Deacon Greg’s Homily 3-31-19
It’s Lætare Sunday! The word Lætare is latin for the word “Rejoice,” and is traditionally used in today’s Entrance Antiphon - “Rejoice O Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful all who were in mourning; exalt and be satisfied!” Also known as “Refreshment Sunday” or “Mi Carême”, which is French for “Mid-Lent”. No matter the phrase or title, today, we are half way there…
Oh, and another thing… Why these special readings last Sunday, today, and next Sunday? Our RCIA Elect, our class of Catechumens to be Baptized and Candidates for full reception into the Church are participating in The Scrutinies of Lent, a special period of Purification and Enlightenment, praying for enlightenment of heart, to see the places in their lives in which they most need God’s forgivingness and mercy! Therefore, as an answer to the question, we are asked to support them, and follow on this journey with them. And whether they are here at this Mass or not, their opportunity to prepare for the Easter Sacraments by scrutinizing their hearts, can be ours as well!
Last week, our readings offered us Christ, as The Living Water, for like the Samaritan Woman at the Well, our thirst for God is quenched in the waters of our Baptism! This week we see Christ, as The Light of the World, in the opened eyes of a man born blind, calling on us to see and believe in our loving God, as children of the light! Next week, we’ll explore and experience Christ in the promise of the resurrection and the life, reflecting on the raising of Lazarus from the dead!
So REJOICE my friends! God’s mercy is an amazing thing, and it’s free to us all! Today, he has chosen you, and he offers you the light of his son Jesus Christ, to guide you the rest of your way. So as our Lenten journey continues, let us heed the call to REPENT and CONVERT our lives, and BELIEVE in the Gospel!
Our Church teaches (CCC 142) that this seemingly “invisible God [of ours], from the fullness of his love, addresses [us] as his friends, and moves among [us], in order to invite and receive [us] into his own company.” The most adequate and predictable response to this invitation IS FAITH… So in the spirit of Fr. Thomas, I give you FOUR QUALITIES of FAITH, what it is and what it can do for us!
First: Faith is a personal and communal relationship… It’s a ME and a WE thing! David was chosen from among many seemingly more obvious choices, but as the Lord said to Samuel, God does not see as we see, because we see the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.” Upon God’s revelation and call to David, he responded with faith, and God’s people were forever changed!
Second: Faith seeks understanding… The more we share our faith, the more it makes sense, even if the logic is simple. In today’s Gospel, the man born blind responded several times to those seeking a reasonable explanation for why he could suddenly see… “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” I believe my Logic Class in college, that would be “If A + B then C”
Third: Faith is a gift of grace, and a free and human act, necessary for salvation… The man born blind didn’t come seeking Christ’s healing touch. Like Samuel seeking out David, our Lord found the blind man and healed him so that all might know the power of God. Remember, it all happened in the first seven of the 41 verses read in today’s Gospel! It all came as a result of the disciples’ simple curiosity, as they walked by the uninvolved blind man. Is he blind because of his parent’s sin? Of course not! He’s blind, “so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” It’s almost like today’s Gospel should have included this passage: “And then Jesus said, excuse me sir, could I ask a favor of you? The blind man said, sure. Then Jesus said, wait here for a second…” Then, picking up with the verses we’ve heard, Jesus turned back to his disciples, and said, “We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on [the blind man’s] eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—. So he went and washed, and came back able to see.”
Now, I would contend, that it must have been very similar when Samuel was led by the Lord to an unsuspecting David, working in the field. God decided that the foundation of his kingdom, should stand on the “ruddy” shoulders of a shorter than average shepherd boy! But that’s not the way others saw it, for in the midst of this decision, David’s own father saw the obvious choice to be his eldest son, and if not him, then one of the other seven brothers… But it was David, son #8, who would be king. You can hear them now, saying, “but why David?” In fact, I’ll bet David was asked a million times, in a million different ways over the span of his life… “Yeah, but why you?” I’ll also bet that David’s answer was similar to that of the blind man… “I don’t really know why. He just came up to me, and you know the rest!”
If faith is seen in a personal and communal relationship with God and his people, and it seeks understanding, and it is given by grace, resulting in human action, then a fourth quality of faith allows us to believe, and to do so with conviction! Samuel anointed David’s head with oil, and, in spite of his faults along the way, King David began to do what the Lord asked of him, and became the best of Kings
Our Lord Jesus Christ healed the blind man, making his light visible to all, and in spite of the skepticism of those around him, including the pharisees and his own family, the blind man stuck to his simple story… “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” This repeatedly got him into hot water, and eventually got him thrown out of town.
I wonder if the man born blind ever doubted whether it was all worth it or not? And on behalf of us all, I’ll go ahead ask the same kind of question: Is all of this worth it? Does making this choice to follow in the light of Christ, where everyone sees everything, and God’s love flows through us, putting us front and center for all to ask of us, the same kind of probing questions that might get us thrown out of a conversation or a town or two?
Here’s a reminder of the man born blind and his most adequate and predictable response: Jesus caught up with him, almost as if to say sorry I got you into this mess, but I have to ask you this question: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.”
Let us too be reassured as we reach this half way point in our Lenten journey…
YOU HAVE SEEN HIM! (On the Cross, and at the Table of the Lord!)
HE IS THE ONE SPEAKING WITH YOU! (In the Words of the Scriptures!)
SO LET US REJOICE IN GOD’S MERCY!
LET US REPENT AND BELIEVE IN THIS GOSPEL!
LET US CONVERT OUR LIVES & LIVE IN THE LIGHT OF JESUS CHRIST!
Oh, and another thing… Why these special readings last Sunday, today, and next Sunday? Our RCIA Elect, our class of Catechumens to be Baptized and Candidates for full reception into the Church are participating in The Scrutinies of Lent, a special period of Purification and Enlightenment, praying for enlightenment of heart, to see the places in their lives in which they most need God’s forgivingness and mercy! Therefore, as an answer to the question, we are asked to support them, and follow on this journey with them. And whether they are here at this Mass or not, their opportunity to prepare for the Easter Sacraments by scrutinizing their hearts, can be ours as well!
Last week, our readings offered us Christ, as The Living Water, for like the Samaritan Woman at the Well, our thirst for God is quenched in the waters of our Baptism! This week we see Christ, as The Light of the World, in the opened eyes of a man born blind, calling on us to see and believe in our loving God, as children of the light! Next week, we’ll explore and experience Christ in the promise of the resurrection and the life, reflecting on the raising of Lazarus from the dead!
So REJOICE my friends! God’s mercy is an amazing thing, and it’s free to us all! Today, he has chosen you, and he offers you the light of his son Jesus Christ, to guide you the rest of your way. So as our Lenten journey continues, let us heed the call to REPENT and CONVERT our lives, and BELIEVE in the Gospel!
Our Church teaches (CCC 142) that this seemingly “invisible God [of ours], from the fullness of his love, addresses [us] as his friends, and moves among [us], in order to invite and receive [us] into his own company.” The most adequate and predictable response to this invitation IS FAITH… So in the spirit of Fr. Thomas, I give you FOUR QUALITIES of FAITH, what it is and what it can do for us!
First: Faith is a personal and communal relationship… It’s a ME and a WE thing! David was chosen from among many seemingly more obvious choices, but as the Lord said to Samuel, God does not see as we see, because we see the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.” Upon God’s revelation and call to David, he responded with faith, and God’s people were forever changed!
Second: Faith seeks understanding… The more we share our faith, the more it makes sense, even if the logic is simple. In today’s Gospel, the man born blind responded several times to those seeking a reasonable explanation for why he could suddenly see… “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” I believe my Logic Class in college, that would be “If A + B then C”
Third: Faith is a gift of grace, and a free and human act, necessary for salvation… The man born blind didn’t come seeking Christ’s healing touch. Like Samuel seeking out David, our Lord found the blind man and healed him so that all might know the power of God. Remember, it all happened in the first seven of the 41 verses read in today’s Gospel! It all came as a result of the disciples’ simple curiosity, as they walked by the uninvolved blind man. Is he blind because of his parent’s sin? Of course not! He’s blind, “so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” It’s almost like today’s Gospel should have included this passage: “And then Jesus said, excuse me sir, could I ask a favor of you? The blind man said, sure. Then Jesus said, wait here for a second…” Then, picking up with the verses we’ve heard, Jesus turned back to his disciples, and said, “We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on [the blind man’s] eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—. So he went and washed, and came back able to see.”
Now, I would contend, that it must have been very similar when Samuel was led by the Lord to an unsuspecting David, working in the field. God decided that the foundation of his kingdom, should stand on the “ruddy” shoulders of a shorter than average shepherd boy! But that’s not the way others saw it, for in the midst of this decision, David’s own father saw the obvious choice to be his eldest son, and if not him, then one of the other seven brothers… But it was David, son #8, who would be king. You can hear them now, saying, “but why David?” In fact, I’ll bet David was asked a million times, in a million different ways over the span of his life… “Yeah, but why you?” I’ll also bet that David’s answer was similar to that of the blind man… “I don’t really know why. He just came up to me, and you know the rest!”
If faith is seen in a personal and communal relationship with God and his people, and it seeks understanding, and it is given by grace, resulting in human action, then a fourth quality of faith allows us to believe, and to do so with conviction! Samuel anointed David’s head with oil, and, in spite of his faults along the way, King David began to do what the Lord asked of him, and became the best of Kings
Our Lord Jesus Christ healed the blind man, making his light visible to all, and in spite of the skepticism of those around him, including the pharisees and his own family, the blind man stuck to his simple story… “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” This repeatedly got him into hot water, and eventually got him thrown out of town.
I wonder if the man born blind ever doubted whether it was all worth it or not? And on behalf of us all, I’ll go ahead ask the same kind of question: Is all of this worth it? Does making this choice to follow in the light of Christ, where everyone sees everything, and God’s love flows through us, putting us front and center for all to ask of us, the same kind of probing questions that might get us thrown out of a conversation or a town or two?
Here’s a reminder of the man born blind and his most adequate and predictable response: Jesus caught up with him, almost as if to say sorry I got you into this mess, but I have to ask you this question: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.”
Let us too be reassured as we reach this half way point in our Lenten journey…
YOU HAVE SEEN HIM! (On the Cross, and at the Table of the Lord!)
HE IS THE ONE SPEAKING WITH YOU! (In the Words of the Scriptures!)
SO LET US REJOICE IN GOD’S MERCY!
LET US REPENT AND BELIEVE IN THIS GOSPEL!
LET US CONVERT OUR LIVES & LIVE IN THE LIGHT OF JESUS CHRIST!
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