Wednesday, March 20, 2013

"Legacies, Listening, and Letting Go"




[The following is a homily written for my "Intro to Homiletics" class on the readings from the First Sunday of Lent, Year C]

In the United States, we grow up hearing certain axioms by which to conduct our lives.  Here are a few examples:

“I cannot tell a lie.” – George Washington

“A penny saved is a penny earned.” – Benjamin Franklin

These words, and many like them, come to us from the legacy of our nation.  They are sage sayings of the Founding Fathers that encourage us to follow a life guided by a certain morality and sense of responsibility

For Christians, There is another saying that has grown in importance especially in our own time.  It is an axiom that has shaped our understanding of who we are and who God is:

“[God] will command his angels to guard you,… lest you dash your foot against a stone.” (Psalm 91:11-12)

The question we ought to ask ourselves is: “Who gives us this guidance in our lives?”  In other words, who do we listen to when we think of God’s providence



The readings from the 1st Sunday of Lent give us two options: 


The first is the Psalmist.  The responsorial psalm of the day is Psalm 91, and it is of an unparalleled trust in God’s ability and willingness to rescue us from the snares of sin and destruction.  

 It is where we are given a song of faith in the Lord, Who is our refuge and fortress, our God in Whom we trust. (see Psalm 91:3)


It tells us that God’s love is present to us when we are found in right relation to Him, and that this same love protects us from anything that could harm us.  


The evils and afflictions of this world cannot overcome us; 


the stones of sin and error cannot impede our journey to life everlasting; 


the dangerous and ravenous temptations of Satan are placed under our feet; 


as long as we are found in the shadow of the Almighty, clinging to His strength and His message of salvation.


When we are found in this relation, we want for nothing.  God is with us, how could we?



The second time we witness this saying is in the Gospel for the day, and while it is the same words of the Psalmist that we hear, it is Satan who delivers the words to us.  


After bringing Jesus to the parapet of the temple, metaphorically, the highest point of the Jewish world, He says:


“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Luke 4:9-11)


This passage has always sent shivers down my spine.  It shows the cunning of the Enemy we face.  

Satan is a Bible scholar!  

He is able to produce elements of Sacred Scripture at a whim to meet his needs, and use them in a coherent fashion. 



And, think about it, he has a point.  I mean, if Jesus is the Son of God, then he has the power to do whatever he wills


He can turn stones to bread;


He can call upon the myriads of angels, and they would present themselves for service. 


So why not do it?  Why not show Satan who the boss is here?



But instead of the answer we want to hear, we are left to wonder


We look around us, and evil still exists;


afflictions overwhelm us at every turn;


sin and error are like a bad cough that we can’t seem to shake;


and the lions and vipers of temptation are lake waves breaking upon the beach of our miserable lives,


incessant and merciless


We need only look at the suffering we witness in those of around us who have been met with seemingly unimaginable hardship to see that our stones are still stones.  Indeed, they have replaced our hearts...


So, is this it?  How can we bring ourselves to trust a God who doesn’t seem to know how to answer us?  Or, at least, how we want Him to answer…  


And that’s the point; We have to let go.


As our new Holy Father, Pope Francis is quoted to have said as archbishop of Buenos Aires:
 
“To those who are now promising to fix all your problems, I say, ‘Go and fix yourself.’ . . . Have a change of heart.”

If we can somehow allow ourselves to be carried by God to that place of trust, where there is an assurance of things hoped for, (Hebrew 11:1) we will see that Christ answers it all, just not in the way we’d expect. 



Because Christ clung to the refuge and fortress of Almighty God, his will was accomplished because his Father’s will was accomplished


The evils and afflictions of this world he overcame by living with us, suffering with us, and dying for us.


The stones of sin and error did not impede him because he transformed them into the Bread of Life by embracing them in his Passion.  


The ravenous onslaught of evil was drowned underneath the Cross by His own blood


This is trust, my friends, but more importantly, this is love!



Don’t you see? Love is our legacy!  Christ has given us an example to follow that surpasses the power of evil in our lives, and it is love


It is a conviction of the heart that, as St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans, justifies us and saves us (Rom. 10:10) because it transforms us by bringing us into a communion with one another that defies distinctions and barriers


According to our modern mentalities, it is an irrational, even irresponsible love, because it is selfless; it is generous to the point of exhaustion, even death.  


This is WHO our God is, and this is who we, as members of His Body and His Bride, are called to be as well.




“[God] will command his angels to guard you,… lest you dash your foot against a stone.”


Who is it, my friends, giving us this guidance in our lives? 


Is it He Who wishes to deliver us from distress and glorify us (Psalm 91:15)? 


Or is it the one who wishes to destroy any hope of our fulfillment?  




We have a choice here; pray that we choose the better part.

 
 Amen.


 

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