Watchman of Faith

In addition to Labor Day, The Church celebrates the feast of Gregory the Great.  Gregory, a Pope and Doctor of the Church, was an outstanding teacher and leader in the Church.  He brought reforms both to monastic life, and to the Liturgy.  Many forms of prayer and some of our rituals, can be traced back to the time of St. Gregory the Great.  At the time he was truly a light for the Church.

In the Office of Readings today, we are given an exert from one of St. Gregory's homilies, on the prophet Ezekiel.  The Prophet is called to be the 'Watchman' for the House of Israel.  Gregory notes that a watchman is placed in a tower, or some other high place, so as to have an overview of that which he is watching.  So the watchman has foresight, knowing what is coming, so as to prepare the people he is responsible for.  Gregory realizes that he has been called to be a watchman, of sorts, but admits that he feels inadequate for the task,

This is not false humility.  St. Gregory had taken his job seriously, knowing that some of his decisions would be unpopular, and might even cause division.  But St Gregory was a man of great faith and a deep spirituality, and so relied on prayer and the Holy Spirit to guide him in his vocation.  Even in the homily, which we read today, Gregory will allude to the fact that he needs to remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ in the job that has been entrusted to him.

At baptism we become responsible for our faith, as well as making this faith known to the world.  In a very real way we become watchmen, and women, of the faith entrusted to us.  We have to stay at high places and  posses an overview of the world and our surroundings.  People of faith, like all of the holy men and women throughout the ages, are to take care of the faith we have received.

Like Gregory we might have the same knowing doubts of our abilities or the use of our gifts, but we need to rely on the power of the Spirit so as to be light to those around us.  For too long we thought of 'faith' as a private affair.  It is about  the community and the Kingdom to come.