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.
