Homilies Alive
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 17, 2006
Homily Code: A-23
In the Old Testament, there are some interesting themes that are repeated over and over in book after book. One of
those themes is the Messiah—the great one whom the Jewish people believed
would some day come and lead them to victory over their persecutors. . A second
theme is the Suffering Servant. Who was the suffering servant? A man or perhaps
even a people who by suffering would be a kind of savior for the human race.
The people of the Old Testament never put these two themes
together. Nor did the apostles and disciples of Jesus who were actually people
of the Old Testament. They never thought there would be a single individual who
would be both messiah and suffering servant. In today’s Gospel, Jesus shows
that both images are fulfilled in him. He is the messiah, but he is also to be a
suffering servant.
.
The scene that takes place in today’s Gospel happened about a year
after Jesus began his public life. He had performed many miracles; He had cured
people who were blind, deaf and lame, and even people who were lepers. It was
natural that people would be curious about his real identity, curious about his
goal in life. Everybody was talking about him. And
so he asked his apostles: “Who do people say that I am?” Isn’t it
interesting that nobody thought he was a real live person. They thought he was
one of the dead prophets who had been re-incarnated.
“Some say you are John the Baptizer, or Elijah, or another one of the
prophets come back to life.”
All the more remarkable then, was Peter’s answer to the question.
Without any hesitation he said, “You are the Messiah.” The one all of us
have been waiting and praying for. And for the first time in his life, Jesus
admitted it. Yes, I am the Messiah; but to keep them from thinking that he would
lead an army to destroy the Roman rulers, he then told them clearly what was
going to happen. I am the suffering servant. I will endure
pain. I will be rejected by
the chief priests and the scribes, and I will die a terrible death.
And here is where Peter, who had just made a brilliant observation, now
makes the simple mistake all of us sometimes make. He tried to tell Jesus that
he would not suffer crucifixion, because he was good. “After all, you are
close to God; you have performed miracles; you have led a wonderful life; how
could God possibly let you suffer?” And the answer of Jesus was “You are not
judging by God’s standards, but by your own.”
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 17, 2006
Homily Code: U-45
It’s very difficult to deny ourselves, isn’t it? I mean, just look at how our politicians and advertisers try to appeal to our comfort. “Vote for me and I promise to give you heaven on Earth”. Or, “Buy my product and people will know that you have ‘arrived’. Ugh!
Jesus, on the other hand, tells us that, to follow Him means taking up our cross—all of the time. He doesn’t offer us an easy way out but, then again, Jesus also isn’t asking any of us to do something that He, Himself, hasn’t done first.
I’ve got two examples of people taking up their cross in their everyday lives. Oh, maybe not with the greatest of joy, but it was still done because of their love of God and His Church. The first on is from a young woman.
“My faith has made me the loneliest person I know. Since I neither drink nor do drugs like so many of my friends, I don’t get invited to parties. I made a promise to God not to have sex before I got married, so I’ve been dropped by too many guys. I made the choice to be good because that’s what I think God wants and, as a result, I sit home every Saturday night”. This young woman may have lost some of her social life, but she certainly isn’t jeopardizing her eternal life.
The second example is from a man in his late twenties who was an up-and-coming star in his company.
One day, is boss told him that his progress was so good that she was going to take him to a national convention. This was so that he could get a good look at how things worked at the top and also so that he could meet some very influential people who could help him in his career.
Well, unfortunately, he got too good a look. After the daily meetings, he noticed a lot of drinking among the executives and was urged to join in. In addition, he was told to get a woman from the supply of those who had been hired for the occasion.
When he refused both, he got a clear message from his boss that this was not what was expected of an up-and-coming executive candidate. When they returned home, his boss said that she was willing to overlook his strange behavior at the convention, if it would never happen again.
This young man replied to his boss that he wouldn’t engage in such activities under any circumstances. When she asked him why, his straightforward answer was, “It’s because I’m a Catholic who tries to follow what God wants and not what the world wants”. He wasn’t one of these holier-than-thou people. He was just a good husband and father. By the way, he was fired on the spot and still hasn’t found another job in his field. This young man may have lost his joy but not his identity as a follower of Jesus.
So, as we can see, picking up our cross means having to make some very difficult decisions. To truly deny ourselves means that never again will I choose what I want over what God wants of me. That’s what Jesus was trying to get across to Peter when Jesus called him Satan. Peter didn’t want to see Jesus die a horrible death on the cross. And, believe me, crucifixion is a horrible way to die.
Peter just wanted to save his friend. And, Jesus was tempted. But, this time, instead of the devil tempting Jesus face-to-face, like he did in the desert, the devil tempted Jesus through the voice of a friend. And, the temptation was a good one. After all, who wouldn’t turn to a friend during times of trouble?
In today’s gospel, Jesus is talking about more than what we call self-denial. Jesus’ definition of self-denial means more than just giving up something for Lent or going on a diet or having one less beer after work.
Jesus is talking about giving up our control over our own destiny. He’s not talking about giving up going to college or trade school or working hard or taking care of your health.
Jesus is talking about abandoning all of the attempts we make to try and retain total control of our lives. You see, life never really belongs to us in an absolute sense. Life is a gift from God which is entrusted to us only for a limited time.
Most people, before their death, realize that they aren’t the masters of their fate and captains of their souls. The ones who don’t realize this fact find only bitterness and discouragement as their lives go on.
When people drink too much or have sex outside of marriage or conduct shady business deals, they may think that they are saving their lives (or should I say ‘lifestyles’?), but what are they saving them for? As Jesus has so clearly told us, they will lose everything.
People who spend their lives thinking only of their own profit or comfort or security are losing their life every moment of their search for these things. But, people who invest their lives for Christ, like the young woman and man I mentioned earlier, are winning eternal life—the greatest gift of all.
There is only ‘One’ who can save our lives—for eternity. But, He’ll only do it on the condition that we completely surrender control of our lives to Him and Him alone—right here and right now. According to the gospel, that’s the only way that we can preserve our lives.
There is a name for this surrender. It’s called faith. And, our faith in Jesus must be personal. For some of us, it will mean seeing ourselves in a more truthful way. This means that we have to see how our own sins break Jesus’ Sacred Heart. For others, the need might be the exact opposite; to see ourselves as being truly loved and truly beautiful in God’s eyes.
I wonder how many of us have done stupid and sinful things because we thought that we weren’t attractive or wanted by someone. Satan has a field day when we think like that. He’ll tell us that we shouldn’t have to suffer, that we deserve more. He’ll say to us, “Come on, loosen up. Who’s going to get hurt? Have that extra drink. Smoke that joint. What’s a little fooling around going do? No one will ever know. Come on, live a little”. Any of this sound familiar?