Sunday, August 25, 2024

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Joshua 24:1-2, 15-17, 18; Ephesians 5:21-32; John 6:55, 60-69)

The Olympics left us viewers with our mouths agape. How can Simon Byles jump so high? How can the Chinese lift such enormous weights? How can Noah Lyles run so fast? All the athletes demonstrated the triumph of the body over lethargy and mediocrity.

However, in the end the body cannot achieve what is most desirable. After all is said and done, we don’t long for a medal or international fame. No, we human beings desire eternal happiness. It is something spiritual that knows no end. As Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is of no avail.” Somehow, we must obtain the Holy Spirit if we are to achieve eternal happiness.

Throughout the “Bread of Life Discourse,” we have heard what we must do to obtain eternal life. Since Jesus, the true Bread from heaven, knows the Father and reveals His will, we must believe in Him and put into practice what He teaches. Does this seem impossible?  Well, it is if we were left solely with our own natural resources. However, because we cannot achieve this through human efforts alone, Jesus has left us His Body and Blood. The Eucharist strengthens us on the journey to eternal life just as steak and milk nourished the athletes’ bodies for the Olympic games.

Jesus wants a definitive response from us to His offer of eternal life. Like Joshua in the first reading, no half-measures. Unfortunately, many today want to follow Jesus only until the path becomes rough. Then, like the murmuring disciples in the Gospel, they turn their backs on Him. They are like children who reject a dime to grab the larger copper penny.

Accepting Jesus means following His teachings, as we have seen in the readings from the Letter to the Ephesians in recent Sundays. His command in today’s reading is particularly relevant. Spouses must love each other wholeheartedly, always considering the other’s well-being. It cannot be denied that the letter teaches that the husband makes the final decision. But this does not mean that the husband is always right and should never submit to his wife’s will. Not at all. The two, as the reading says, are “one flesh.” The husband must always take to heart what his wife says. Sometimes, simply for the sake of variety, the husband will submit to his wife’s judgment.

This matter is crucial in a time that elevates individual well-being above that of the family. For example, in some places, schools can dispense contraceptives without parental consent.  In some places today, so-called “puberty blockers” (hormones that suppress the development of natural sex) can be given without communicating with parents. The vast majority of parents want to do what is best for their children. A wise person once said that the best thing parents can do for their children is to love each other. If we want healthy and wholesome children, parents must love each other with ever greater dedication.

Does it challenge us? Of course, but the strength to do so (it’s worth repeating) comes from Jesus in the Eucharist. It is His own Body and Blood that leads us pass the challenges of the world to eternal life.

 

Monday, August 15, 2016

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Revelation 19a.12:1-6a.10ab; I Corinthians 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56)

In the Olympics the world’s most perfect bodies are celebrated.  The athletes have strained for years to render their bodies exquisitely fit for the sport being played.  Despite all this work in time these same bodies will grow weak whether from neglect or disease.  The days will come when they, like the bodies of all living things, will cease to function completely.  The remains of these bodies then will have to be disposed in some form or another

In the case of the Mother of God, however, the day of death was short-lived.  Her body was assumed into God’s glory because it was not corrupted by the guilt of sin.  She lived a life like that of the rest of us – full of moments of joy and hours of drudgery.  But, unlike us, she never despised another person as not worth her attention.  She never wanted more than she knew she deserved.  She never deceived anyone for either meanness or gain.  Not weighed down by guilt, Mary was granted the greatest prize.  Her body remained intact after death and entered the company of her glorious son.

That our bodies will also deteriorate and perish need not make us sad.  We know that we have joined ourselves to Christ who has conquered death.  Our bodies will rise again at the end of time with an appearance perhaps not unlike those of the Olympians today.  But that won’t be the cause for our joy so much as our nearness to him who saved us.

Homilette for Friday, September 12, 2008

Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 9:16-19; 22b-27)

Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 9:16-19; 22b-27)

Last month the eyes of the world were riveted on Michael Phelps. The American swimmer was attempting to win an unprecedented eight gold medals in one Olympic season. Few people considered Phelps’ competitors – how they might enjoy receiving Olympic gold. No, they were hoping to see a champion of champions emerge in those games.

In the reading from the first letter to the Corinthians today Paul challenges us to compete like Michael Phelps. But, he implies, the prize that we aim at is not lustrous gold which often carries with it soul-destroying pride. Quite the contrary, the award we seek is invisible to the eye but edifying of the soul. We work for everlasting life with God and achieve it by dedicating ourselves to Him.

Make no mistake about it; our quest for sanctity is as daunting as Michael Phelps’ pursuit of gold medals. We must discipline our bodies to overcome the desires of the flesh and our minds to keep focused on our heavenly prize. As Phelps spent multiple hours daily at swimming practice, we must pray for God’s assistance and take advantage of opportunities to do good. The difference between Phelps’ shooting for Olympic gold and our seeking everlasting life is that in our case no extraordinary natural disposition is necessary to gain the goal we seek. Every one of us can become a saint with God’s grace.

Homilette for Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Mt 5:43-48)

Jesus’ command in the gospel, “’...be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect’” distresses many Christians. They worry that they will have to conduct a neurotic, illusive program to change their lives. Better, they may think, to remain simul iustus et peccator, Martin Luther’s expression to describe the Christian as justified while remaining sinful. “God loves us as we are,” they may say to excuse their unwillingness to change.

We like to think of Jesus as accommodating of our sins and foibles. The gospel stories of Jesus’ eating with prostitutes and tax collectors reassure that he will accept us with our less grievous faults. And surely he does! He does not spurn us because of weakness for pornography, displays of bad temper, or the like. But at the same time he calls us to change our sinful ways. At Baptism or in the Sacrament of Reconciliation he even provides us the power to reform.

Yet we should not be surprised if our transformation is gradual. Human nature, after all, is notoriously habitual. Yet with constant, determined effort we can overcome the meanest of tendencies. In this season when Olympic athletes are closing in on perfection, we might consider ourselves in similar training. In our case, of course, we seek mastery of behavior which wins the prize of a permanent place in the Father’s kingdom.