Homily: 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
Friends,
as each of us grows into adulthood, one of the things that we learn is that we
are often victims of our genes (G-E-N-E-S, not J-E-A-N-S). In other words, we find that our genetics,
over which we have no control, create challenges for us in our lives. For example, my mother cannot look at a slice
of pizza without her cholesterol increasing.
This is not because of anything she did, but it’s simply the way her
body works because of her genetic makeup.
My father, on the other hand, can eat whatever he wants and his
cholesterol stays flat in a good range.
Again, this is not because of anything that he has done, but simply the
way his body works because of his genetic makeup. Over the years, and after multiple tests, I’ve
discovered that I have my father’s genes when it comes to this, which irks my
mother a quite a bit. That’s not the
point, though. The point is that
sometimes negative traits that we have are inherited and there’s nothing that
we can do about it.
Sin
is like those inherited traits. There
are some in the world who like to think that we can simply “wish sin away”, as
if it is some label that we’ve put on certain actions and behaviors, not
something that is “inside” of us. These
are folks who are bothered by the negative attitude that focusing on sin can
cause in people and would rather focus on having a more positive attitude and encouraging
people to “try to do good”. In other
words, they try to act as if sin doesn’t exist.
In the second reading from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul is
explaining some very important points about sin and redemption. In doing so, he also reminds us of the clear evidence
of sin in the world. He says, “Through
one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death…” Death is the consequence of sin. Thus, by implication, if death is still in
the world, then so is sin. Make
sense? If the existence of sin caused
death to enter the world, then the persistence of death in the world means that
sin also is still in it.
That
sin is an inherited trait is clear by what Paul says later: “and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as
all sinned…” and “death reigned… even over those who did not sin after the
trespass of Adam…” (this latter part being an allusion to what we now call “Original
Sin”). As we pay attention, we see that
death is still in the world, and thus can conclude sin still is in the world. That being true, we can conclude that, as decedents
of Adam, sin, as an inherited trait, is still in us, too.
The
good news is that, by grace—and by ordering our lives rightly according to
grace—we can overcome the limitations that these inherited traits impose upon
us. Paul says, “But the gift [i.e.
grace] is not like the transgression [i.e. sin]. For if by the transgression of
the one the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift
of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.” In other words, he’s saying that if sin (and,
therefore, death for all) entered the world so easily (that is, through the
transgression of one man), then how much more easy was it for grace (which is
infinitely more powerful than sin) to enter the world and so overcome sin (and,
therefore, provide life for all)?
Therefore, grace, and our cooperation with it, becomes the way that we
can overcome the limitations that the sin we inherited imposed upon us.
For
example, let’s go back to my mother (or anyone who struggles with high
cholesterol). Medications exist today to
help reduce and/or eliminate harmful cholesterol in our bodies. These work best, however, when coupled with
behavior changes, such as a change in diet to low-cholesterol foods. Grace (the medication) and her cooperation
with grace (changes in her behavior) allow my mother to overcome the
limitations that her inherited traits imposed upon her (that is, the genetic
disposition to high cholesterol). This
is such a boring example, isn’t it? I
hope it’s illustrative, though.
Friends,
this is the reason that Jesus is so adamant in the gospel that we not fall into
worldly thinking that invites us either to try to dismiss this notion that sin
is an inherited trait (and something that we have to contend with) or that it
is something to which there is no remedy.
He exhorts us not to be afraid of anything in the world—even bodily
death—but rather to trust in the One who has power over bodily death—and, thus,
complete power over sin, through which death entered the world. In doing so, we open ourselves to grace; and,
as I’ve already said, grace, and our cooperation with grace, is the way that we
can overcome the limitations that sin and the disposition to sin that we
inherited has imposed upon us.
So
how do we gain access to this grace? It
begins and ends with faith, of course: that is, with receiving the gift of the
revelation of God and, thus, putting our complete trust in God and in the
redemption won for us by Jesus on the cross.
Faith then leads us to baptism, through which we are cleansed of sin
(both Original Sin and any personal sin for which we may be guilty). The sacraments of confirmation and holy
communion complete that baptismal grace and strengthen us to live as
cooperators with that grace in the world.
The sacrament of reconciliation helps restore us to grace when we fail
to cooperate with or even work against grace.
Finally, we access grace daily when we acknowledge Jesus before others,
trusting, as he promised in the gospel today, that this will lead him to
acknowledge us before the Father, where he will intercede for us and unlock an
overflow of grace for us.
Doesn’t
this sound awesome??? It does to
me! Every day, we can look out into the
world and think, like Jeremiah laments at the beginning of the first reading,
that “I hear the whisperings of many: ‘Terror on every side! Denounce! let us
denounce him!” In other words, we can
observe ourselves and our surroundings and think, “This sin and the inclination
to sin that I’ve inherited surrounds me and I have no recourse”. But Jesus’ exhortation to us today not to be
afraid is a reminder that grace, which is a share in the divine power of God’s
life, is available to us through faith. And
when we cooperate with grace, ordering our lives according to the commandment
to love God above all and our neighbor as ourselves, then we overcome sin and
our tendency to sin, and open ourselves to an eternal life, free from any
limitations, inherited or otherwise.
This is truly awesome!
Friends,
it is true that we are often victims of our genes, meaning that inherited traits
(like sin), traits over which we have no control, can affect us negatively. Trying to hide from this reality often leads
to negative consequences. When we acknowledge
these limitations and open ourselves to grace, however, we find the power to
help us overcome. Let us, therefore, as
Jeremiah exhorts us, “Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord” that he has rescued us
from sin and freed us for eternal life.
And with this song of praise on our lips and in our hearts, let us
boldly return to the world to acknowledge Jesus before others and cooperate
with grace, so that many others may be united to us in glorifying God and
preparing for the life to come.
Given at Holy Trinity Parish: Trinity, IN – June 24th
and 25th, 2023
Given at Immaculate Conception Parish: Portland, IN – June 25th,
2023
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