"God Fulfills His Promises" - 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Homily

Fulfillment is an adult word.

Kids don't care about being fulfilled.

They care about being full and filled with food.

Young adults desire fulfillment, meaning purpose in their vocations, their careers, their relationships.

And we who are more than young adults

Just leave it at that.

We want to fulfill our hopes and dreams and plans with God's help.

And as adults, we realize God fulfills.

He fulfills our lives and fulfills our hearts like no one else.

And we've gone into the things of the world that we're not fulfilling.

We try to do it our own.

that didn't satisfy us.

Especially in Jesus Christ, we find fulfillment.

and God fulfills in Christ.

That's the joy of reading the Bible.

You read the Old Testament and the promises are far and wide and they are deep.

Proclaiming a future with the Messiah.

And this one from Isaiah is probably the top of the list.

So the whole drama of unrolling a scroll, reading the synagogue, this profound, revered.

Passage from Isaiah, promising glad tidings in liberty and freedom.

It was so revered.

And Jesus says, it is fulfilled in your hearing.

All those years and centuries of hope and joy from that prediction.

And then when it comes, it's even greater than you can imagine.

It's like at the start of the NFL playoffs, if an expert, you know I'd get to this, come on.

Eagles fans are not.

I'm going there.

If an expert had predicted the Commanders would win the Super Bowl, we fans would be giddy.

with joy.

It's been a long time to hear those words, possibly.

And then, when it happens, it's going to be even more incredible.

I don't know if Deacon Ted is liking this analogy, but you get the point.

When something is fulfilled.

Well, he didn't like my game day jersey over the cassock so that's just another thing.

It's game day.

The fulfillment of a promise is intense.

Now, I did go up to Philly last night, had Mass with the team.

That's a real story.

Drove up there, came back, no sweat.

Line up a drive.

It was electric.

It's one of most powerful Masses I've ever had, honestly.

Because the group itself, I the second reading, I told them the readings were so pertinent to this situation with them.

The second reading, read beautifully by our guys, about one.

Many parts, one body, the body of Christ.

So they are one team, making up many players and coaches.

They said the best part of their team is the team.

And so we're having Mass, and there the head coach is with us, and 10 or 12 players and coaches.

It's really tight connection and energy and power.

And I preached about fulfillment.

At the end of Mass, Coach Quinn gave me a hug.

He said, Father Greg, I love you man, I was like, I love you.

I said, thanks so much for coming out.

This means so much.

your homily really hit home, I really felt it.

Because what I said to them was that what God starts, He finishes.

What He promises, He fulfills.

This is His history.

This is His track record.

So I say it to the Commanders, I say it to people here in general.

That if He started something in your life, or looking back on the times where He led you,

He didn't let you fail.

He didn't set you up to fail.

He carried it out.

And it's time and time and time again we see this and then we're in the midst of another one and we don't trust that He'll see us through.

So I use the analogy of going up the mountain.

So if God has taken this team halfway up the mountain so far, it's to get to the top.

Now I'm not the only Homer saying this.

There a of us who believe it.

Even the Washington Post sports section invoked God's will.

What is going on?

Divine intervention.

My brother sent it to me.

I was freaking out.

It's that belief.

If it's Him, it's going through.

Now know the Eagles chaplain could have said the same thing to the Eagles.

I get that.

But whatever God starts, He finishes.

whatever he promises, he fulfills.

And it's really significant to be with Him.

To get to the top with Him, top of the mountain, I was watching another special on NFL quarterback who, he was raised with faith, but I think he's gone in different direction,

away from the Christian faith.

And it's good in the sense he won a Super Bowl.

but sad in the sense that he got to the top of the mountain and he said, is that all there is?

And maybe some of you have gone to the top of your professions or experienced success in the world.

And if you're on your own, it doesn't really satisfy.

Like something's missing or is there more to this that I missed?

But going up that mountain with the Lord, you get to the top, you have someone to thank, first of all.

and someone to share it with.

That is fulfilling.

If it's from God, it's the best you can do anyway.

And if it's with Him and from Him, it's so complete.

This is His history.

To make bold promises, hopeful promises, and to fulfill them.

All the Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Christ

The old covenants are filled in the new covenant.

Passover is filled in the Eucharist.

Because God fulfills what he promises, he completes what he starts.