Hi
everyone, here’s my homily for the SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT -
FEBRUARY 25, 2018 - The readings for today’s Mass can be found at: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/022518.cfm.
Thanks as always for reading, for sharing this on Facebook, Twitter,
reddit and other social media and for your feedback and comments. Hope
you have a great week! God Bless - Fr Jim
HOMILY:
When was the last
time you had someone say to you “Just Trust Me” for something… when your
doubts, suspicions, and worries were really doing a number on you? To the point that you just couldn’t see a way
forward, not knowing how this situation was going to pan out or you weren’t even
sure if there would be an answer or a solution - yet, someone was
emphatically trying to encourage you to keep going, not give into despair, not
lose hope, to keep trying, and keep believing, no matter what. Even to the
point of pleading with you that to keep the faith- that if you couldn’t trust
yourself, then to trust them: Just trust Me. For
example:
-My brother and sister in law try reasoning
with my nieces as they navigated everything from being scared about going to
school to getting on a bicycle or surfboarding for the first time and just
hearing/seeing them in a myriad ways - “you can do it, just trust me” and how
often that made the difference for them in conquering some imaginary yet
seemingly insurmountable barrier facing them.
- Remembering stories from one of
my oldest friends of going through Boot Camp to become a Marine and tackle all
the seemingly impossible challenges as part of the 12 week process, but how
fellow recruits and even their drill instructors was able to help him get
through the mental block in their own unique way and say you can do
it... just trust me - how that ultimately made the difference for
him...
- Having a friend who was given some
incredibly bleak news by one doctor, being encouraged to go to another, to try
something else, and finally finding that someone else who affirmed yes you
will die – we all will one day - but not because of this and not when that
other doctor told you would – just trust me... Which happily was very spot on.
Being able to trust someone
else...
someone
who was worthy of that trust...
someone
who saw beyond whatever it was that was limiting them...
someone
who saw some new potential and hidden possibilities…
made
all the difference... These moments of encounter transformed their very lives.
There’s so much
going on in these readings tonight that it can almost be a bit of an
overload. We have this first reading,
with Abraham being ordered to sacrifice his only son, Isaac by God -then in the
Gospel, we have Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain before Peter, James and
John... If you’re like me it’s easy to get lost in a bunch of questions and
complications that can arise from these scriptures… to go in different
directions (and in some cases, distract us as well). But this one thought that kept coming back repeatedly
over both of these which really became a source of reflection as I was praying
with these texts was: How much do I trust God?
Of course, at an
intellectual level (which can also be at a superficial level if I’m not honest
with myself) I can say “of course I trust God... I mean I’m a priest... it’s
supposed to be part of my gig, right?”
And there’s truth to that. But I
know how often I still wrestle with
the devil - with fears, doubts, temptations... areas where, in all honesty, I
know my trust in God, my faith in Him can waver, or become a bit weaker.... things that limit me or even undermine my
calling; my vocation to not just be a priest, but to be a Christian who walks
the talk. That was the reality that came
to light the more I dug into these scriptures.
Because in so many ways, there’s good enough reason for those closest to
God, closest to Jesus to doubt in these scriptures… yet He keeps inviting them
to this deeper trust in Him and His ways.
Just think about it:
We have to
remember that Abraham was a 100 years old... his wife Sarah was 90 when God had
promised them that the thing that they had longed for, the thing
that had been missing from their marriage and their lives - a child - was
finally going to become a reality. They
both laugh at the thought of this... How can this be - it doesn’t make
sense? Yet, God says, trust me.
Fast forward to
today’s reading from Genesis. Isaac, who
God Himself acknowledges is Abraham and Sarah’s “beloved son”, tells Abraham to
give him back to God (sacrifice Isaac). How
can this be - it doesn’t make sense... Yet, God says just trust me...
Then the Gospel,
again we have to back up first… A few
days before the transfiguration (today’s Gospel reading), Jesus told the disciples for the first time... that
He would suffer greatly, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the
scribes; that He would be killed and rise again after three days. That thing just didn’t make sense to Peter...who
argues with Jesus that he will not let that happen... Peter will not let the
Master they’ve witnessed feed thousands with a few fish and loaves, the one who
had just healed a blind man... the one they’d left everything behind to follow;
they won’t let him suffer and die. However,
Jesus affirms, “Get behind me Satan” to that line of thinking - because it
conflicts with God’s plan. How can
this be - it doesn’t make sense... Yet, God says just trust me...
In today’s Gospel,
which is a few days later, and we hear of this incredible experience: Jesus’
transfiguration... His appearance changes where two men who’d been dead a long
time and were two of the greatest figures from the Old Testament, Moses and
Elijah, appear and are witnessed to be speaking with Jesus... Oh, the voice of God the Father is heard as
well: “This is my beloved son.
Listen to Him.” As
Peter, James and John run through all sorts of emotions - joy, excitement,
wonder, terror... and confusion as Jesus kind of reminds them of His earlier
prediction about His passion: Jesus tells them they are not to say anything
about what they’ve just experienced, except when the Son of Man would arise
from the dead. Those last words in this Gospel just stand
out for me. After all they experienced,
we read: ...so they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising
from the dead meant. How can this be... it doesn’t make sense
to them --- people don’t rise from the dead... and yet, God says just trust
me.
Because we’re all
on the other side of these stories, they kind of relegate to the background
narrative we know or have heard of. We
can look at Abraham, Isaac and Sarah, or Peter, James and John as mere biblical
heroes, missing that space between that characterization and the other part of their stories – stories of
being human and very relatable to us and our own lives. And how that gap is filled when each of them was
able to move past their fears and doubts, their own plans, to come face to face
with God’s invitations, His plans and ultimately had to trust Him...and how when
they did, He surpasses their humblest of expectations, their wildest
imaginations.
I think that’s one
of the reasons why we’re given these readings on this second Sunday of
Lent. Here we’ve set out on this 40 day
spiritual journey to delve deeper in our relationship with the Lord. To see all the areas that need renewal...
repenting of my sins that have hurt others, hurt myself, and in some way,
turned me away from God. To be open to
hearing anew how God loves each and every one of us unconditionally... That he
looks at each of us as His beloved Son and Daughter (just sit with that thought
for a moment... thanks to Jesus Christ, these words from God the Father are
true for each of us... the voice from the sky calls out and looks at each of us
and says ‘This is my beloved Son... This is my beloved Daughter...”) How
awesome is that? How wonderful and reassuring is the thought that all of us are
His beloved sons and daughters that He wants to hug warmly and touch our lives
like a loving father. It’s also very
comforting to know that God our Father has a call, a special plan for each and
every one of us.
No matter our age,
our difficult pasts, our seeming endless weaknesses that we can probably
itemize in amazing detail (it’s amazing how helpful the devil can be in
assisting us in this area) In very personal, specific ways -
God is calling out to each of us
- to love and care for one another,
especially those we hate, despise or dislike - more selflessly;
- to sacrifice our comforts and
convenience to help someone who has no way of repaying us
- to be open to the difficult task
of forgiving those who have hurt us beyond measure
- to discover what things have
become “gods” in my life, how they have
led me astray and how to excise them from my life
- to desire to know, to love Him
more deeply... to grow in a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ through His
word (in scripture); through the Sacraments He left us; through our prayer.
The more we pursue these
things in ways that begins making sense to us personally (who’s coming to your
mind right now that you just know God
is putting on your heart to forgive?
What is that specific situation where you’re being asked to put someone
ahead of yourself? Be honest with these questions and answers, because there’s
a reason why He’s placing them into your heart right away) The more we start to
ask ourselves each of those things, the more we see how God is inviting us to
make this Lent different. Too often Lent becomes some inconsequential spiritual
endurance contest (I think back to a few years ago when I gave up all coffee
for 40 days but whined about it so much that whatever graces that could’ve been
gained were lost) – When what the Lord really desires is for this to be a time
of eternity-defining transformation.
Where God truly moves us, through us and within us.
As we go deeper in our
own hearts to consider the different things that He might want us to confront,
the ways we might be looking at substantial change that seems impossible to
consider; the invitations He offers that we’ve dodged for so long as we keep
asking “but, how can this be” the God who is always faithful says just trust me…