This "Practice Homily" Series is offered in conjunction with my journey towards becoming a Deacon in the Catholic Church. While I still have a little less than a year to go, our formation program has called us to begin writing homilies, or reflections on specific Sunday readings.
Today's Readings
We have approached the half way point in our Lenten journey together. The challenges that have come from God’s Word thus far, call on us to be open to change, and work with a sense of purpose. We began on a Wednesday with ashes, and the overall challenge to “repent from sin, and be faithful to the Gospel”. The first Sunday of Lent offered us an example of determination and purpose, as seen in the confidence of Jesus Christ’s confrontation with Satan. We too must identify the temptations of the world, and confront them directly, without fear. Last week, our Gospel celebrated the Transfiguration of Christ, almost to offer us a glimpse of the “finish line”. Like Abraham, Moses and the Prophets, we must enter into a covenant with God. We must accept Jesus Christ. We must work for Him. And we must be open to the reality that we too might change for the good!
So welcome to the midway point of Lent. How are you doing so far? Have you maintained your Lenten sacrifice, and your Friday fast? Have you made some plans to do something more in your faith life, like daily prayer, Scripture Study, or the weekly Stations of the Cross? Have you been participating in almsgiving, offering some support to your parish family and organized efforts like the Catholic Relief Service Rice Bowl project? No matter the answer, always keep in mind that with change, comes work; with work, comes purpose; and with purpose, we are called to live!
Today we are reminded that it is God that supports us! While He has always known us, ever since before we came to be; today we are re-introduced to Him by name! All of creation began by knowing God in the wind, or through his breath, that is, the Hebrew “Ruah”! That same creation knew God in the flood of His wrath, and the compassionate covenant of His rainbow shared with Noah. Abraham and Sarah knew God in the sky, and in the land promised to their children, and their descendants. But today, we recall the first time we knew God by His holy name.
While tending his flock, Moses was led to the mountain of God. There he saw something amazing and mysterious... The Burning Bush. A living tree, never to be consumed by fire. This was holy ground, and God was ready for his people to get to work! The task was to attain true freedom! Freedom from fear, freedom from slavery, and freedom from sin. So on behalf of His people, Moses was chosen to speak on behalf of God. In today’s first reading, Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers us this perspective: “By revealing his name, God at the same time reveals his faithfulness which is from everlasting to everlasting, valid for the past [as he reminds us that] ("I am the God of your father"), [and valid] for the future [as He says,] ("I will be with you"). God, who reveals his name as "I AM", reveals himself as the God who is always there, [and] present to his people in order to save them.” (CCC #207) The Catechism continues: “The divine name, "I Am" or "He Is", expresses God's faithfulness! Despite the faithlessness of [His people], he keeps, “steadfast love for thousands". By going so far as to give up his own Son for us, God reveals that he is [in the spirit of today’s Psalm] "rich in mercy.” (CCC #211) So from that unquenchable fire of the Burning Bush, we are now blessed by a God who has allowed us to know Him on a “first name basis”! That wind and fire that created us all, is the same Spirit that now calls us by name to live, work and be free forever! But let us not lose sight of the original challenge of Lent: Repent and be faithful to the Gospel! Face the challenge of temptation head on! And get ready to change!
In its references to the destructiveness of sin, and the imagery of a gardener tending to a fig tree, today’s Gospel offers us all a reassuring welcome to the very same holy place where Moses stood. But Jesus warns us that we are all called to repent! Citing tragic events in Galilee and the falling of the tower of Siloam, Jesus rejects the ancient notion that only those who fall victim to injustice and tragedy are the sinners; that is, bad things only happen to bad people. In our times, is it fair to say that those persecuted in Syria, or other war-torn regions are the only sinners? Is it fair to say that the victims of 9/11 are the guilty ones, while we remain free of sin? Absolutely not! Our world, and ALL OF ITS PEOPLE are called to repent for their own sinfulness. We can ALL fall prey to the devil, and the evil that the world has to offer. St. Paul also warns us in today’s second reading that, “whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” (1 Cor. 10:12)
Finally, is it fair to say, that the more our society victimizes one another, and the more we fall into acts of immoral behavior, and the more death and destruction we cause one another... Is it fair to say that we’re finished? Again, absolutely not! Our world and ALL OF ITS PEOPLE are called to work for a better place; to live together in a spirit of peace! Like a gardener knows and nurtures his garden, God knows and promises to nurture His people, no matter how flawed we are, and no matter how bad the prognosis is for ourselves or our community. We are ALL worth saving! We are ALL worth the effort! We are ALL nurtured for a purpose. And we are ALL called to bear much fruit! So let us do the work of our faith. Let us do our part, in repenting, and make the necessary change for the good. God deserves our effort, and our commitment to doing our part of the covenant.
Now, don’t let this motivation overlook the important reality that, YES, there are consequences for our sin, and there are negative outcomes that follow our apathy. But we know our God by name, and we can approach Him in all of His glory, as the One who loves us, and tends to us with great care. “Luke’s Jesus clearly asserts that God desires repentance and conversion, yet God is ever gracious, giving us the time that we need to respond in trust and mutual love to God and others. The Lord is indeed kind and merciful.” (Foundations... LTP, 32)
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