Pope Benedict XVI presided a big outdoor Mass at Freiburg's touristic airport just
outside the south west German city. This is the final Mass of the Holy Father's four
day visit to his homeland and comes on the last day of his trip. The following is
the text of his Homily:
Dear Brothers and Sisters, It is moving for me
to be here once again to celebrate this Eucharist, this Thanksgiving, with so many
people from different parts of Germany and the neighbouring countries. We offer our
thanks above all to God, in whom we live and move. But I would also like to thank
all of you for your prayers that the Successor of Peter may continue to carry out
his ministry with joy and faithful hope, and that he may strengthen his brothers in
faith.
“Father, you show your almighty power in your mercy and forgiveness”,
as we said in today’s Collect. In the first reading we heard how God manifested the
power of his mercy in the history of Israel. The experience of the Babylonian Exile
caused the people to fall into a crisis of faith: Why did this calamity happen? Perhaps
God was not truly powerful?
There are theologians who, in the face of all
the terrible things that happen in the world today, say that God cannot be all-powerful.
In response to this we profess God, the all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth.
We are glad and thankful that God is all-powerful. At the same time, we have to be
aware that he exercises his power differently from the way we normally do. He has
placed a limit on his power, by recognizing the freedom of his creatures. We are
glad and thankful for the gift of freedom. However, when we see the terrible things
that happen as a result of it, we are frightened. Let us put our trust in God, whose
power manifests itself above all in mercy and forgiveness. Let us be certain, dear
faithful, that God desires the salvation of his people. He desires our salvation.
He is always close to us, especially in times of danger and radical change, his heart
aches for us and he reaches out to us. We need to open ourselves to him so that the
power of his mercy can touch our hearts. We have to be ready to abandon evil, to
raise ourselves from indifference and make room for his word. God respects our freedom.
He does not constrain us.
In the Gospel Jesus takes up this fundamental
theme of prophetic preaching. He recounts the parable of the two sons invited by
their father to work in the vineyard. The first son responded: “‘I will not go’,
but afterward he repented and went.” Instead the other son said to the father: “‘I
go, sir,’ but did not go.” When asked by Jesus which of the two sons did the father’s
will, those listening respond: “the first” (Mt 21:29-31). The message of the parable
is clear: it is not words that matter, but deeds, deeds of conversion and faith.
Jesus directs this message to the chief priests and elders of the people, that is,
to the experts of religion for the people of Israel. At first they say “yes” to God’s
will, but their piety becomes routine and God no longer matters to them. For this
reason they find the message of John the Baptist and the message of Jesus disturbing.
The Lord concludes his parable with harsh words: “Truly, the tax collectors and the
harlots go into the Kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of
righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots
believed him, and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him”
(Mt 21:32). Translated into the language of our time, this statement might sound
something like this: agnostics, who are constantly exercised by the question of God,
those who long for a pure heart but suffer on account of our sin, are closer to the
Kingdom of God than believers whose life of faith is “routine” and who regard the
Church merely as an institution, without letting their hearts be touched by faith.
The
words of Jesus should make us all pause, in fact they should disturb us. However,
this is by no means to suggest that everyone who lives in the Church and works for
her should be considered far from Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Absolutely not!
On the contrary, this is a time to offer a word of profound gratitude to the many
co-workers, employees and volunteers, without whom life in the parishes and in the
entire Church would be hard to imagine. The Church in Germany has many social and
charitable institutions through which the love of neighbour is practised in ways that
bring social benefits and reach to the ends of the earth. I would like to express
my gratitude and appreciation to all those working in Caritas Germany and in other
church organizations who give their time and effort generously in voluntary service
to the Church. In the first place, such service requires objective and professional
expertise. But in the spirit of Jesus’ teaching something more is needed – an open
heart that allows itself to be touched by the love of Christ, and thus gives to our
neighbour, who needs us, something more than a technical service: it gives love, in
which the other person is able to see Christ, the loving God. So let us ask ourselves,
how is my personal relationship with God: in prayer, in participation at Sunday Mass,
in exploring my faith through meditation on sacred Scripture and study of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church? Dear friends, in the last analysis, the renewal of the Church
will only come about through openness to conversion and through renewed faith.
The
Gospel for this Sunday speaks of two sons, but behind them, in a mysterious way, there
is a third son. The first son says “no,” but does the father’s will. The second
son says “yes,” but does not do what he was asked. The third son both says “yes”
and does what he was asked. This third son is the Only-begotten Son of God, Jesus
Christ, who has gathered us all here. Jesus, on entering the world, said: “Lo, I
have come to do thy will, O God” (Heb 10:7). He not only said “yes”, he acted on
it. As the Christological hymn from the second reading says: “Though he was in the
form of God, [Jesus] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied
himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being
found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death
on a Cross” (Phil. 2: 6-8). In humility and obedience, Jesus fulfilled the will of
the Father and by dying on the Cross for his brothers and sisters, he saved us from
our pride and obstinacy. Let us thank him for his sacrifice, let us bend our knees
before his name and proclaim together with the disciples of the first generation:
“Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:11).
The
Christian life must continually measure itself by Christ: “Have this mind among yourselves,
which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5), as Saint Paul says in the introduction
to the Christological hymn. A few verses before, he exhorts his readers: “So if there
is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit,
any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the
same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (Phil 2:1-2). Just as Christ was
totally united to the Father and obedient to him, so too the disciples must obey God
and be of one mind among themselves. Dear friends, with Paul I dare to exhort you:
complete my joy by being firmly united in Christ. The Church in Germany will overcome
the great challenges of the present and future, and it will remain a leaven in society,
if the priests, consecrated men and women, and the lay faithful, in fidelity to their
respective vocations, work together in unity, if the parishes, communities, and movements
support and enrich each other, if the baptized and confirmed, in union with their
bishop, lift high the torch of untarnished faith and allow it to enlighten their abundant
knowledge and skills. The Church in Germany will continue to be a blessing for the
entire Catholic world: if she remains faithfully united with the Successors of Saint
Peter and the Apostles, if she fosters cooperation in various ways with mission countries
and allows herself to be “infected” by the joy that marks the faith of these young
Churches.
To his exhortation to unity, Paul adds a call to humility: “Do nothing
from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others”
(Phil 2:3-4). Christian life is a life for others: existing for others, humble service
of neighbour and of the common good. Dear friends, humility is a virtue that does
not enjoy great esteem today. But the Lord’s disciples know that this virtue is,
so to speak, the oil that makes the process of dialogue fruitful, cooperation simple
and unity sincere. The Latin word for humility, humilitas, is derived from humus
and indicates closeness to the earth. Those who are humble stand with their two feet
on the ground, but above all they listen to Christ, the Word of God, who ceaselessly
renews the Church and each of her members.
Let us ask God for the courage
and the humility to walk the path of faith, to draw from the riches of his mercy,
and to fix our gaze on Christ, the Word, who makes all things new and is for us “the
way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6): he is our future. Amen.