Last weekend was a "Deacon Sunday" in which our Permanent Deacons preached the Masses. Therefore, no homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent.
Homily:
5th Sunday in Lent – Cycle C
Human
memory is a marvelous thing. I mean “marvelous”
in the true sense: that it is a thing of marvel. In ways that we only partially understand, it
can bring us back to moments from the past and make them seem fresh and new
again. This, of course, cuts both
ways. This power of memory is a good
thing when it brings back moments that were positive. It is a bad thing, however, when it brings
back moments that were negative and hurtful.
In regards to this, though, memory is truly neutral: it stores both the
positive and the negative without prejudice to them being good or bad. Interesting, then, that our Scriptures today all
seem to point towards us moving past the past: that is, moving past our memory.
In
the first reading, we heard God imploring the people to forget what had
happened to them in the past and to look, rather, towards the new thing that he
is doing. We remember (no pun intended)
that Isaiah was a prophet during the Babylonian Exile. The Israelites, therefore, remembered how
their sinfulness led to them being abandoned by God into the power of the
Babylonians. God, however, had seen their
subjugation and was ready to lead them back out to their home land. Therefore, he gives them this message: do not
think to what was before, but rather pay attention to what I am doing now and
see that I am ready lead you out into a new life. In other words, “Get ready to move ‘past your
past’ into a new future that I’m preparing.”
In
the second reading, Paul, writing to the Christians in Philippi, speaks of forgetting
what “lies behind” (that is, his former way of life) so that he can turn
towards what “lies ahead” (namely, his new life in Christ). So much so that he says that he considers
everything of his former way of life as “loss” for the sake of knowing the
salvation of Jesus Christ. In other words, he has decided to “move past his
past” in order to enjoy new life in Christ.
In
the Gospel, among other important things that Jesus does in this story, Jesus
tells the woman to forget her past and to go forward in her life, without
sin. This woman was caught in adultery and
had her shame confounded by being made a public spectacle, solely for the purpose
of trying to catch Jesus in a trap. (And
I won’t even bring up how unjust it was that the woman was shamed for adultery,
not the man.) Jesus, however, (after he
shames the scribes and Pharisees) shows her that he doesn’t want her to focus
on her past—even her immediate past—but rather that he wants her to move “past
her past” and towards a future without sin.
If
you haven’t noticed, Lent and confession call us to do the same; and here’s
what I mean. You see, in the first part
of Lent, we are challenged to examine ourselves and to acknowledge our
failings. In other words, we’re
challenged to look back and to remember our past so as to recognize our sins so
that we might repent from them. Now, in
this, the “home stretch” of Lent, we are challenged to look towards Christ and
to look, therefore, towards the things that lie ahead. In other words, as we have recognized our
sins of the past and have turned away from them, we are called to forget about
our sin—that is, to move “past our past”—and turn ourselves firmly towards the
good work that God has given to us.
Confession,
in this light, is really just Lent in miniature. In order to prepare, we must first look at
our past and identify the ways in which we’ve turned from God. Then, we place these things before God in the
sacrament and we ask for his forgiveness.
Once we receive it, we are sent forth to focus again on the work that
God has given to us. In other words, we’re
called to move “past our past” into the future to which God has called us.
Friends,
this is super-important to say, because focusing too much on the past—especially
our past sins—is to continue to be enslaved by it. Too often people come to confession and say “I
just feel so guilty for my past sins”.
When they do, I often highlight two things: First, that this means that
they haven’t forgiven themselves for their sin.
I tell them that, since God is the only one who can condemn them for
their sin, to continue to condemn themselves for their sin is, frankly,
silly! Second, I tell them that, to continue
to feel guilty for their sin—and, therefore, to dwell on their past sins—is still
to be enslaved by them. If they had
already confessed their sin, God has forgiven them and set them free. Nonetheless, they voluntarily return to being
enslaved by them because they can’t let go of the guilt that they feel. I then remind them that God is only concerned
about their past in as much as they have acknowledged their sin and have turned
away from it. Once that occurs, God is
only concerned with where they are today and with where they are going in the
future. God is “eternally present”: so
the past isn’t “past” to him and the future isn’t “future” to him; rather, all
of it is (somehow) right now. Thus, if
someone is living in the past, he/she cannot find God, who is here, now, in the
present.
This
is the story of the woman caught in adultery.
She was caught in her sin and condemned before God (that is, Jesus). Presumably, Jesus could see the sorrow in her
heart for her sin and so decided to show her mercy. Thus, after shaming the scribes and Pharisees
to turn away from their pride-filled, murderous rage, he turns to her, sets her
free, and charges her not to return to her past, but rather to go forward in a
new way when he said, “Go, and from now on do not sin any more”.
Friends,
these last two weeks of Lent must be about making our definitive break from our
past sinfulness in order to focus on that which lies ahead. Otherwise, Easter will pass and we’ll have no
great memories to show for it. A great
way to do this will be to spend a lot of time meditating on the Lord’s
passion. I adjure you to take time to
think about who Jesus is and about what he suffered because of our sins (yes,
yours and mine, right here in 2019). If
you need help, go to the book rack in the gathering space and look for a book
that can help you. Or, if you’re on
Formed.org, look for “Three Days that Changed the World”, a talk by Fr. Hector
Perez, or some of the other talks available in that online library. Then, having reflected on his passion, think
about being united to him: united in his suffering, yes, but also in his
resurrection. In this, you will begin to
see that the things of this world will need to be left behind so that you can
focus on this thing—that is, being united to Christ in his resurrection—which lies
ahead.
Finally,
make a good confession, if you haven’t already done so, and turn to Our Lady
and allow her to lead you by her motherly care.
Friends, this is everything! And
so, please don’t ignore this time. I
promise that you will find great peace in your life if you can learn to leave
your past in the past and focus on what lies ahead: which is the glorious life
of the resurrected Christ; the life which is foreshadowed here in this Eucharist
we celebrate today.
Given at Saint Mary’s Cathedral: Lafayette, IN – April 6th
& 7th, 2019
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