Homily:
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C
In March of 2003, I was an engineer who had set himself on
a path towards a career in the automotive industry. I was at a point in my life when I knew that
there were some things that would have to change—not so that I could be
successful, but rather so that I could be happy—but I never thought that those
changes would take me too far from engineering.
Nevertheless, after participating in a parish mission, I realized that
my life might soon be radically different.
You see, during that parish mission I had encountered Jesus
in a very personal way; and when I encountered him I was suddenly deeply aware
of my sinfulness (and of how broken I was because of my sinfulness). There I went to confession for the first time
in over 12 years and I experienced in a profound way the depths of God’s
mercy. I left from that week knowing
that my life had changed forever—that God would be sending me in a different
direction—even though I wouldn’t know what that direction would look like until
some time later
One of the things that I did quickly realize, however, was
that my life would now have to be focused on others. In other words, I knew that, because I had
received God’s mercy, God wanted me to be an instrument of his mercy to
others. Thus, even while I prayed to
discern God’s vocation for my life, I began to involve myself in the various
outreach ministries in my parish. Of
course, we all know the rest of the story: that the specific way that God was
calling me to be an instrument of his mercy was to be a priest in his Church.
The prophet Isaiah was a minister in the Temple of
Jerusalem. One day, while performing his
liturgical duties in the Temple, Isaiah was given a vision of the glory of
heaven and of the presence of God. In
spite of the splendor of this vision, Isaiah turns away from it because, in the
presence of God, he is acutely aware of his sinfulness—and, thus, his
unworthiness to stand in God’s presence.
Just then an angel carries an ember from the altar and “purifies” him by
touching it to his lips so that he no longer has to fear being in the presence
of God. Isaiah was mercifully cleansed
from his sinfulness. In response, when
the voice of the Lord calls out for someone to send on a mission, Isaiah
promptly replies, “Here I am; send me!”
Although he was already ministering to the Lord in the Temple, his
experience of God’s mercy inspired him to volunteer to be sent forth on a
mission to be the voice of God’s mercy to others.
Peter was a fisherman in Galilee. He must not have been a bad fisherman,
either, because the Gospel tells us that Jesus got into the boat “belonging to
Simon” and only those who had been successful could afford to own their own
boat. After Jesus had instructed him to put
out into deep water and lower his nets for a catch—at a time of day in which no
one would catch anything, and after having spent the night (that is, the good
time for catching fish) lowering his nets and catching nothing—Peter was
astounded at the catch that was made and knew that he was in the presence of
someone powerful. This realization was
immediately followed by an acute awareness of his own sinfulness; and so Peter
bows down before Jesus and acknowledges as much before him. Jesus, however, shows him mercy and gives him
a commission to draw others to experience his mercy, too, when he says: “Do not
be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
And although it wasn’t recounted for us in our reading
today, Paul’s career as an Apostle is a direct result of the same pattern. On the road to Damascus—when he was still
persecuting the first Christians—Paul encountered the Risen Jesus. After that appearance, Paul was acutely aware
of his sinfulness. God showed him his
mercy, however, and then sent him out to proclaim the Good News of his mercy to
the nations. Paul, in his letter to the
Corinthians, does acknowledge this for us when he says “For I am the least of
the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church
of God. But by the grace of God [that
is, the mercy of God] I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been
ineffective.”
This pattern, I think, can be summed up in a simple phrase:
Receive mercy, give mercy. In each of
these examples that I’ve recounted—in spite of the very different circumstances
in which each occurred—the person became aware that he was in the presence of
God and, thus, became acutely aware of his sinfulness. Acknowledging his sinfulness before God, however,
God showed him his mercy. Having
received God’s mercy, he then turned to become an instrument of God’s mercy in
the world. In other words, first he received
mercy and then he gave it. This is not
an experience for the “chosen few”, however.
Rather, it is something that all of us can experience.
In order to receive mercy, one must first acknowledge his
or her sinfulness before God. We are all
sinners and so to openly acknowledge this before God invites him to show us his
mercy. Then, having received his mercy,
our lives our changed and we go forth, not to return to our sinful way of life,
but rather to live our lives for him and to be instruments of his mercy in the
unique vocation that he has given to each of us. Pope Francis, in his message for Lent this
year, says that “God’s mercy transforms human hearts; it enables us, through
the experience of a faithful love, to become merciful in turn.” In other words, when we receive God’s mercy
we are transformed and, thus, enabled to give mercy to others.
Speaking of Lent, everybody knows that Lent begins this
week, right? The season of Lent is a
privileged time for us to live this pattern—receive mercy, give mercy—because
the two main elements are built right in.
All Catholics are encouraged to celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation
during Lent, in which we acknowledge our sinfulness before God and receive his
mercy. We are also encouraged to perform
the works of mercy—specifically, giving alms to the poor—thus giving us the
chance to give God’s mercy to others.
What better time to renew these two powerful elements of the spiritual
life than this Jubilee Year of Mercy?
Perhaps, then, this week you’ll take a moment to make a
firm commitment before God to make these two elements part of your Lenten
renewal: to receive God’s mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to give
God’s mercy by engaging in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. I promise you that, if you make that
commitment and follow through with it, your life will be different at Easter:
different in a wonderful and powerful way.
Strengthened by this Eucharist that we celebrate today, my
brothers and sisters, we can make this happen.
May Our Mother Mary, who received such great mercy when she agreed to
give birth to God’s Son and who then gave (and continues to give) such great
mercy to others, intercede for us and lead us to the merciful arms of her Son,
where all that we have hoped for will be found.
Given at All Saints Parish:
Logansport, IN – February 7th, 2016
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