Passing the Baton of Faith - Weekday Homily Video

I once watched a relay race where the runner, after sprinting an entire lap, tripped and fell just before passing the baton. He then suddenly picked himself up and collected the baton from the track, by then the next runner jumped the gun. He ran toward his fallen comrade, grabbed the baton, and ran like his life depended on it. They didn’t win, but the crowd gave a standing ovation. Because it wasn’t about winning anymore. It was about finishing together. 

Running the Race Like Saint Paul

Today’s first reading from Acts of the Apostles is Paul’s baton passing moment. 

He’s gathered the elders of Ephesus, the church he loves, not for another teaching session or theological debate, but for a farewell. A holy handoff. And instead of charts or checklists, he gives them what really matters: his life. “You know how I lived among you…” he begins, not how I preached, or healed, or debated, but how I lived. 

That’s not just humility. That’s leadership. Real leaders don’t say, “Remember my words,” rather “Look at my wounds.” Paul had been beaten, rejected, jailed, and yet, he stood there with love, not bitterness. This wasn’t a retirement speech. This was a torch-passing lit with fire and tears. 

The Ugandan Martyrs

It echoes powerfully today because we also remember the burning witness of Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions. Teenagers. Pages in the royal court of a king obsessed with control and indulgence. When told to submit to sin and deny their faith, they said “No” and embraced death. They were burned alive. Charles baptized some of his friends on the night before they died. One of them said to his executioners, “Tell the king: I am finished with this world, but I am going to God.” 

They didn’t drop the baton. They ran with it all the way to the flames. 

What is YOUR Legacy?

Now, let’s be honest: You and I probably won’t die martyrs. But we’re all running a race of faith, aren’t we? And sometimes the real challenge is not in the sprint, it’s in how we pass the baton. What legacy are we handing over? Are we giving those around us a faith that’s merely memorized, or one that’s embodied? 

Saint Paul says, “I did not shrink from proclaiming the whole plan of God.” That word, shrink, strikes me. Because most of us don’t reject the Gospel outright. We just shrink it. We make it polite. Manageable. Convenient. We shrink it to suit our comfort. But Saints like Charles Lwanga show us: the Gospel cannot be tamed. It must be lived in full size. 

There’s an African proverb that says, “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” But the children embraced by Christ, like Charles and his companions, burned not in anger, but with holy love. Their fire didn’t destroy; it illuminated. 

Finishing the Race Well

My friends, this world needs Pauls who finish well, and Charles who stand tall even when the fire rises. It needs you, and me, to run with the baton of Christ’s truth, and to pass it not with fear, but with fire. 

So the question today is not: Can I preach like Paul? It’s: Can I live like him? 
Can I burn like Charles, not to be seen, but so that others may see Christ? 

Let’s run our lap well. Let’s not shrink. And when our turn is done, may we have the grace to fall forward… baton in hand. 

• Today’s Readings
  
  
• Father Boby's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
  
  
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