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A man enters the Confessional box.  He notices on one side a fully equipped bar with Guinness on tap.  On the other wall is a dazzling array of the finest Cuban cigars. Then the priest comes in.  “Father, forgive me, for it’s been a very long time since I’ve been to Confession, but I must first admit that the Confessional box is much more inviting these days.”  The priest replies, “Get out! You’re on my side.”

It is quite interesting being a priest. You see the world from a different angle, because so often folks want you to see their “good side.” It’s not often that when you are all dressed up in a clerical collar that you can meet someone for the first time and come away actually knowing much about them. There are those rare occasions when someone begins talking and it seems they’ve lost the “Off” switch, but for the most part it comes down to respectful pleasantries. You also get various reactions from people as you walk along. There’s always some who give you a hearty, “Hello, Father,” but there are others that avert their eyes. They don’t want to be seen by a priest or they have a certain disdain for clergy to the point that they won’t even recognize you as a person.

Some priests don’t think that it is necessary to walk around looking like a priest, but I do, whether the world accepts it or not. It is a way of constantly reminding folks that there is another way.

Of all the looks you get along the way, the oddest ones come from folks who have never really seen a priest up close. They give you more than the once over and particularly stare at the dog collar. I mention this because I got this certain look while around several youth in their early teens. A girl – maybe fourteen – looked at me and my collar, then noticed the crucifix that I wear. Her eyes lit up a bit as she leaned in for a closer look. “Nice necklace,” she said, “it has a man on it.” “It has a man on it.” Now, it is one thing to not really know much about priest, but this girl – this fourteen year old girl – did not know that this man on my necklace was Jesus. She didn’t know the story or anything about Him. Her friend sitting next to her looked up and said, “Oh, that’s God” and I was thankful for her input, because at the time I was a bit too flummoxed to say anything.

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” His name will be Jesus. He will be great. Son of the Most High. David’s ancestor. He will reign forever. He will be… a man on a necklace.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “For those who are great and powerful in this world, there are two places where their courage fails them, which terrify them to the very depths of their souls, and which they dearly avoid, these are the manger and the cross of Jesus Christ.” Yet, there will be no fear of the Lord as long as he remains a man on a necklace. He must move into the world and call people to righteousness, but not only call, He must also be heard. His message must not only proclaim another way, but demonstrate that other way through lives changed, the hungry fed, the lame healed, and the blind given their sight.  This man on a necklace must take on flesh and blood.

The word “incarnation” refers to God, in the person of Jesus, taking on human form. Taking on flesh and blood. For you and I to live an incarnational life means that Jesus is born within us. And this is what must occur if the world is to know Jesus as more than a man on a necklace. We are called to be His body in the world today.

How do we make such a transfiguration in our own lives, going from simply being observers of the world around us to living as incarnational disciples, intentionally putting flesh on God? I like St. Josemaria’s answer, “Don’t fly like a barnyard hen when you can soar like an eagle.” It takes courage, but that courage is within you. As he says again, “Courage! You can! Don’t you see what God’s grace did to that sleepy, cowardly Peter, who had denied him to that fierce, relentless Paul, who had persecuted him?” To go from observer to incarnational disciples requires that we profess the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The words that she spoke on the day that the angel of the Lord came and visited her, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” But we must not only profess those words, we must also allow them to breathe life into us, a life filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

The Blessed Virgin Mary was probably about fourteen when she said “Yes” to God – about the same age as the girl who liked my necklace with the man on it – but it was Mary’s “Yes” that changed all of creation. It was her participation in the incarnation of God that gave God flesh and blood in this world. It is your “Yes” to God that continues this great work, that continues God’s incarnation.

I’m not preaching works – what we do for God – over faith, but there must be action behind our words. Brennan Manning writes in The Rabbi’s Heartbeat, “The Christian commitment is not an abstraction. It is a concrete, visible, courageous, and formidable way of being in the world forged by daily choices consistent with inner truth. A commitment that is not visible in humble service, suffering discipleship, and creative love – or as in the language we’ve been using ‘a life that is not living incarnationally’ – is an illusion. Jesus Christ is impatient with illusions, and the world has no interest in abstractions.” As Manning says in this work and also in the Ragamuffin Gospel, “If you want to know what a person really believes, don’t just listen to what he says, watch what he does.” Don’t kid yourself, the world is watching. Just like they watch someone wearing a clerical collar, they also watch someone who claims to be a Christian. Some will watch so that they can find fault and criticize, but many others will watch because there is something within you, that they would like in their own lives. Show it to them. Show them the Incarnate Son of God. Show them Jesus.

We have much to do as long as people only see Jesus as a man on a necklace; therefore, say to the Lord, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word,” then “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded us. And surely He is with us always, to the very end of the age.”

A priest tells the story of the time during the 70’s that he was living in a monastery in New York. It seems that while living there he had numerous millionaire friends who enjoyed his company and would invite him out. He recalls on one occasion being invited to a swank restaurant and a Broadway play. During the intermission, he and his friends went out for some fresh air and engaged in a rather highbrow conversation regarding the play.

As he was going about trying to impress his friends with his intellectual savvy he noticed someone walking toward him who was “not one of the beautiful people.” Her clothes were a bit tattered, her shoes worn, and her nylons had holes. As she approached he also noticed that she was peddling the Variety magazine for $0.75, so in a gesture of extreme generosity he handed her a dollar and casually waved her away, eager to wow his friends a bit more.

And then she said, “Father?” The priest writes, “In those days, I knew I couldn’t distinguish myself by my virtues, so I distinguished myself by my clothing; I always wore the collar, ‘Father, could I talk to you a minute?’ I snapped, ‘What? Can’t you see I’m busy? Do you make a habit of interrupting people in the middle of a conversation? Wait over there and I’ll speak to you when I’m done.’ She whispered, ‘Jesus wouldn’t talk to Mary Magdalene like that.’ And then she was gone.”

Later, he wondered what this young woman would have thought if she had wandered into his church the following Sunday to hear him preach on the love of God. He asked, “How could she believe in the love a God she can’t see when she couldn’t find even a trace of love in the eyes of a brother wearing a clerical collar whom she could see?” He noted, “A shriveled humanity has a shrunken capacity for receiving the rays of God’s love.” (From The Furious Longing of God, Brennan Manning)

Cindy Jacobs, self described Prophet to world influencers, conducted a prayer service for the economy in New York and in twelve other locations around the country. As part of that prayer service, she and many others gathered around and laid hands on the 7,000 pound bronze bull near Wall Street. Never mind the fact that the picture gave me the willies when I saw it (images of another “Golden Calf” in the time of Moses popping into my head) and never mind the fact that nowhere is Holy Scripture does Jesus ask us to go and pray for banks and what not, but I had to ask myself: how many of the poor and dispossessed of New York did they literally have to step over in order to get there?

In another event, a church raised tens of thousands of dollars to send a dozen members on a mission trip to New Orleans to help rebuild after hurricane Katrina. A worthy cause, yet within their own community there are literally hundreds of homeless people with over 25% of them being children. In their 100 year history, that church never raised anything for a mission trip within their own community. How many could have benefited from such an outpouring of Christian good will?

“Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, `Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’”

Today is the feast day of Christ the King. It is the last Sunday of the Season of Pentecost and of the church year. This day completes the Christian journey through the life of Jesus Christ on earth and in heaven, which began with the preparation for the birth of Jesus in Advent.

When you and I think of Kings, we often think of absolute rulers. They attain power by raising and leading armies into war against other countries. They demand obedience. They are the lawmakers and enforcers. They expect to be served and waited on hand and foot. In many respects we see them as tyrants. A quick glance at the history of monarchs will only confirm this. Yet the King we come to worship today is not like this.

Jesus said, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” I am among you as one who serves. That is our King and that is the example he sets for you and I to follow.

As a Christian people, I watch you all serve everyday in many different capacities. You are following the example of Christ; however, there is one very important aspect of this serving we must keep in mind: so often we think in order to serve Christ the King we must go to the ends of the earth and fulfill great schemes – lay hands on the Wall Street Bull or go on mission trips to far off places – however, I would suggest to you today that Christ the King, Christ our King, is no further away than the next person you encounter. I can take ____ hand and at the same time take the hand of Christ the King – for the Kingdom of God is within them.

The problem arises when we get so wrapped up in our own lives or doing those things that we believe are serving the King that we miss him when he is standing right in front of us.

The first summer of seminary for almost all seminarians usually involves taking CPE, Clinical Pastoral Education. For almost all seminarians this is a dreaded experience, lots of complaining and rolling of eyes. When I entered into my CPE class, I brought this attitude with me. New age hocus pocus that’s going to get me in touch with my feelings. Bleh!

The idea of the course is to put you in the context of pastoral ministry and caring for those in need, while at the same time hopefully teaching you to not bring your own set of issues, opinions, prejudices, etc. to ministry events. Some of you may think I need to retake the course, but I did learn a few things. One event in particular shaped a good bit of how I approach every opportunity God presents to me for ministry. It was a routine visit to the hospice unit – if you can call what I did a visit.

It was expected that we would spend at least a half hour on each call, so when I arrived I spoke to the patient briefly, read a Psalm, and said a prayer. However, when there was no response from him, I sat back in my chair and spent the next twenty-six of my mandated thirty minutes planning my weekend and preparing a shopping list. When my time was up, I stood briefly at the foot of his bed, said “God bless you,” and got on with my life. He died a few days later. Other than the nurses that were caring for him, I was his last visitor.

Now, if you have a couple of unpleasant names running through your mind that you would like to label me with because of my actions, then feel free, but I can assure you that every time I recall that event, I call myself much worse. Each time I recall that event, I also beg the man’s forgiveness.

CPE may be some new age hocus pocus, but it taught me perhaps the most valuable lesson in ministry: when you are with someone, you must be fully present to them – they are Jesus. They are Christ the King. To be present is much more than sitting in a room and consuming oxygen. Being present means emptying yourself for the sake of the other. It means sacrificing your life for the life of another. Remember the words of Archbishop Ramsey, “You will never be nearer to Christ than in caring for the one man, the one woman, the one child.”

Therefore, instead of seeing the people that God places in your immediate path as obstacles or hindrances to you obtaining your own goals, be present to them, take them by the hand, and see them as Christ the King. Like Jesus, be among them as one who serves. See those souls as an opportunity for you to pour out the love and grace of God upon them in the same manner that God has poured out His love and grace upon you.