People are the Center of Community

For I am meek and humble of heart,

and you will find rest for yourselves.

Over this last weekend in Tijuana,

we had the great privilege of being able to

build three homes for three families in need.

And there are so many more in need down there,

but it was really a wonderful opportunity to serve.

It was also great to meet these families and hear their stories;

they all had slightly different stories.

It was such a pleasure at the end of the day

when we were able to hand the keys to the families.

We held a blessing of the house each day

and there were tears of joy as they received the keys.

We also invited them for dinner

back at the compound where we were staying

and we shared a meal together getting to know each other.

We asked them all sorts of questions

after they shared their family story.

Some stories are heartbreaking.

For example, one grandmother,

who was raising her two grandsons

after her daughter was hit in a fatal accident.

Her daughter and her husband were killed but the children survived

and the grandmother was left to care for these children.

She only had a tiny little house, and this house made a huge difference.

Their stories were all different

about where they came from,

where they were born,

how long they have been living in Tijuana,

what is the toughest part of life?

Everyone had different answers to the different questions

except for one question which they all answered the exact same way.

We asked them what they liked most about Tijuana?

And without a hesitation they all answered the same thing:

The people, the people of Tijuana!

It caught us by surprise.

I don’t how many times I have answered

or I've heard other people answer the question about living here,

What is the best thing about living in the Bay Area?

Have you ever heard the answer “the people”?

Have you ever answered the people?

Ah no.   

It never even crossed my mind quite frankly.

The same is true of other parts of the country:  Boston, Denver, New York.

I have never heard “the people.”

Wow! How wise the people of Tijuana are.

The Lord says that the kingdom of God is revealed to the little ones.

Sometimes the little ones the poorer ones

have greater clarity about what is most important in life.

Because after all it is the people that matter the most.  

When people ask me about my move

from Holy Spirit Parish to St. Simon Parish

“What do you like most about St. Simon?”  

And the answer I always say is the people.  

It is the people that make St. Simon what it is.

But truth be told, you know,

what I miss most about Holy Spirit, the people!

What do I miss most about the previous parishes prior to that?

The people.

It is not the buildings; it is not the location;

or this or that but it is always the people.

It is just that the people together is what matters the most.   

I'm sure if you think about it that when people ask you

what matters most at St. Simon,

I suspect you'd say the same thing.

It is the people that make this community.

I wonder if we really doubled down on that commitment

that it was the people that made such a reputation here

that anybody who came to this parish

without hesitation said “What is the best thing? Is it the people?”

What would it take to do that for us at St. Simon?

There are a couple things that we need to do

to push it over the line.

We are going to make next year our commitment to community.

We are going to have the theme for the school and the parish:

“One community in faith.”

And we're going to work together to build up that reality

to make that into reality at every different part of our parish;

whether it be outreach or whether it be catechetics

or whether it be the school or it be youth ministry

or whether it be music or any other aspect of the parish.

We want to build the community that serves one another.

What will it take for us to do that?

Today's scripture gives us a hint of

Christ's vision for this community of faith.

We are now called to be the body of Christ and the people of God.

It is when we come to serve one another,

when we come to love one another,

when we come to be there for one another

and that we seek one another together.

How do we do that?

What is it most important in any relationship in our life?

It is not how many relationships we have,

how many friends we have,

not even how much we have and how many houses we have

or how many cars we have or what type of cars we have,

or what the job we have and how much money we earn.

What matters the most is how well we love one another.

That is always going to be the measure of our successful life as a disciple.

One of my favorite quotes is from John of the cross and he says:

“At the end of our life

we will be not measured on how well we have lived

but on how well we have loved.”

Then the question is

how do we want to make that happen in this community?

I want to give you a practical example.

Look at somebody in your life this week;

someone who is outside your immediate circle

and reach out to them and spend 15 minutes with them

talking and listening.

I gave you an acronym some weeks ago at graduation.

LOVE is an acronym for Listen, Open, Valor and Empathy.

It works here for us.

If we listen to each other, genuinely listen

and just not wait till they stop talking

but to listen to what they have to say

and be open to what will change in in our lives if we genuinely listen.

Valor is to be bold and courageous

to respond to that openness and what we have heard.

And then to have the empathy to change and to stand with somebody

which might mean we stand with them in silence

because we don't have any words that we stand as they suffer.

We just stand with them knowing

that our presence makes a difference.

Our promise to them is to love them.

Listen, open, valor and empathy.

I think it is a good starting place to be one community in faith today.

The Lord says ‘Come to me all who are burdened and labor.

Take my yoke upon your shoulder

and learn from me for I meek and humble of heart.

And you'll find rest for yourselves.”

We do that by being present to one another,

by being there for one another,

by being present in their time of suffering.

In the week ahead could we reach out to at least one person

and spend 15 minutes listening to them?

Reach out to somebody in your home, who is inside your circle

and maybe somebody who is beyond your circle and listen to their needs.

Be open to it.

Be courageous.

Be empathetic.

Love and to serve one another.

Love is what matters.

That is what will make this community.

The number one thing is people.

So love the people.

For I am meek and humble of heart,

and you will find rest for yourselves.