Homily:
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
Brothers
and sisters, this week I am going to ask you remember back two weeks to the
Solemnity of All Saints, when I reminded us that the call to become a saint is
nothing less than the call to greatness.
I reflected on how, as adults, we have shifted our thinking from “what
do I want to be?” to “what am I going to do?”
I challenged us to change our thinking.
I challenged us to ask these questions differently: first asking “what
am I called to be?” and then asking “how am I called to be it?” The answer to the first question is the same
for all of us: “I am called to be a saint”.
The answer to the second question is specific to each person: “I am
called to be a saint by living the vocation that God has given to me.” The reasons for this are worth repeating.
This
life and how we live it is not simply about surviving: that is, about staying
alive and, if possible, finding a reasonable amount of happiness. Rather, it is about being great: that is,
about going beyond the minimum in spite of difficulties because God has called
us to it and has provided every grace we need to achieve it. Too often, however, we look at the world
through purely human eyes and we see that to achieve anything good we need to
work hard and suffer much. To achieve
greatness, we need to work even harder and suffer even more. Therefore, we choose less—the merely
good—sacrificing the chance for great happiness in order to avoid some hard
work and suffering.
For
Christians, though, this does not have to be; and for the reasons I’ve mentioned. We have come to know God and we know not only
that he has called us to greatness (that is, to be saints), but that he has
given us every grace in order to achieve it.
Therefore, if we choose to look at the world with spiritual eyes, we
recognize the gifts which have been given to us by God and with confidence we
use those gifts to achieve the greatness to which we have been called, in spite
of the hard work and suffering that we will have to endure.
This
is the lesson that Jesus gives us in the parable in today’s Gospel and also the
witness given to us by the “worthy wife” described for us in the first
reading. The money given to each servant
to “trade with” while the master was away is a sign of the grace that God gives
to each of us which we are to use to grow his kingdom until he returns. We are called to be industrious with this
grace, making the most of these gifts so that the reign of God may grow. As we do, we ourselves grow in holiness and
make ourselves ready to inherit the reward for our faithfulness.
The
“worthy wife” is someone who has done the same.
She recognizes her calling—to be a wife, mother, and manager of a
household—and she applies herself to it, using all of her industry to provide
for her husband, family, and even for the poor of her community. She recognized her call to greatness and used
the calling that she received from God to be a wife and mother as the means to
achieve it. She “fears the Lord” and so
received grace which blessed all of her endeavors and led her to achieve the
greatness to which she was called.
Brothers
and sisters, faith is the “money” that we have been given by the master to
trade with until he returns. As the
parable in the Gospel shows us, we cannot hide this gift, afraid that we might
lose it. Rather, we must trade with it,
because its value almost assures that there will be a profit. If we refuse to apply our industry to make
this gift fruitful for God and for others, we will be held accountable for our
neglect. If we apply our industry to it,
however, the kingdom of God will grow and we will secure our reward. This is both a sign of our gratitude for
having received the gift and evidence of our trust in God’s inherent goodness
towards us.
Please
allow me to emphasize this last point. While
the parable describes a “master” and his “servants”, the relationship between
God and us is much more like that of a “father” and his “child”. A master can sometimes be cold to his
servants, exacting a profit without mercy for any failures of the servant. A father, however, is more ready to see not
just the results of the work (including if there are failures), but also the
effort put into it. A father wants to
see his child be successful and will only chastise him/her in order to help
bring improvement towards future success.
The exacting master may dismiss the servant. The loving father will draw his child closer
to help him/her achieve success.
God,
our Father, wants to see us become saints: that is, to be successful, creative,
and fruitful with the faith that he has entrusted to us. It is only when we refuse to try to be
fruitful that we will find ourselves chastised and punished. Let us strive, then, for greatness! Our Lord is with us and wishes to see us
achieve it. To do so, we must stay
“sober and alert” (as Saint Paul reminds us in the second reading). This means that we must view the world
through spiritual eyes, not purely human ones.
Our spiritual eyes will remain fixed on the light of Christ’s victory
over sin and death and, thus, see past the darkness of this world to the bright
glory of the new world to come when Christ returns.
This
is not easy! Therefore, we must pray
daily for the faith to trust in God even when darkness surrounds us. We must fear the Lord, not the world: for God
is Lord over the world and over all of the powers of darkness that rule
it. We must stay close to the sacraments
of Eucharist and Reconciliation, for these are founts of grace to provide us
continual strength. With these we will
find the courage to put our faith into action and, thus, grow God’s kingdom
among us.
Mary,
our Blessed Mother, is the perfect example of one who viewed the world with
spiritual eyes. When the angel Gabriel
announced that she would give birth to the Son of God, she did not allow the
concerns about the worldly difficulties that would occur keep her from saying
“yes” to God. And when those
difficulties manifested themselves (most especially in Jesus’ passion), she did
not despair, but rather trusted in God’s promise of victory. Let us look to her for inspiration and
implore her intercession that we may be faithful as she was faithful and thus
“share our master’s joy”.
Given at St. Paul’s Parish: Marion, IN – November 14th,
2020
Given at St. Patrick Parish: Kokomo, IN – November 15th,
2020
(each in Spanish)
No comments:
Post a Comment