Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Many of you know how much I have grown to appreciate bourbon over the past year or so. I had tried bourbon years ago, and would drink it occasionally since I was a priest, but ever since I started the Kentucky Bourbon Trail last September as part of my 40th birthday celebrations, I have really gotten into bourbon as my liquor of choice (always enjoy responsibly!). In fact, this past week I was down in Kentucky again, finishing the Kentucky Craft Distillery tour.
Among bourbon connoisseurs there is one bourbon that always comes up. People usually have mixed reactions to it, but it is one of the most sought-after bourbons in the US, and likely the world. That bourbon brand is Pappy Van Winkle. I won’t go into all the reasons, but Pappy Van Winkle is very hard to find, and when you can find it, it’s expensive, whether by the pour or by the bottle. A couple of weeks ago a Catholic who has done quite well for himself invited me over to his house in Grand Ledge for a bourbon tasting, and he let me try a 3/4 oz. pour of Pappy Van Winkle, along with some other top shelf bourbons.
As we talked (as alcohol has a propensity for encouraging talking), something he said struck me, especially in regard to today’s readings. He mentioned that he has been able to acquire some very good bourbons, but he doesn’t just keep them for himself. He wants to share them with others and let them experience something they couldn’t experience on their own. So he hosts small bourbon tasting parties, or donates some of the top shelf bourbon that he acquires to charitable auctions or fundraisers so that groups can benefit from the donations and individuals can have a chance to taste some good bourbon.
We might consider the Gospel like a top shelf bourbon (very top shelf). And by Gospel, I mean the entirety of what Christ has revealed through the Scriptures and His Mystical Body, the Church. It is precious, because it is the key to finding eternal life. But like a top shelf bourbon, there is the temptation to simply hold on to it once we have acquired it and let it sit on a shelf as an occasional talking point or a badge of honor that we have found it. But the Gospel is not meant to be kept to oneself. It is meant to be shared with others, so that, quoting Psalm 34, they can "taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”
So often, when we think about the apostles, or at least I know this is true in my own thinking, I imagine them walking around with Jesus for three years, seeing His miracles, hearing His teachings, watching Him pray, and the like. But our Gospel reminds us today that He sent them out to proclaim what they had experienced. Jesus didn’t have them get a special degree or certificate to prove they were ready (and in many ways they weren’t ready, as we also see in the Gospel accounts). But He sent them out to proclaim that the Kingdom of God was at hand, and to cast out demons and heal the sick. And they did. We don’t know exactly how long they were gone, but we can imagine they went out all over Judea telling others about Jesus and sharing His teachings with them, as they participated in Jesus’ work of freeing people from the dominion of Satan and curing their diseases and infirmities. So it probably took a little while. And perhaps this happened more than once in that three-year time period. Like Amos in our first reading, they didn’t have any special commission other than from God calling them to speak for Him.
God has chosen us, as St. Paul said in the second reading, not only to be His people, but to share with others “the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.” We continue what started in the early Church: we receive the Gospel, and then we change our lives, and then we share the Gospel as God commissions us. We don’t keep it to ourselves, but we share it with others, whether in our homes, at work, on vacation, and even while on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Many of you do that in your families, sharing the importance of Christ in your marriage and with your kids or grandkids. Hopefully many of you provide a good example at work of what it means to be Catholic, and assist those going through hard times by praying with them and sharing how Christ helps us make it through any difficulty. Some are called to be priests or consecrated men and women who give up certain things or even everything to focus on our relationship with Christ. But the key is that we are sharing the Gospel by what we do and by what we say, and that we don’t simply keep it to ourselves.
The Gospel is infinitely more precious than even a 23-year Family Reserve bottle of Pappy Van Winkle. You don’t have to hunt for it or pay any money to acquire the Gospel. But it is not meant to sit on the shelf and get dusty. The new wine of the Gospel is meant to be shared with others so that they can enjoy its flavor and vitality. And, unlike liquor, the more we share it, the more of it we have for ourselves. So share the Gospel with others. Their life is not the same without it, and won’t be the same after they taste of the Gospel.
