I had my first experience with a "current theology" homily this past Sunday! I went to another parish to meet several people from a group to help plan the next season of meetings. The Church was big and beautiful in a 100 year old parish. The priest spoke of the miracle of the loaves and fishes and started by saying how some people "today" would say that Jesus did not actually multiply the loaves and fishes, he simply had a young boy come forward and convinced him to give him some fish and bread. This example caused people to whip out their bread and fish and start sharing. I was expecting the priest to get to the part where he debunks this but he never did. He went on to explain the miracle was one of "breaking the hard hearts of people" by sharing. He then said the miracle of the Eucharist is one of sharing also. This lead me to think he was dismissing the Real Presence but maybe I was reading too much into it. I was boiling at this point realizing this priest was preaching this garbage and wondered what the other people from the Faith on Tap group were thinking. After the Mass I kept quiet about it and we all went to a local diner for brunch. The wife of the group leader said, before we begin can I ask what you all thought of the homily? I blurted out “It was blasphemy, absolute garbage”. She was thankful because that was her reaction. (I don’t know if this qualifies as blasphemy but I was hungry and angry). We agreed that, at least for those who listened to the homily, people could conclude that if Jesus did not perform this miracle, then maybe he did not perform others as well. One person jokingly suggested maybe Lazarus was just a heavy sleeper after all. I argued that the homily said to me:
---Jesus did not really perform this miracle, it is all about sharing. The Eucharist is not really a miracle, it too is about sharing. Therefore, I don’t need to go to a Catholic Church next Sunday because I could just go to any protestant church since most of them share better.

Modern theories like this start with people trying to debunk things in the Bible that conflict with a rational, materialistic viewpoint. Most people learned about sharing in the first grade or earlier, I don’t think homilies like this will inspire anyone above first grade. Why can’t a priest make good points about sharing and breaking cold hearts without trying to deny Jesus’ miracles?