(originally published in 2016 Vernacular)
Have you ever driven by a field of sunflowers in the morning with the sun rising in the eastern sky? They lift their drooping Heads and awake as if from slumber and they bask in the rays of the sun as it crests into the sky. The field ignites into a fire of yellow as they follow the movement of that morning star. Like paparazzi following a Hollywood Star they strain their necks throughout the day as they turn their heads to follow the sun. Then at night, they return to their slumber, waiting for the rays light and heat to reawaken them to their mission: to face the sun and follow its path.
But what if 58% of that field’s flowers were missing? What if 6 out of every 10 flowers were gone? Perhaps the field experienced a gully-wash of a flash flood, the trauma of a tornado or simply a drought of water? Or what if every flower, struck by some disease, was missing 6 out of every 10 leaves? Rather than the full fanfare of leaves receiving the rays of the sun like a solar panel, there were only 42% of the leaves flipping in the wind, less supported from the absence of their counterparts.
And yet this is what happening at Mass. 58% of our parish has developed the habit of missing Sunday Mass. Like a field of sunflowers that has experienced some tragedy, our community is not fully engaging in the third commandment, “Keep holy the Lord’s Day.” And we are less without you.
What is one petal to a full sunflower? What is one flower to a field of sunflowers? Admittedly, if it were a matter of one petal or one flower it would not seem to effect the whole. In the same way, an individual Christian, who on a Sunday morning (or Saturday night) may think to themselves, “I’m too tired, I’m too busyto go to Mass. After all, what’s one person to a full congregation?” The answer is this: we are always less without you. You see, we are not talking about one petal or one flower; we are talking about a field that has been hit by a serious cataclysm. Our community has been hit by the gully-wash of a consumerist culture, the tornado of endless activity or the drought of apathy. Workaholic and exhausted; over-committed and frazzled; disengaged and distant; many have come to consider themselves as unmissed, unnoticed or unengaged. But this is not so.
We are less without you. Even if 99% of us were going to Mass, we would still be less without you. Please, please, please do not miss Mass. Hear the words of Scripture when it says, “We should not stay away from the assembly, as is the custom of some, but should encourage one another all the more as we see the day draw near” (Heb 10:25). The day of salvation is drawing near and Christ is the Morning Star who deserves our praise and adoration. Just as a sunflower’s mission is to face the sun and follow its path, so too, we are called to face the Son and follow His path. We are disciples of the Lord and, as disciples, we are called to lift our heads and bask in His rays because he is is the true “light of the world.” And we each belong to a community, a field of flowers so to speak, that, when we all turn toward the Lord, ignites the world on fire with the light of his love and the heart of his compassion. And the fact is this: without you, we are less.
Father Jarrod Lies, Pastor