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Bishop's Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent

December 15, 2024

(SpeedKingz/ Shutterstock.com)

Homily of Most Reverend Larry Silva, Bishop of Honolulu
(Ordination to the Diaconate of Preston-Jay Pascua Castro, St. Joseph Church, Waipahu, Hawaii)

Singing at festivals can be loud and joyful.  I think of an Octoberfest scene in Germany (or in Mount Angel, Oregon, where you went to college, Preston), with a lively oompah band playing and the singer belting out a tune.  Or, closer to home, maybe a karaoke session, where the singer croons full-throated and unsparingly!  This is the image given us by the prophet Zephaniah: “The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love; he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.”  We come here to raise our voices in praise to God, and it is truly right and just that we do so.  But God first raises his voice to sing proudly and loudly of his love for us – and of his love for you, Preston.

Throughout our lives, there are times when we simply cannot hear the voice of God singing joyfully of his love for us.  We are deafened by our own voices or by the great chaotic cacophony of life, with all its peaks and valleys. But you, Preston, have heard that voice, and you have found such joy in hearing God’s voice that you now lay down your life in a special way to follow Jesus and to serve him as his deacon, and soon after that as his priest.  You may be a quiet man, an introvert, but your heart has learned to sing out the love of God in your service of others.  As you begin a life baptizing God’s beloved children, counseling them in their needs, consoling them when they have lost a loved one, or inviting them to share and be signs of peace, you will also send them forth to glorify God with their lives.  You will be an example of singing for joy in all these and many other circumstances, because you have heard this wildly-in-love God singing out his love to you.

Yes, your preaching as a deacon and a priest must address the practicalities of life, just as we see John the Baptist did: “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.”  You will be a minister of charity so that others will be inspired to minister in charity also, to care for the needy, the poor, the sick, and the lonely.  Like John the Baptist, you may have to correct those who do wrong by prophetically preaching, not necessarily what they want to hear, but the truth from God that will set them free.  You may need to remind others not to practice extortion, not to falsely accuse anyone, and to be content and even thankful for the resources God gives.

It will be your responsibility and your blessing to teach others to sing and rejoice always, to “Shout for joy,” to “be glad and exult” because we have a God who turns away our enemies, calms our fears, and forgives our sins by renewing us in his love.  Like John the Baptist, your love and dedicated service will be the warm-up act to one whose sandal straps you are not worthy to loosen, whose song brings heavenly peace.

You will spend your days as a deacon, and ultimately as a priest, tending to the many tasks involved in shepherding the flock of Christ Jesus: teaching the faith in all its rich complexities; caring for the poor, the prisoner, and the sick; preaching the Word of God in season and out; celebrating the sacraments with dignity and great joy; soaking many in the name of the Most Holy Trinity as you baptize; witnessing the love song of couples as they come together in Christ to become one body and one spirit in him; and best of all, feeding them with the finest wheat that sustains their souls and with the Blood of Christ poured out in the most profound love.  You will organize many events, participate in many programs, and put in place many infrastructures for evangelization.  But all of these things you will do are only a prelude to open the ears, minds and hearts of us all, so that we can listen more attentively to the greatest Singer of all.

The great feast of Christmas for which we prepare is the time when God ceased to be mere background music, but took our human flesh to give voice, with the Holy Spirit and fire, to his eternal love.  The birth of Jesus is God taking the stage of human history to sing forever, with full heart and voice of his undying love for all of us.  And you, my dear brother Preston, are now called to amplify this eternal song of love, so that we may join fully in the festival, and “rejoice in the Lord always!”