(the following is a homily given at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Enid OK on the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Independence Day Weekend, 7/5/15)
This weekend we celebrate America’s
Holiday of Obligation: Independence Day.
It is a day
that represents all things American: liberty and equality, apple pie and hotdogs,
and of course getting a day off from work (for some of us at least). This day
stands for those who have fought and died for the freedom we have from the
tyranny of oppression to live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the
Brave.
This
particular Independence Day comes amid a major culture shift in our country. As most of us are aware, this past week we saw
the Supreme Court of the United States officially recognize the union of two
people of the same sex as a lawfully sanctioned marriage. And for many
in our country, this is yet another way in which to show how our country
embraces true equality. For others
of us, though, it makes us feel as if we are beginning a journey into exile, at
least morally. In the face
of hard and resistant hearts, we feel weak and powerless in our resolve to hold
to our natural and faith-filled beliefs.
As
Catholics, we have held and will continue to hold to the stance that marriage
is “by its nature the union of one man and one woman” and that this
understanding of marriage is “established by God, written into human nature,
and [has been] recognized as such for millennia.”
Our Church
tells us that marriage must be based on three things: permanence, faithfulness,
and fruitfulness. In other
words, marriage must be based on the total giving of self of one spouse to
another. There can be
no holding back, but each spouse must give every facet of who they are to their
beloved.
Our Lord
gives us an example of this in his own incarnation, where he came down from
heaven in order to give his very Body, Blood, soul and divinity to his bride,
the Church. It is by this
example of Christ that those who are called to the vocation of marriage are to
live. (CCC 1643)
But many in
our country – those who even may have held the same or similar position as us
in years past – no longer agree with this understanding of marriage. Many today firmly believe that to be free
means to live as one pleases, and that to be truly equal means that there
should exist no objective distinctions. This freedom
of indifference – a freedom based on an individual’s legal license to follow
whatever brings him comfort and pleasure – is alive and well in our country, and
is leaving us in a kind of exile of morality.
Our first
reading (Ez 2:2-5)I think has something to offer us regarding exile. Ezekiel the
prophet ministered to the people of Israel during the Babylonian captivity,
from the year 593-573 BC. In this O/T
book, Ezekiel describes at length the growing disregard for the Law of the
LORD, pointing to idolatry and neglect of the Temple as proof of this.
The section
we hear today is from the “sending forth” of Ezekiel into his prophetic
mission. He was to go to the Israelites and, through
his witness, shown them how to truly live. Interestingly,
Ezekiel is not called to say much of anything to the Israelites, but rather is to
live out his faith and thereby be a witness to God’s Will. Ezekiel’s
very presence in the midst of idolatry and defilement is the testimony God
desired to show the importance of repentance and returning to the LORD.
The LORD goes
on to warn Ezekiel that the people of Israel would resist him: that he would
have to hold fast to God’s Word in order to weather the storms of dissension,
misunderstanding, and even hatred.
“And whether
they heed or resist – for they are a rebellious house – they shall know that a
prophet has been among them.” (Ez. 2:5)
The reason
for Ezekiel’s effectiveness was the faith he placed in the LORD. He followed
God’s call despite overwhelming odds, and the likelihood of rejection. His faith
sustained him even in his personal weakness, and so propelled him to be a
prophetic witness to the people of Israel, even though they didn’t want it.
Does this
sound any different from our own circumstances?
Faith gives
us the ability to overcome the rebellion and obstinacy of those to which we are
called to bring the Good News. Yet if we
fail to receive the gift of faith in our lives, we ourselves end up rejecting
the truth of the Gospel because it does not conform to our personal
understandings or desires. This is what
Ezekiel’s prophecy highlights for us, and it is the standard to which we are
called to hold fast.
My brothers
and sisters, strengthened by Faith, we are called to witness to the Truth in
our lives, regardless of the consequences.
As human
beings, we are called to love, and to love is to give freely and completely to
others. Considering
the recent news regarding marriage – and not forgetting the ages-long struggle
for marriage in general – our society has shown that their working definition
of love is very different from the one given to us by our Lord. It is an
individualistic and selfish definition, focused on bringing the maximum amount
of physical and emotion comfort.
This is a
definition we must strive against – for we know the truth of Love; we
experience it when we receive our Lord in the Eucharist; we
experience it when we are absolved of our sins in confession; we
experience it when we witness the love of a man and woman joined in covenant
for life; when we hear
the cries of new-born babes as they are ushered into this world and baptized
for the next, and we
experience it when we see the tears in the eyes of mourners at a funeral as
they send off the faithful departed into the loving embrace of our Lord and our
God.
It is to
this that we must witness. We must hold
to the truths revealed to us by God through our natures and through the
experience of our faith, thereby becoming witnesses to the Truth for a world in
desperate need for such witness.
You know,
the Greek word for witness is “μαρτυρέω” (martureo) from which we get our word
“martyr.” On this
Independence Day weekend, maybe our God is asking us, in some way, to fight for, and if need
be, to die for a lasting freedom for excellence, and an enduring Independence
from the tyranny of sin, so that God may bring us all – from sea to shining sea – to live in
the Land of Promise, our eternal homeland, where He Himself lives reigns
forever and ever.
Amen.
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