Homily

Recently I was watching a video of the ordination of the new Ruthenian Catholic bishop of Passaic, New Jersey, which took place in December; and as is our custom, there is lot of episcopal hand-kissing. Whenever the servers or the deacons give an object to the bishop, or take it from him, they kiss his hand. When the priests receive Holy Communion from him, they kiss his hand. And the reason for all this hand kissing is that the bishop represents the Good Shepherd, Christ Himself, and so when we kiss the bishop's hand it is not to honor the bishop as man, but rather as a kind of icon of Christ, or a representative of the Lord Himself. So even if the bishop is a jerk, you can still feel good about kissing his hand.

I noticed however, that the Roman rite priests present did not kiss the bishop's hand. And I seem to recall when I was a kid that on TV or in movies, the priests would kiss the bishop's ring, but apparently that doesn't happen much anymore. I recall also that when someone was greeting the pope they also would, of course, kiss his ring, but in modern times watching on TV, that also rarely happens. Now there is nothing theologically necessary here. It is just a most ancient custom, and I think a very good one. When you go to kiss the bishop's hand you must bow your head to do it. There are no Greek Catholic "high fives," you have to bend your neck to kiss his hand. If you love and admire your bishop, then it is an easy thing to do. If you are not fond of your bishop, it may be harder to do, but in either case the respect and honor shown is not paid to the man himself, but to Christ, just as when we kiss an icon or a cross.

So why is there so little episcopal hand kissing or ring kissing in the modern western world; even for the pope of Rome? The bowing and the kiss are not the signs of equal partners. No, they are the signs of one who is lowlier showing honor to one who is greater. And I think that is why in many places this custom has died out or is rarely used, because it rubs the modern western person the wrong way to think that there is someone perhaps more worthy of respect than I am unless they are in the entertainment or sports world, or perhaps the White House. It seems to me that many modern people feel that showing respect for those in higher office or position somehow takes away from their own dignity or importance, so these acts of respect have continued to fall by the wayside as time goes on. No longer, "His Honor, the Mayor." Now it's just, "Fred." And I think when such false notions of "equality" enter into the Church they cause us harm, because if we are not able to bow to those who serve us as pope, patriarch and bishop, I think it reveals that we have such a sense of self-importance, that I wonder how much we truly and genuinely bow our heads to Christ our God.

And even to those who are not our superiors, even to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, if we cannot bow to one another then I think we have a real deficiency in our love for God. His great commandments are that we 1) love Him above all else, and 2) love our neighbor as our self. It's not a pick (A) or (B) situation. If I cannot bow to my neighbor then it is highly unlikely that I truly bow to God. That is true even if my neighbor is my husband, wife, children, parents or siblings.

In the Liturgy, the priest and people bow to each other many times during the service, because although I am priest and you are lay people, in the service of the Liturgy we act as one body, the Body of Christ. How many times do we bow to each other during the Liturgy? I don't know but it's a lot. And so we bow to the Holy Gospel, the icons, the Chalice of the Holy Eucharist. Sad for us if we ever think that such bowing is undignified or we find it difficult to do, because it is a gesture of our loving dependence on the grace of God, and it is a loving gesture where we also acknowledge our proper place in the Body of Christ.

Two different postures are shown in today's gospel. The Publican prayed with his head bowed, and it implies that the Pharisee did not, of course, feel any need to bow his head at all. Their postures reveal their attitudes. The Pharisees standing tall and gazing about, notices the alleged sinner in his midst, and can only comment on his own righteousness and the deplorable behaviors of those around him. He has no need for God. But with head bowed, the Publican can only see his own self and he begs the mercy of God; his prayer is authentic and true. Let our posture, our bows today, lead us into becoming more authentic and true followers of Christ as we respect and honor one another, and come and let us worship and bow before Christ.