My Easter homily this year centered on the question of “Why do you believe?” We have all, at one time or another, answered the question of “what do you believe?” We believe in God, the Church, the Pope. Some of us believe in very important things like baseball and chocolate (milk, not dark!). Think for a moment about your most important beliefs. Get those in your head. Now ask why you believe those things.
In my homily, I told the story of how I was visiting a church in Florida recently and I came upon a daily Mass. The priest was talking about belief. At one point, he said, “Do you want to know why I believe? I believe because I am in a line of storytellers. Someone before me told a story about Jesus Christ. Someone before him did the same thing, and someone before him. This line of storytellers has continued from the time of Christ to now. I have become one of those storytellers. That is why I believe. The people before me were so convinced of the story of Christ, how could I not believe?” That thought captivated me ever since I first heard it. “I believe because I am in the line of storytellers.” This Easter season puts before us 50 days of opportunities to hear again and again this great story of our faith and will hopefully inspire us to be good storytellers. This is the greatest story that has ever been told and we have the responsibility to tell the story to others and to tell it well.
The Sunday after Easter, I had the chance to celebrate Mass in my home parish in New Jersey. Much has changed about the parish from the time that I grew up there. The congregation has dwindled and the church is showing its age more and more. Yet I was struck by the fact that this was the church where the great story was told to me. From the moment of baptism, to the reception of the sacraments, to my education in the parish school, I was immersed in this tremendous story of our faith.
I hope that here in the midst of this community of faith, you find nourishment for your soul as the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is told through the Word proclaimed, the Eucharist received and our communal life together. I hope this place nourishes your belief and helps you to get to the core of that question: “Why do you believe?” We are all in the line of storytellers. And who does not like a good story? However, this is just not a good story, it is a great one, the best one I know.