Fr. Tony Childs 25th Jubilee Homily 6/28/25
One beautiful summer morning, a priest decided to skip church to go play golf. He called his assistant and said he wasn’t feeling well, and asked him to please cover all the Masses. Then, once the first Mass had begun, he snuck out to his car and drove to a golf course more than an hour away—so no one would recognize him.
Sure enough, he teed off at the first hole, and miraculously, a huge gust of wind caught the ball, carried it an extra hundred yards, dropped it right on the green, and it rolled into the cup—for a 400-yard hole-in-one!
Looking down from heaven, an angel turned to God and asked, “Hey, why did you do that for?”
God smiled and said, “What? Who’s he going to tell?”
I thought that would fit well for our brief reflection this afternoon.
Bishop Parker, Monsignor Barker, Fr. Patterson, Fr. Looby, friends and family—what a joy it is to celebrate this milestone together, and on such a rare day: the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul falling on a Sunday. The last time that happened was 1999!
Today we honor what I like to call the two super apostles. And we celebrate not just my anniversary, but the story of how God works in all of us—crooked lines and all.
Peter and Paul were stark opposites. The readings make that clear. In Acts, Peter meets a beggar at the temple gates and says, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give to you.” That same gift—the grace of Christ—has been given freely to all of us, from our baptism until now.
But remember: when we first meet Peter and Paul, they’re not exactly saints. Peter denied Jesus. Paul persecuted Christians. They were, in many ways, the worst versions of themselves.
Sound familiar?
We all fall short. We all give in to sin. But Peter and Paul remind us that the story isn’t over. That God can—and does—turn lives around.
Peter was a fisherman. Paul was a well-educated Pharisee. God had other plans. And so it is for us. The Church isn’t built on perfect people. It’s built on grace.
There’s no sin too great, no past too broken, no failure too final that God cannot redeem. Peter and Paul are the poster children for that truth.
Though they were different in personality and met only a few times, they shared one mission: to let Jesus transform them over a lifetime. To become, slowly and painfully, the best versions of themselves. And Jesus believed they could. He believes the same of you and me.
As today’s opening prayer reminds us, God used those two flawed men to lay the foundation of the Church. As I often say, God writes straight with crooked lines. Peter and Paul prove it. And—parenthetically—I do too.
I never imagined growing up that I’d be a priest. Sure, we were a churchgoing family—Mass every Sunday, confession every Saturday, I was an altar boy (back when that was still in vogue). But I wasn’t especially “into” the faith.
Yet somehow, over time, God gently turned things around. Not by anything I earned. Not because I deserved it. And here I stand.
That same mission given to Peter and Paul? It’s ours, too. Not just mine, not just the priests or the religious. All of us are called to be witnesses to Christ.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” And each time, Peter says, “Yes, of course, you know I do.”
Jesus replies, “Tend my sheep. Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep.”
That’s what a priest is called to do. And it’s been the privilege of my life. But by baptism, every one of us is called to tend, feed, serve, and bring Christ into the world—especially now, when that presence is so desperately needed.
Yes, this Jubilee is a milestone—and I’m grateful for it, even as I still marvel that I’m here.
Peter and Paul weren’t perfect. Peter often put his foot in his mouth. (I’d like to think I’ve done that less often, but… well, you know.) Paul, so passionate and fiery, needed a course correction from time to time—just like we all do.
They show us what grace can do. They show us how God transforms lives.
And unlike that priest on the golf course, we are meant to tell everyone about the Jesus we serve and love.
As I reflected this past week on Peter and Paul, I kept thinking about something our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, said in his inaugural Mass last month. It gave voice to something I’ve always felt in my heart but never quite articulated.
He said:
“I was chosen without any merit of my own. I come to you as a brother who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love.”
That’s it. That’s me. That’s grace. Just look at me standing here.
Let me end with one final story—true story, of course. I call it “Dime Store Wisdom.”
Years ago, a young man started working at a hardware store. He noticed a pile of junk cluttering the space, items that didn’t sell well. He asked the owner if he could set up a table and sell them for a few cents. The sale was a hit.
He did it again. Another success.
He then suggested to the owner: “Let’s open a second store and sell only low-cost items.” The owner said, “Terrible idea.”
So the young man left and opened his own store—and became wildly successful. The former boss later admitted, “Every word I used to turn him down probably cost me millions.”
You might know that young man as the founder of Woolworth’s, the five-and-dime store.
Jesus wants you and me, like Peter and Paul, to go for a hole-in-one.
To use our gifts. To trust His grace. To bring His presence into the world—not just through our ministry, but through our whole life.
That’s what being a Christian is all about.
Amen.
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