Homily: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
Friends,
last week we celebrated the great feast of the Epiphany and we reflected on the
important question that the Magi inspired us to consider: “Quem quaris? … What
are you looking for?” They inspired this
reflection because they knew exactly what they were looking for: they were
looking for the signal that a new king was born—a new star rising in the sky—and
when they saw it, they went looking for the newborn king so as to pay him
homage. They are a sign to us that this
important question is one that each of us needs to ask ourselves.
I
referenced today’s Gospel reading during our reflection last week, because it
is Jesus himself who asks the question of Andrew and the other disciple who
pursue him after John the Baptist points him out and declares him to be “the
Lamb of God”. Jesus asks Andrew and his
companion directly, “Quem quaris? … What are you looking for?” as a sign that
this is, in many ways, the most fundamental question that each of us must
answer.
Last
week, I told you that for all of us the answer to this question should be “Jesus”,
since it is Jesus that our hearts most desire.
I also said that, if “Jesus” isn’t your answer right now, it was okay,
but that your work would be to raise your gaze beyond looking for the things of
this world to look for him, whom your heart most desires. Some of you, perhaps, have come back this week
with an uneasy feeling: that, perhaps, you feel that Jesus really isn’t what
your hearts most desire. If so, I want
to go a little deeper today to try to help you to see the truth of this
claim. To do so, however, we’re going to
have to get into a little philosophy, but I think you’ll find it
worthwhile. Okay, here we go.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle was a pagan
who lived in the 4th century BC. Pagan,
which meant that he didn't know of, let alone believe in, God as he has been
revealed in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Nonetheless, he was an incredible philosopher who could observe the
world around him and draw astute conclusions about "the way things
are". He was the world's top
scientist when philosophy was the world's science.
One
of the core things that Aristotle taught was that all living things have an
end—a telos in Greek—for which they
are striving. For example, by his
observation, a plant is striving for the sun.
He could see this by the way that a plant will stretch out its leaves way
beyond its roots in an effort to reach the rays of the sun. We, of course, know that the plant needs the
rays of the sun to hit its leaves for photosynthesis to happen, in which it
converts the energy from the sun’s rays into nutrients to help it grow, but it
doesn’t change the fact that the living spirit in the plant is striving always
towards the sun as if reaching it was its ultimate purpose.
Now,
I think that we can all agree that we human beings are a little more complex
than a plant. Nonetheless, Aristotle still
thought that we have a telos: an end to which we are striving. When Aristotle observed human beings in order
to determine for what it is that we are striving, he concluded that the end we
are all trying to reach is “happiness”.
In other words, when he looked at the reasons why human beings do
anything, he could see that all of them boiled down to one thing:
happiness. Simply stated: everything
that we choose to do, we choose because we think that it will make us happy
(or, at least, will lead us to happiness).
We, of course, could be wrong about whether or not it will make us
happy, but the fact remains that we choose it because we think that it will
make us happy.
Saint
Thomas Aquinas lived a little more than 1500 years after Aristotle, but he was
one of the first truly to synthesize Aristotle’s philosophy into Christian
theology. Saint Thomas agreed that human
beings have a telos, and that this telos is happiness. Because Thomas was a Christian, however, he
could tell us that the truest and fullest happiness for which we can strive—the
happiness for which we were made—is what Christian Theologians call the
Beatific Vision: that is, standing face to face with God, in perfect communion
with him.
For
Aristotle, therefore, the answer to the question “What are you looking for?” is
happiness. For Saint Thomas Aquinas, the
answer is the same: happiness. With him,
however, the answer has a second part: “And what is happiness? The Beatific Vision.” And so, for Saint Thomas (and, thus, for all
of us), the answer to the question “What are you looking for?” is God.
Perhaps
we can all agree that happiness is what we are looking for. If we take it on faith that Jesus is the
source and summit of the happiness that we seek, then we can determine how to
make decisions in our lives that will move us towards that ultimate
happiness. For example, in our
relationships we can ask ourselves this question: “Does this relationship help
me stay close to, or even move closer to, God?”
If it doesn’t, I would bet that you could also say that that
relationship doesn’t really make you happy.
Sure, that person may have a good sense of humor and make you laugh,
which is enjoyable, but maybe you walk away from those encounters feeling a
little bit guilty because the jokes were often off-color and made at the
expense of someone else’s dignity. Thus,
you realize that, while you had enjoyable moments with that person, he/she didn’t
really add to your happiness. Does this make
sense?
Thus,
my call last week to “raise our gaze” from the things of this world toward
Jesus. When we stay focused on the fact
that Jesus is the source and summit of our happiness, then we are empowered to
make decisions every day to help move us towards him. We do so imperfectly, of course, as it will
often not be perfectly clear which choice will keep us close/move us closer to
Jesus. Nonetheless, it provides a
helpful guide in making good choices for our lives.
A
great example of this is Samuel in our first reading today. Samuel grew up in the temple with Eli, the
temple priest. When God first called out
to him, Samuel had no idea that he should be looking for God. Rather, all he knew was Eli and Eli’s
mentorship/guidance. Thus, when God
called Samuel in the night, Samuel immediately went to Eli. After the third time this happened, Eli (who was familiar with God and his
revelations) recognized that it was God calling to Samuel and, thus, instructed
Samuel to “raise his gaze” above the world to God in order to find what he was
looking for: in this case, the reason for which he was being called. At first, Samuel only knew to look to Eli as
the highest source for guidance towards his happiness. Eli showed him, however, that God is the one
to whom he should be looking. When
Samuel ordered his life towards God and God’s call for him, then he found the
fulfillment that he was looking for.
Therefore,
friends, as we dive into Ordinary Time, let us allow this question of Jesus—“Quem
quaris? … What are you looking for?”—echo in our minds and hearts each
day. And let us strive to believe, and
so live according to, St. Thomas Aquinas’ answer: that what we are looking for
is “happiness, whose source and summit is God”.
When we do, we’ll find that our discipleship—that is, how we choose to
live out each day—will be impregnated with greater direction and meaning. Finally, let us give thanks to God that he
has revealed this truth to us: both in how we live each day and, especially, in
the offering that we make here at this altar.
Given in Spanish at St. Joseph Parish: Rochester, IN –
January 14th, 2024
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