As you know, I was ordained a bishop in Prince Albert Saskatchewan about 4 ½ years ago. At my farewell celebration there a few weeks ago, I received many thoughtful and beautiful gifts from people. I would like to show you one of these gifts. It was made by a member of the staff at the diocese who burnishes wood as a hobby.
I didn’t know that she had this craft but my going away elicited this bit of daring and risk to share her hidden talent. It’s a wooden plaque with words and a picture etched on it.
At first, being a fellow who often lives in my head, I noticed the message, the words from Scripture that are hovering in the sky. It’s a quote from the Prophet Jeremiah: For I know the plans I have for you. (Jer 29:11) I found that this word of God consoled me in this time of transition as I was called to move from one diocese to another.
Pope Leo’s letter announcing my appointment as Archbishop of Edmonton uses a dramatic phrase: We name and appoint you Archbishop of Edmonton having severed your bond with your former diocese. Four and a half years ago, God severed my bond with the Archdiocese of Edmonton – where I was ordained a priest – in order to serve as the Bishop of Prince Albert. Now God was severing my bond with PA and sending me back to Edmonton.
For I know the plans I have for you. These words written in the sky on my plaque point to a mysterious and wise providence of God that knows what he is doing even if it challenges and puzzles us.
So, the word. I noticed the consoling words first. Then I noticed the mountains. Saskatchewan doesn’t have mountains; Alberta does and these fir trees. It’s a souvenir of my time in Saskatchewan for sure but its pointing to my past and future here (and maybe an uphill climb in search of the God who loves us.)
The third thing I saw about this gift was that it is a slice of a tree, and you can see the rings – one for each year of its life. It is a snapshot of the complete life of the tree that has died and been severed at a certain time.
God already sees our end, and we can have confidence in the plans he has for us.
Can I tell you one more thing about this thoughtful gift? The maker told me humbly that she wasn’t satisfied with her gift and kept redoing it. So, every member of her family got a version of this plaque, and I received the final one! The very kind idea of giving a gift to encourage one person multiplied into a gift for many.
I think the Scriptures for this Liturgy of my Installation as archbishop help us to reflect on God’s plan and the gift God intends for the Many through his Son Jesus Christ. They carry the message of this beautiful plaque full of meaning and help us read what God is doing here and now.
In our first reading, God knows Jeremiah before he forms him in the womb. That means God makes Jeremiah with a vocation, a mission in mind. Fearful of the demands of God’s plan (and perhaps the unhappy ending of most of God’s prophets) Jeremiah protests his youth, his unsuitability. But God puts his words into the prophet’s mouth. Being a light to the nations, fulfilling God’s word to him, does not seem so impossible if God will indeed give what he asks.
Jeremiah’s call certainly points to the greater mission of the Messiah that we see etched out in Jesus’ return to his hometown of Nazareth. God does not just put words in Jesus’ mouth. Jesus is God’s Son, God’s Word made flesh. He is the Word, the Plan of God for humanity. And it is in this One Word of God that each of us will discover God’s goodness, beauty and truth made flesh for us. God’s Word Jesus Christ will illuminate and elucidate our life, call us to back God and to our true self. Jesus is the Source and Standard of sanctity, the Architect and Blueprint of God’s kingdom in this world.
The people of Nazareth struggle to accept Jesus in all his fulness as Son of God in the Gospel tonight. At first, they are proud to receive their homegrown boy who has done so well elsewhere in turning hearts to the plan of God. But when he starts to challenge the people of Nazareth to a deeper faith, they are offended and question his identity and mission: Is not this Joseph’s son?
God always planned that his people would be a light for the nations. Jesus Christ is certainly that Light made visible. Through him, with him, and in him, we can become light and leaven, bread and salt for the world. The Nazarenes could not accept Jesus as this Light from God nor their own call to be a gift shaped and etched by Jesus.
Their rejection of him in the Gospel at the very beginning of his public ministry is a sign already of the end, the Cross, the tree cut down, and his gift of love that will redeem and reshape Nazareth and the world. God’s plan for us is to be children in the Son of God, light in the Light. This takes refining and practice, growth in understanding and virtue. With Christ’s help, we can become a gift for the Many.
I have to say that I am deeply humbled to be sent back to Nazareth (to be sent home) as Christ’s ambassador with the Gospel of reconciliation as St. Paul describes it. A Gospel of reconciliation implies and involves a call to holiness. Our world needs saints and Servants as much as it ever did and perhaps more. In a so-called postmodern, even post-Christian world, many of our contemporaries think that they know all about Christ but have just a partial image of him and his Church. Sadly, many are happy to drive him far from their Nazareth. Others aren’t remotely interested in who he is or if he is in town. Jesus is like the Invisible Man in much of public discourse. But saints are interesting and help others to see the beautiful and intriguing Face of Christ. Saints invite trust in the whole plan of God for us and the many dyings and risings that make us into other Christs.
I’m not worried about you trying to throw your new Archbishop off the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, well, not too worried! But, if I am an ambassador for Christ with a message of reconciliation, then that is also a call for all of us to seek holiness. Together we will have to grapple with what needs forgiving, the obstacles and hurts, and discern a path of deeper faithfulness to God. The Gospel is not always comfortable. Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful, an old ad on TV used to say when I was a child. Don’t hate me because Christ is Beautiful and calls us to his extraordinary life of grace, true freedom, and obedience to God’s plans.
I am deeply honoured and filled with joy to be entrusted with shepherding God’s vibrant people in Edmonton. The faith of the clergy and people of this Archdiocese had a huge impact on my own maturing in Christ and helped me to discover my vocation to serve God as a priest. I am here largely because of your faith, your gift to me. I have to say: it is still a little unreal to be sent to you as your Archbishop. I want you to know that I return with an immense sense of gratitude and a burning desire to foster the life of Christ in our people and institutions. A bishop is not alone responsible for the Church’s mission. I am very aware and encouraged by the fact that we are in this together. I will rely on your prayers, help, experience, and gifts – together with my own – to discern the path forward and discover God’s plans for us.
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