Homily:
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C
Friends,
I am so grateful for the opportunity to be with you here today. About a month ago, I received as special
sample of a product that has changed my life in a positive way. Over the past month, I’ve felt better, had
more energy, my mind has become laser-focused, I’m sleeping better, my skin has
cleared up, and I’m accomplishing much more than I ever did. This product is about to be made available to
the general public, but I have been given the opportunity to offer it to you
first. The product? ...You tell me. What I’ve just described could be the first
two minutes of any “special paid advertisement” program that you might see on
TV.
If
I hooked you with that presentation—and if you’re feeling a little naïve for it—I
wouldn’t be surprised. And the reason
for this is pretty simple. You shouldn’t
have to spend too much time thinking to realize a couple of things about our
human nature: 1) We all want to feel good; and 2) We all want to do good in our
lives (whether that means, being productive, helpful, or otherwise making
something positive come out of whatever it is we are doing in our lives). The problem for us, however, is that we’re
all pretty lazy. You see, back here, in
the core of our brain stem—that is, the part of our brains that formed first
and in which all of our core instincts are stored—is embedded the knowledge
that we weren’t made for work. Remember,
when we were created, we were placed in a garden in which everything was handed
to us. We didn’t have to work for food;
rather, we had to “tend” the garden: which, it seems, pretty much took care of
itself, anyway. Because of this, we are
naturally resistant to anything that smells like “hard work”.
This,
plus the fact that we want to feel good and do good, means that we’re pretty
susceptible to be attracted to a product or program that promises to improve
our lives with minimal to no work from us.
This promise, of course, is a lie.
And not necessarily a malicious lie, either, as advertisers often hide
just below the surface that, while their product or program will improve your
life, it will only be successful if you work hard while using/following
it. This underlying truth—that improvement
comes from work—is one of the things our Scriptures are pointing us towards
today.
In
the first reading, from the book of Sirach, a wisdom book, we heard the
author warning us not to allow someone to be our guide until the person reveals
the quality of their substance beneath the surface. If someone has done the hard work to
strengthen their core, it will be revealed in how they acted in trying times
and in how they speak about themselves and others. In other words, if you’re going to put your
trust in someone to guide you towards a better life, you ought to be sure that
he/she has done the necessary hard work first.
Has their mettle been sifted? Has
their clay been proven solid by enduring the heat of the furnace? Has their tree produced good fruit? Do they manifest these things through good
speech? If not, beware: they may lead
you astray.
In
the Gospel reading, Jesus echoes this teaching.
In this extremely short, but descriptive parable, he reminds us that a
blind person cannot lead a blind person (any person, really) anywhere. (Sorry, Subaru, but your commercial about a
blind man leading a seeing couple around an Alaskan peninsula is flatly false.) One needs to have done the hard work of
learning how to see in order to lead others to do the same. Jesus then directs the parable back at his
disciples: “Do not, therefore, try to be the guide for someone else, if you
yourself have not done the hard work of clearing the obstacles out of your life
so that you can see clearly enough to guide others”. This, we know, is the meaning of the
“splinter and the beam” parable: do not be too quick to fix someone else’s
problems if you haven’t spent any time addressing your own.
And
this is a lesson of which we must often be reminded. But the form of this lesson can seem
unhelpful for people; and here’s why.
The fact of the matter is that we all have our own problems. We all have issues with anger, jealousy,
impatience, intemperance in what we consume, and a host of other things. My guess is that we all look at those issues
in our lives and think, “I’m not happy with these issues and I want to get them
out of my life”. The best of us will
then try to get those issues out of their lives; and those who do quickly run
into the biggest obstacle to removing them: work. Yes, work.
That’s because the only way to get these issues out of our lives is to
take up the hard work necessary to overcome them. Thus, when Jesus says, “Fix your own issues
first”, our reaction (perhaps only subconsciously) is to say, “Easy for you to
say, Jesus! Don’t you know how hard it is to do that?” It’s the same reaction that friends have to
us when they share with us that they struggle with anger and we say, “Well, you
just need to be more patient”. “Duh, I
know that! But it’s so hard!”
One
of the things that I’ve found very helpful in my own life, and so often share
it with others, is to accompany that very simple and direct advice of Jesus
with a frank acknowledgement that what Jesus asks of us isn’t easy; and I
promise to support them in any way that I can as they take up that work. I say, “Yes, you need to be more patient...
and that’s hard work! But it’s work you
have to do if you want to get this misery out of your life. It won’t be fixed tomorrow, but if you commit
to working at it, you will overcome it.”
People respond to this because they recognize that others struggle to
overcome the same issues and, thus, have a sense of solidarity that encourages
them to try.
Friends,
Lent begins this week and it is a great opportunity for us to put our Lord’s
teaching into action. If you haven’t yet
decided how you are going to spend your Lent (or even if you have), spend some
time with this passage from the 6th chapter of Luke’s Gospel these
next few days. Ask yourselves, “What
beams are stuck in my eye and obscuring my vision of the world?” Then ask, “How can I work over these days of
Lent (through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving) to remove these beams so that I
can see clearly and, thus, be someone who can help others do the same?” Finally, make a commitment to try. There are no easy fixes in the Christian
life; but when we put ourselves into a good work that God’s Spirit has inspired
in us, God’s grace is always there to help bring it to fruition. This is why Saint Paul exhorts us today: “be
firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in
the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
This is God’s promise to us. May
we show our faith—and, thus, our thankfulness—by taking up this good work.
Given at Saint Mary’s Cathedral: Lafayette, IN – March 2nd
& 3rd, 2019
