminal behavior, accidents, confusion, hatred and more. Anything that threatens our lives or causes people to act against God’s holy will can be thought of as a manifestation of evil.
To be sure, each of you has stories about your personal encounters with evil and its effects on the good citizens of Sun City Center. The thing for us to remember is that while still active, evil, sin and death HAVE BEEN DEFEATED by Christ on the cross and will be totally annihilated at Christ’s second coming. This is our faith, this is our hope. Knowing this is how we gain our strength to keep fighting the good fight against evil in the world.
The reading we just heard from Matthew’s gospel speaks to us about how everything will culminate when Christ returns at the end of time. We might think of it as a spoiler in this great story of life we find ourselves living.
It opens with Christ sitting on his glorious throne with all of his angels with him and with all of the nations assembled before him. All of us, along with everyone who has ever lived, will be there.
And what happens next? We’re told that all of humanity will be separated into one of two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Most of us are very familiar with this scripture. Who can tell me if we want to be in the group of sheep or the group of goats?
That’s right, Jesus tells us that the sheep on his right represent the saints and the goats on his left represent those who are NOT counted among the elect.
Then the cause of this is separation is revealed. Whatever else might be said of the righteous, they have led lives of generosity and compassion toward others. They supplied basic human needs to the hungry and thirsty of the world. They took in a stranger, put clothes on the naked, sat at the bedside of the ill, and helped comfort those in prison. Serving their fellow human beings through acts of kindness and mercy has secured their heavenly inheritance. Those counted among the goats did not do these things for others.
We are also told by Jesus that the sheep are surprised to learn that in caring for those in need, they have cared for the Lord himself. Jesus says to them, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” Wow!
My dear friends in Christ, when you serve those in need, you are certainly caring for Christ himself! You are LITERALLY ministering to him. As Mother Teresa once said, “Whenever I meet someone in need, it’s really Jesus in his most distressing disguise.”
As first responders, our community’s Law Enforcement Officers, Security Patrol, Firefighters and EMTs, you actually serve Christ by serving our community, by keeping it safe and by assisting those who have suffered personal trauma or tragedy. We remember the members of our Armed Forces serving in harm’s way around the world today and our Veterans who also served Christ when you defended our great country from the evil that wants to eliminate our freedom, our democracy, our way of life.
Our responsibility as Christians is to serve those in need, it is our calling in life. And we must attend not only to their material needs, but also to their spiritual needs. We must be Christ to them as we serve them, treating them with care and compassion, regardless of the poor decisions they may have made that has brought them to their current state in life. We must treat everyone with mercy, just as Christ deals mercifully with each of us.
And when this life of service we lead becomes difficult, and we all know that it often is difficult, for both ourselves and for our families, let’s remember what’s at stake. Always remember why you do what you do. You are ultimately doing what you do for Christ and his kingdom.
What we do now, how we live our short life here on earth, really does have eternal consequences. We must continue to fight the good fight against evil and it’s influence in our world today. Let’s keep this front of mind as we do our best every day to oppose evil in all of its manifestations and to live our lives so as to be counted among the sheep on the day of judgment.
Again, heartfelt thanks to all of you for your service and for doing your best to be good Christian soldiers. May God bless each and every one of you, protect you from harm, and bring you to everlasting life in the Kingdom of God.
Amen.