Sunday, February 17, 2019

Choices - A Homily for the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C


          Most parents, I think, share the experience of letting their children choose one piece of candy in the grocery store checkout line as a small reward for good behavior during a shopping trip.  The Meyer girls faced this opportunity in polar opposite ways.  Annie knew what she liked, chose quickly, and never looked back as she gobbled down her reward.  Caitlin agonized over her choice, pacing back and forth, analyzing the bountiful display of chocolates, lollipops and Gummi Bears, and only made a final choice when threatened with losing the opportunity for a sweet treat.  Caitlin struggled with making a choice because she knew that our choices have consequences, and that’s the message of today’s readings.

          Our readings are all about choices.  Our first reading and our psalm, “lay out two divergent ways of life: one leads to happiness, the other to misfortune. The choice is up to the individual.”[1]  In our second reading, Saint Paul puts the cornerstone of our faith in stark terms: either we believe in Christ’s resurrection from the dead, or our faith is in vain.  Again, the choice is ours.  Finally, in our Gospel, Jesus warns the disciples that if they choose to follow him, people will hate them, exclude and insult them, and denounce their names as evil.  Yet, “Jesus had no doubt which way in the end brought happiness . . . , [that] the joy of heaven will amply compensate for the trouble of earth.”[2]

          Now, when I talk about “following Jesus,” I mean modeling our lives after his.  It’s a mission of self-giving love in service of God and neighbor.  As our readings make clear, choosing to follow Jesus has both temporal and eternal consequences.  As Christians, we believe that eternity is the nunc stans, the ever-present now.  So when we choose to follow Jesus, or not to follow Jesus, the consequences of that choice have an impact right now in this life and in the next.  When we choose to follow Jesus, we’re blessed.  Even if that choice results in persecution in this life, and it often does, it still gives us every reason to rejoice, because the beatitude of our choice helps us through those hardships as we look forward to the eternal happiness of the Kingdom of God that awaits us.  When we choose to reject Jesus, woe be to us. Even if that choice brings us wealth, consolation, fulfillment, or fame in this life, those earthly rewards won’t make us happy, and they certainly won’t lead us to heaven.  

          The choices we face as Christians are nothing less than the choices between right and wrong, between good and evil, between life and death.  Unfortunately, our world is out of sync with God as a result of sin, so we tend to create distorted notions of right and wrong.  We rationalize injustices for the sake of our convenience or comfort.  That’s exactly why those who follow Jesus, those who stand for truth and challenge error, are often hated, excluded, insulted, and denounced, just as Jesus said we would be.  Jesus’ message isn’t always convenient or comfortable, and people don’t like to be inconvenienced or made uncomfortable.  So “the present state of the world not only resists the invitation [to follow Jesus], but it goes on the offensive to actively persecute and discredit [those who do].”[3]  

It’s our choice:  Will we tolerate the persecution and continue to follow Jesus, or will we walk away?  The choice is stark.  There’s nothing half-hearted about following Jesus.  We’re either all in, or we’re out.  We either follow Jesus completely, or our faith is in vain.  The events of the past several weeks have placed this choice squarely before us.  With the passage of the so-called Reproductive Health Act in New York, the introduction of a similar bill in Virginia, and the advancement of an assisted suicide bill in New Jersey, our true mettle as followers of Jesus is being put to the test.  Let me make the choice clear:

+ Following Jesus means choosing life. 

+ Following Jesus means championing the God-given dignity of the human person from conception to natural death.

+ Following Jesus means serving our most vulnerable brothers and sisters, not by hating, insulting, denouncing, or persecuting them when they consider these terrible choices, but by dedicating our time, talent, and treasure to get them the help they need to overcome the circumstances that led them to these horrible options in the first place.

Yes, sometimes following Jesus involves tremendous personal sacrifice, but Jesus promises us that the benefits far outweigh the cost.  There’s no middle ground here.  We can’t logically or faithfully denounce these practices as wrongs for ourselves, while supporting them as rights for others.  We will either follow Jesus, or we will walk away.  It’s our choice.

          Trust me, I know that the choices we face as Christians certainly aren’t as simple as picking out a piece of candy in the grocery store checkout line.  At every moment of our lives we stand face-to-face with an eternal choice:  Will we follow Jesus, or will we walk away?  The choices we face in our Christian mission aren’t always easy, but the rewards are sweet.  Blessings or woes – the choice is ours.  May we all be blessed.       

Readings: Jeremiah 17: 5-8; Psalm 1: 1-6; 1 Corinthians 15: 12, 16-20; Luke 6: 17-26


[1] Diane Bergant, “The Book of Psalms,” New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament, Daniel Durken, ed. (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2015), 902.
[2] William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 92.
[3] John Shea, The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers: The Relentless Widow, Luke Year C (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2006), 45.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Playing to Win: Homily for the Mass of Christian Burial for Lisa Mims

Lisa Mims was a fierce competitor.  No, I didn’t face off with Lisa on the tennis court.  Ours was no game.  We competed once a year, for eight years of my life, at the Immaculate Conception School Gala fundraising auction.  Paddles in hand, Lisa and I launched bids at each other like our lives depended on it.  Let’s just say that whenever Lisa and I had our eyes on the same auction item, I went home empty-handed, and Rod l went home with any empty wallet.  Lisa played to win, and her competitiveness revealed some of her best qualities:  she believed that she would win (and that Rod would pay), she played well, and she really enjoyed the competition.  Those qualities made Lisa a fierce competitor, but more importantly, they made her a great Christian. Our readings this morning explain why.



This morning’s readings teach us how to win the game of life.  In our first reading, Isaiah encourages us to believe in God by ensuring us that with God on our side, we can never be defeated.  With God’s help, we will always be victorious.  In our Gospel, Jesus tells us why:  God wants us to win!  It’s God’s will that every one of us should be raised on the last day and win the crown of eternal life.  All we have to do to win is believe in him.  Saint Paul, then, in our second reading, writes the rulebook for the believer’s life:  those who believe in God do good and rejoice.    



Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret: Our victory in the game of life begins and ends with believing in God because when we believe in God, doing good and rejoicing come naturally.  Now, I know that believing in God may be the toughest rule to follow.  Our seemingly endless encounters with tragedies, injustice, sickness, and death can make us wonder whether God really exists and if he does, if he’s really on our side.  But believing in God transforms our lives, and always for the better.  Believing in God and all that he promises brings with it “a quiet confidence and joy that enable [us] to feel at home in the universe, and to find meaning in the world and in [our lives].  Men and women of this kind of faith face catastrophe or confusion, affluence or sorrow, unperturbed, [they] face opportunity with conviction and drive, and [they] face others with self-forgetting charity.”[1]  Remind you of anyone?     



Lisa believed in God, and she played the game of life to win it:



+ Her profound belief in God gave her that quiet confidence and joy that gave meaning to her life.  In my mind’s eye, I picture Lisa peacefully smiling the smile of a faith-filled woman – and sporting a tennis outfit and pink Coco Chanel lipstick. 



+ Lisa’s practical belief in God inspired her to live a life of self-giving charity.  Whether serving as a class mother, a cheerleading coach, a Girl Scout Troop Leader (God bless her), driving for Meals on Wheels, knitting caps for Lexie’s sorority, getting up at 4 am to help Sammie get a cow ready for a 4H competition (God bless her, again) and especially as a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend, Lisa was a doer; her belief in God was faith in action, and we all benefitted from it.



+ Last, but certainly not least, Lisa’s steadfast belief in God brought her great joy and peace that helped her face her greatest challenge with grace, hope, and love.  Lisa was very private about her illness because she didn’t want it to dominate her life, or the lives of her family and friends.  Lisa wanted to enjoy life with all of us.  And with God’s help, she was victorious.  For as long as she could, she kept on doing the things she enjoyed the most:  playing tennis, appreciating the arts; hauling bags of feed out for the deer, and especially spending time loving her family.  Though she may have loved cats just a little more than you, Rod.  Just a little.  Lisa lived her life living; she refused to live her life dying.  That kind of strength and perseverance only comes from an unwavering belief in God and all that he promises.



You know, my life as a preacher is a piece of cake with people like Lisa in it.  I simply point to their good example of profound, active, steadfast faith and say, “Do that!” Lisa’s great example confirms that believing in God compels us to do good and brings us great joy, no matter what life may serve us. Lisa’s great example proves that believing in God gives us the strength and courage and perseverance to play to win. Whether life hands you a foot fault or a bad call, don’t sulk, don’t pout, don’t whine, don’t complain:  Listen to our readings; follow Lisa’s life example; play to win. 



In the game of life, Lisa Mims was a fierce competitor.  She believed that she could win, she played well, and she really enjoyed the competition. Throughout her life, and especially at match point, she aced the serve.  Game, set, and match.  I have no doubt that she’s won the eternal crown of glory.



Readings: Isaiah 41: 10-13; Philippians 4: 4-9; John 6: 37-40



[1] Charles Hefling, Why Doctrines?, 2nd ed. (Chestnut Hill: The Lonergan Institute, 2000) at 20.