(Given at the 4:30 pm Saturday Mass and the 5:30 pm Sunday youth Mass)
When it comes to us, Jesus is all in. He tells the disciples, if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself. He promises that he is faithful. He promises that he wants us with him. Jesus is trustworthy. He is the way, the truth, and the life. We never have to doubt his goodwill toward us. As long as we remain in him, he will remain in us. Jesus has come to reveal to us his father: God the Father. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus lifts us up into himself, and we come with him to the Father. We enter into this eternal dance of the Trinity. We are sons and daughters through and with and in the eternal Son of God. Sometimes, in my own life, I doubt whether God really is for me. Or I think, man, I’ve sinned so much in my life, how could anyone still be in my corner? But this isn’t the case with God. He is in our corner. He doesn’t give up on us until our dying breath. When we turn from him, even forsaking the salvation he has won for us, it’s not like he wipes his hands and exclaims, that’s it, I’m done. Nope. Jesus draws us back to himself. Even our very desires to repent and go to Confession are stirrings of his grace first and foremost. The early Church got this. We see in our first reading that the apostles call seven men to take care of certain needs of the community. This frees the Twelve to be all in when it came to their mission and ministry. Just as their master was all in. For us today, this can be a good question we regularly ask ourselves: am I all in? Whether it’s examining our conscience or evaluating our behavior at any given moment, we can ask if we’re serious about our faith. Am I just going through the motions? Am I committed to my relationship with Jesus as I am to basketball, video games, hanging out with my friends? Do I realize that by putting Jesus front and center in my life, things like my love for sports, movies, books will fall into proper place and order? Am I all in? This is a good exercise, my brothers and sisters. Better to start taking Jesus seriously now, before it is indeed too late.