My first pastoral sermon and Pope Leo XIV’s first homily

I remember well my first sermon as a pastor. I had been called to New Hope Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas, a rural congregation of around fifty or so on Sunday morning. They could not have been more gracious to our family. 

I was their pastor for five years while finishing my PhD and teaching at Southwestern Seminary; both our boys were born during those years and came home to our parsonage. We have nothing but wonderful memories of our time there.

Except for my first Sunday.

The church had been very kind to us during the pastor search process and was very encouraging on my first Sunday with them. Due to their proximity to the seminary, they had a history of being the first pastorate for many across the years and understood a “first Sunday” far better than I did. All I knew was that I was nearly terrified. 

To this point, I had done many things in ministry, but I had never been the senior pastor of a church. I felt the weight of the congregation and its future (far more than I should have) and, quite honestly, did not want to preach so poorly that they regretted choosing me as their pastor.

We made it through together. No one from the media paid any attention to us. I hadn’t thought about that sermon for decades, until yesterday.

Preaching to 1.4 billion people

Contrast my first pastoral sermon with the one preached Sunday by Pope Leo XIV. His congregation numbers more than 1.4 billion souls. Media from around the world reported his words and are watching his every step.

Imagine the pressure he must have felt in those moments. It would have been tempting, I would think, to deliver an innocuous message that “checks the boxes” but does nothing to draw undue attention or provoke controversy.

He did just the opposite.

As I discuss his sermon with you, I recognize that most of us are not Roman Catholics. I have been a Baptist since my conversion at the age of fifteen and have definite reasons for remaining one. If I had a theological magic wand, there are certainly things I would change about the Catholic church, just as I am certain there are things they would change about my church.

Nonetheless, when truth is declared by a fellow follower of Christ, we do well to take note. And the new pope declared truth yesterday that we all need to heed, so much so that I will let his words speak for themselves.

“A state of practical atheism”

Pope Leo began by declaring that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God: the one Savior, who alone reveals the face of the Father.” Unfortunately, as he noted, the secular world does not agree. He described it as:

A world that considers Jesus an insignificant person, at best someone with an unusual and striking way of speaking and acting. And so, once his presence becomes irksome because of his demands for honesty and his stern moral requirements, this “world” will not hesitate to reject and eliminate him.

Others in his day did not reject him outright, considering him “not a charlatan, but an upright man, one who has courage, who speaks well and says the right things, like other great prophets in the history of Israel.” However, they followed him “for as long as they can do so without too much risk or inconvenience. Yet to them he is only a man, and therefore, in times of danger, during his passion, they too abandon him and depart disappointed.”

The pope then applied the first century to ours:

Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure. These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised, or at best tolerated and pitied.

As a result, such places are “the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed.” Here’s why:

A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by a lack of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family, and so many other wounds that afflict our society. . . .

There are many settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman. This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism.

“Experiencing together our fidelity to the Lord”

What is the Church to do?

We are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the Savior. Therefore, it is essential that we too repeat with Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). It is essential to do this, first of all, in our personal relationship with the Lord, in our commitment to a daily journey of conversion. Then, to do so as a Church, experiencing together our fidelity to the Lord and bringing the Good News to all.

The pope closed by defining his own role in this mission:

It is to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified, to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him.

In response, I’ll ask you (and myself) four questions:

• Do you agree that the secular world is as lost as Pope Leo describes it to be?

• Do you agree that rejecting Jesus leads to a “lack of meaning in life” and “appalling violations of human dignity”?

• Do you agree that those who do not experience the living Lord personally are living in “a state of practical atheism”?

• If so, will you join me in renewing your commitment to know Christ and make him known, spending ourselves “to the utmost” so that “all may have the opportunity to know and love him”?

Pray it with me: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” How will you help someone else make the same confession today?