Homilies

Due to a late start today I ended up attending church at a parish other than my usual one. A very significant portion of the homily was on a particular text: "Seasons of Love", from the musical Rent. He sang it, and explained the song as he went. Now, he did eventually have a point that had to do with the First Sunday in Advent, by talking briefly about the liturgical calendar, but I confess my view is that, excellent though the song is, the homily of the Holy Mass is perhaps not the most appropriate time to burst into singing one's favorite show tune. It is certainly true that not every priest can be an Augustine or a Chrysostom, and I am willing to make very generous accommodation for that, but I look somewhat askance at outsourcing the substantive content of one's homily to Broadway.

At least it was Broadway. I remember an Easter Vigil homily one year -- Easter Vigil being for all practical purposes the most important liturgical event of the year -- in which a chunk of time, mercifully small, but very prominently placed, was spent discussing the movie Bruce Almighty. I suppose these sorts of things arise from a misplaced urge to be relevant to something or other, or to make a point simply and memorably, when in reality this approach does very little to bring the topic home or to make the topic itself memorable. The key to relevance and memorableness alike is kairos, which is to say, the right time. It's not the effort that falls flat; there are just better things to do in context.

In any case, having to endure people singing songs from musicals while in Church is a small enough admission charge, and perhaps a suitable occasion to exercise my sense of humor and avoid taking myself or anyone else over-seriously. As this is a benefit that deserves to be shared, I present you the primary text of the homily I heard for the First Sunday of Advent:



How did your Advent start out?