Homilies Alive
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 3, 2006
Homily Code: D-1
“One who does justice will live in the
presence of the Lord.”
Today we hear clearly in the gospel that it is the spirit of the law of God that
is important. In the 1st reading from… we see how the chosen people realized
how favored they were to have God give them security of life by living according
to His law which is the best for all people so they may have an abundant life.
We in Missouri will have a clear-cut opportunity to enter into the spirit of
God’s law that states "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the
first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.” Matt 22: 37-38 We love our neighbor when we respect them because
God has called them into life. We respect them because, they like ourselves, are
created by God in love. This love of God has been infused into each person at
the moment of conception and continues in us for all eternity.
The response that we just sang or recited is
a challenge for our daily lives. “One who does justice will live in the
presence of the Lord.” We must pray daily that we will be about the justice of
God and live in God’s presence. Next month we will have the obligation to vote
on an amendment regarding stem cell research. Recently I have read a homily
given by Rev. J Smith, Jefferson City, Mo and I would like to share part of it
with you: SLED is a useful acronym for teaching others about questions about
stem cell research
Often the question is asked: “do you believe that the cells in a Petri dish
are equivalent to, say, a 10 year old who has a disease which may be cured with
embryonic stem cell research?
Size: The size of a person makes no difference as to the humanity of the person.
To say that a child is more human than an embryo because a child is bigger is
like saying the adult is more human than the child because the adult is bigger.
Level of Development: Simply stated, the human embryo is in an early stage of
development, but does not make it less than human. How old you are does not
determine how human you are!
Environment: Where a person is located has no bearing whatsoever as to the
humanness of that person. The fact that an embryo may begin life in a Petri dish
is insignificant to that person’s dignity as a human being. Are you more of a
person because you are in church than in a classroom? On a battlefield than in a
bar? Location does not determine humanity.
Degree of Dependency: A human embryo is completely dependent on others for its
very life. This gives it an important similarity with the mentioned 10-year-old
with a disease who is dependent on others and perhaps machines and medicines for
his very life as well. The only difference is that the child’s life is being
threatened by a disease, whereas the embryo’s life is being threatened by
another human being who does not have to destroy it!
So, YES, the embryo and the 10-year-old child are of equal value – They are
both human beings.
Let me conclude with the words of James in our second reading: “Religion that
is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and
widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” What
the world tells us and what God tells us is so different. The debate falls to
two very simple questions: When does human life begin? The Church teaches in
Christ that human life begin at conception. The second question: Does the end
justify the means? To kill is wrong and we should not sacrifice one human
person. Finally let us heed the challenge of James: “Be doers of the word and
not hearers only.”
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 3, 2006
Homily Code: U-46
Today’s gospel draws a clear line between what I call the ‘minimalists’ and the ‘maximalists’ in today’s religious world. To some, strictly obeying a set of moral and religious rules is what religion is all about. To others, just doing the least amount possible is all that counts. In other words, “What can I get away with and still be in God’s good graces”?
Parents here today will resonate with these words, which they have heard countless times from their children. “Do I have to”? And, this question is usually asked with a whine in their children’s voices. Personally, I hated that when my kids did it. Some of these children grow up with the same minimalist attitudes toward religion. They pester priests with questions like these. “Is it a sin, Father, to (fill in the blank)? Our vacation home is 48 miles from the nearest Catholic Church. Do we have to go to Mass on Sunday? Another priest told me that I had to (name it). What do you think, Father”? I could go on but you get the idea.
Minimalizers generally know all of the minimal obligations by heart. For example, they know (or think they know) how late they can come to Mass and how early they can leave and still get ‘credit’. Basically, these people know just how little they can get by with.
But, one thing that the minimalizers don’t know, however, is joy—especially the joy of knowing God’s love for us. If a person’s primary concern is to find out how little he/she needs to give to God and His Church, they will experience these ‘minimums’ not as joy, but as onerous and unpleasant burdens. Why—why is that?
It’s because these people put God on the edge of their lives. But, what they don’t realize is that, as long as they do that, God will always seem to be a threat to them—always impinging on their way of life—telling them what’s right and what’s wrong. Minimalists want to be the only captain of their ship. They don’t want God to be in charge.
You see, God wants to be the center of our lives, not just some afterthought. So, because of this, God will always be trying to move into the center of our lives. Only the people who have God at the center of their lives find real joy. These people have a religion of love, not of the law.
And, that’s exactly how Jesus lived. Jesus didn’t worry about fulfilling His minimal duties as a good Jew. He never asked how little He had to do but how much He could do. Jesus was a person in love with God. No one in love ever asked, “Do I have to”?, when their beloved asked them to do something. People in love are happy to show their love through generosity and self-love.
So, if minimalism is the error of the lazy, maximalism is the error often found among the most religious people. It’s a sobering thought to realize that these were the people with whom Jesus was most severe.
Maximalists are the people who worry if knitting on a Sunday afternoon is breaking the commandment to rest on Sunday. They worry if they forget to pray the rosary that day. They worry about what other people wear to Church. In fact, given the opportunity, they would worry about anything and everything.
These people must realize that salvation and God’s love are things that can’t be ‘earned’. They are God’s free gift to us. He gives us these gifts not because we’ve earned them or that we are ‘good enough’ but because God is so good that He wants to share His love with us. Imagine that—our great and wonderful God wanting us to be with Him for ever. Maximalists have trouble imagining this fact.
The people who will be the most richly rewarded in heaven are those who never stop and think about what they deserve, because they are so keenly aware of their own spiritual inadequacies. They realize that they don’t deserve anything, let alone eternal happiness.
If we want to experience God’s love and generosity (and, if we think about it, who doesn’t?), we have to stand before Him with humility—realizing that we can’t do anything but accept God’s love with great thankfulness. There is nothing we can do to earn it—absolutely nothing.
Thanks be to God.