Sunday, November 10, 2013

Love’s True Form: Homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 10, 2013

By day one way,
By night another.
This shall be the norm,
Until you find true love’s first kiss,
And then take love’s true form.

          Under this spell, Princess Fiona from Shrek The Musical, passed her days as a beautiful princess and her nights as an ugly ogre, locked in a tower, waiting for her one true love to rescue her.  Fiona knew exactly how she’d be saved – she believed the storybooks she’d read by candlelight:  A princess is rescued by a handsome, brave knight, he slays the dragon, he takes her hand on bended knee, bended knee, BENDED KNEE, and then they share true love’s first kiss.”  Well, the story doesn't quite play out the way Fiona expects it to, and her strict adherence to the Fairytale happy ending she’d read about so many times nearly makes her miss her one true love.  It sounds like Princess Fiona has been spending too much time with the Sadducees from today’s Gospel reading.

          In today’s Gospel, Jesus is challenged by a group of Sadducees about the resurrection.  The Sadducees of Jesus’ time were a conservative religious group who only believed in the authority of the Torah.  In other words, they only believed what they read in books, like Princess Fiona.  So they refused to believe in the resurrection of the dead because they couldn't find it in the Hebrew Scriptures.  “They were so caught up in their rendition of reality that they could not conceive the possibility of something else.”[1]  But Jesus proves them wrong, explaining that “rising to life . . . is about the children of God believing in the living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  In this God who created us, we are all alive.”[2]
 
          So what is resurrection?  Well, I think the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it rather nicely:  The resurrection of the dead is “the raising of the righteous, who will live forever with the risen Christ.”[3]  This means that resurrection is not resuscitation; resurrection is not reincarnation.  Resurrection is a whole new way of living.  “The resurrected life goes beyond the dimensions of earthly existence.”[4]  Now that sounds pretty cool, but what’s this new life like?  Some of us may have pretty creative ideas about what our resurrected lives will look like:  heavenly choirs; naked angel babies floating around on fluffy, white clouds playing harps.  And for me, a chocolate fountain on every corner.  But our Gospel tells us that resurrection is so much more than that – so much more than we can even imagine.  “When we resurrect into our new life, our relationship with God will be transformed.  We will love God passionately.  We will experience his unconditional love enthusiastically.  We will love and admire his entire creation unreservedly.  Our joy will be overflowing, and nothing will be able to take our joy away.”[5]  In other words, in the resurrection, we will find true love, and we will take love’s true form.
 
          This is what we believe as Christians.  And for our Confirmation candidates who are making their commitment this morning, this is what you’re signing up for.  This is what we've all signed up for.  So please remember that like so many of God’s gifts, resurrection isn't just relegated to eternity.  Resurrection should be experienced here and now.[6]  Don’t be like the Sadducees or Princess Fiona.  Don’t get so caught up in your own version of reality that you miss out on true love.  Believe in the resurrection, and take love’s true form.

Believing in the resurrection is life-changing; it’s empowering.  It transforms us.  “Resurrection makes it possible to live in hope and trust in the future.”[7]  We experience so many hardships in this life – sickness, death, broken relationships, and apparently for ogres, extreme body odor, flatulence and flaming heinies.  But believing in the resurrection brings with it the sure knowledge that we’re loved by God and carried by God through it all.  Believing in the resurrection lets us see that we live in “a big, bright, beautiful world with possibilities everywhere.”  Believing in the resurrection assures us of a perfect, happy ending.
    
          Princess Fiona gets her happy ending.  If you want to know how, you’ll have to come see the production of Shrek The Musical at 2:00 pm this afternoon in the Immaculate Conception School Multipurpose Room.  I will tell you, though, Fiona’s happy ending didn't turn out the way she expected it to.  But she does find her one true love, and she takes loves true form.  And if you’re a believer in the resurrection, like “I’m a believer,” we will too.




[1] John Shea, The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers, Luke, Year C (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2006) at 311.
[2] Mary A. Ehle and Margaret Nutting Ralph, Workbook for Lectors, Gospel Readers, and Proclaimers of the Word: 2013 Year C (Chicago, Liturgy Training Publications, 2012) at 288.
[3] Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary.
[4] Michael F. Patella, “The Gospel According to Luke,” New Collegeville Bible Commentary, Daniel Durkin, ed. (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2009) at 293.
[5] Keith E. Grabner, C.S.C., Living Faith (June 3, 2009).
[6] Patricia Datchuk Sánchez, “Experiencing Resurrection,” National Catholic Reporter, vol. 50, no. 1 (October 25-November 7, 2013) at 28.
[7] Id.

No comments:

Post a Comment

God is listening . . . comment accordingly.