12th Sunday After Pentecost Homily

There are a growing amount of people that claim to be Christian, but believe that they have no need for the Church. There are others who simply see the church as the building that we worship in and fail to see it as something much greater. Others have left the Church because they find that it is filled with sinful members including the clergy and thus they are lead to believe that the Church is not perfect.

The four marks of the Church are that she is one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic. This is professed in the Nicene Creed. She is one because she is united in her belief, sacraments, worship, tradition, and leadership. She is holy because she was established by Christ who shares His divine grace with each of us. She is Catholic because she is universal through baptism and the necessity of proclaiming Christ to the entire human race. She is apostolic because Christ chose to found it upon His apostles. 

We notice in our Gospel that the good samaritan brought the man to the inn and gave the innkeeper two pence to further take care of his needs. Christ is the Good Samaritan who lifts us out of our sin and has entrusted us to the care of the inn which is the Church. The innkeeper is those who have been called to leadership in the Church for they are to take care of the truths that have been extended to their care by Christ.

The Church continues to be important for each of us. The Church is made up of sinful humans and bad clergy who have done terrible things. Nevertheless, she is not less holy for she was established by Christ. Thankfully we can proclaim this because despite all the short comings of her members she remains that refuge that each of us are in need of. Through her care we come to be nourished by the sacraments and escorted to Everlasting Life.

The church is the building consecrated by God that we gather to worship, but the Church is also the universal body of believers who have been joined together by baptism. Other faith traditions have a small understanding of church while we enter into and know the universal reality of the Church. She is found throughout the whole world and includes each of us, those souls in purgatory for whom we now pray, and the souls of the faithful who are in Heaven. Again through her care we come to be protected and escorted to Heaven where we will join with God forever.

The Church is important for us because through the reality of the Church we enter into deeper relation with Christ. It is He who left us in the care of the inn that is the Church. In the Church we continue to be nourished by the sacraments and receive the outpouring of God’s grace. Great empires and kingdoms have come and gone, but the Church remains. The Church is one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic. It is she who is important for each of us. Let us enter more fully into the life of the Church.