HOMILY FOR 7th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME—C
THERE’S A PASSAGE IN THE CHAPTER 9 OF THE BOOK OF WISDOM THAT GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS: DEAR GOD, I HAVE TROUBLE ENOUGH UNDERSTANDING HOW THE WORLD WORKS; HOW CAN I EVER UNDERSTAND YOU? THE ONLY WAY I CAN UNDERSTAND YOU IS IF YOU SEND ME SOME WISDOM. PLEASE SEND ME YOUR WISDOM!
TODAY WE GET A GOOD DOSE OF THAT WISDOM, A DOSE THAT WILL PROBABLY BE UNPLEASANT TO SWALLOW. THE FIRST READING GIVES US THE BASIC IDEA. SAUL HAD BEGUN TO FEAR THAT DAVID HAD DESIGNS TO REPLACE HIM AS KING. SO SAUL, AS MANY RULERS DO THEN AND NOW, DECIDED TO ELIMINATE THE COMPETITION BY KILLING DAVID. DAVID, HOWEVER, FOUND HIMSELF IN A POSITION TO KILL SAUL AND, TO OUR HUMAN WAY OF THINKING, WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECTLY JUSTIFIED TO DO SO. REALLY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A TYPE OF SELF-DEFENSE. BUT HE STAYS HIS HAND. WHY? BECAUSE DAVID HAS SOME GOD-GIVEN WISDOM—A WISDOM THAT TOLD HIM IT’S WHAT GOD WANTS THAT IS IMPORTANT AND NOT WHAT DAVID WANTS.
GOD HAD CHOSEN SAUL AS KING, WHO WAS DAVID TO INTERFERE WITH GOD’S CHOICE?
IN THE GOSPEL, JESUS, THE MASTER TEACHER OF GOD’S WISDOM, LAYS IT ON THE LINE FOR US. TODAY JESUS TELLS US WE ARE NOT CALLED TO BE CHILDREN OF THE EARTH, BUT CHILDREN OF GOD. IF WE WANT TO BE CHILDREN OF GOD, THE CHRIST SAYS, WE MUST THINK AND ACT IN A GOD-LIKE MANNER. THE STANDARD WE ARE BEING HELD TO IS NOT WHETHER WE’RE BETTER OR WORSE THAN OUR NEIGHBOR OR THE PEOPLE IN THE NEXT BLOCK. THE STANDARD WE ARE HELD TO IS GOD’S STANDARD. IN SHORT, GOD IS UNDONDITIONAL LOVE AND WE MUST ALSO BE UNDONDITIONAL IN OUR LOVE.
WELL, WHAT KIND OF LOVE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE? JESUS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT THE LOVE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN OR THE WARM AFFECTION WE FEEL FOR OUR CHILDREN, OUR CLOSE FAMILY AND OUR DEAR FRIENDS. THE TERM THAT IS USED TO DESCRIBE THE KIND OF LOVE JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT IS CALLED “AGAPAN” IN THE GREEK. WE USUALLY USE THE TERM ‘AGAPE’.
THIS ‘AGAPE’ KIND OF LOVE IS AN ACTIVE FEELING OF GOOD WILL OR BENEVOLENCE TOWARD OTHERS, NO MATTER IF WE WANT TO FEEL BENEVOLENT TO THEM OR NOT; IT MEANS NO MATTER WHAT, NO MATTER IF THE PERSON HAS HURT US, NO MATTER IF THE PERSON HAS ATTACKED US, NO MATTER WHAT NASTY THING THE PERSON DOES TO US OR SOMEONE ELSE, WE MUST NEVER ALLOW OURSELVES TO DESIRE ANYTHING FOR THAT PERSON BUT THAT PERSON’S HIGHEST GOOD. NO REVENGE, NO GETTING BACK, NO PUTTING THAT PERSON IN HIS OR HER PLACE, NO WHISPERING BEHIND BACKS OR ATTACKING REPUTATIONS.
HERE’S WHY. NO MATTER WHAT WE DO TO GOD, NO MATTER HOW UNFAITHFUL OR DISOBEDIENT WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN OR WILL BE IN THE FUTURE, GOD NEVER TRIES TO GET US BACK. IF WE WANT TO BE THE FATHER’S CHILDREN AND THE SON’S DISCIPLES, WELL, WE HAVE TO ACT THE SAME WAY THE FATHER AND THE SON DO.
THIS WISDOM IS STARTING TO GET TOUGH, BUT, I PROMISE YOU, IT IS GOING TO GET TOUGHER. WE MIGHT SAY TO OURSELVES, WELL, I’LL BE LIKE GOD AND I WON’T DO ANYTHING BAD TO THAT PERSON ALTHOUGH I HAVE A PERFECT RIGHT TO DO SO. YEAH, OK, OK, I’LL BE LIKE DAVID AND LET SAUL LIVE.
BUT THAT’S NOT ENOUGH. GOD NOT ONLY FORGAVE US, BUT HE SENT US OWN SON TO REDEEM US. GOD DIDN’T JUST REFRAIN FROM PUNISHING US; HE DID SOMETHING POSITIVE FOR US. CHRISTIANITY IS NOT PRIMARILY A NEGATIVE ETHICAL SYSTEM OF DON’T, DON’T AND DON’T. IT’S A SYSTEM OF DO, DO AND DO.
THE ESSENCE OF BEING A DISCIPLE OF CHRIST IS NOT TO AVOID BAD THINGS, BUT TO ACTIVELY SEARCH OUT AND DO THE GOOD THING. WE ARE NOT CALLED TO DO THE NORMAL THING, BUT TO DO THE EXRA THING. WE ARE CALLED TO THE EXTRAORIDINARY NOT ORDINARY, TO DO THE ABOVE AND BEYOND THING, NOT THE EVERYDAY THING—JUST LIKE GOD DID FOR US BY SENDING HIS SON.
THIS IS WHERE THE WISDOM REALLY GETS TOUGH. THIS ‘AGAPE’ IS NOT SOMETHING THAT’S NATURAL TO US. WE CAN’T FALL INTO ‘AGAPE’ LIKE WE NATURALLY FALL INTO LOVE WITH OUR SPOUSE AND WANT DO GOOD THINGS FOR HIM OR HER OR NATURALLY WANT THE BEST FOR OUR CHILDREN, RELATIVES AND FRIENDS. WE REALLY HAVE TO WORK AT IT. AND IT’S HARD. MAYBE THE HARDEST THING WE’LL EVER DO IN OUR LIVES. IT TAKES A SUPREME ACT OF OUR WILL TO DO IT.
HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TOUGH IT IS. I WAS REALLY CHALLENGED THE OTHER NIGHT AT A DISCUSSION GROUP I’M IN. [FR. WOOD WAS THERE TOO,] WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE GOLDEN RULE AND A BAPTIST MINISTER MADE THE POINT THAT THIS MEANS WE WOULD NOT ONLY HAVE TO FORGIVE OSAMA BIN LADEN, THAT WOULD BE HARD ENOUGH, BUT IT MEANS WE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE THE INITIATIVE AND ACTIVELY WORK TO BRING ABOUT THE GOOD THAT GOD WANTS FOR BIN LADEN. NOTICE IT’S THE GOOD GOD WANTS FOR THAT BIN LADEN WE MUST WORK FOR, NOT WHAT THAT PERSON THINKS THEY WANT.
THE GOOD GOD WANTS FOR OSAMA BIN LADEN, THE GOOD GOD WANTS FOR TIMOTHY MCVEIGH OR JEFFREY DALMER, THE GOOD GOD WANTS FOR THE PERSON AT THE OFFICE WE HATE, THE GOOD GOD WANTS FOR THE RELATIVE WE’RE ON THE OUTS WITH, THE GOOD GOD WANTS FOR THE RUDE CLERK AT THE STORE OR THE PERSON WHO ABRUPTLY CHANGED LANES AND CUT US OFF, THAT’S WHAT WE MUST ACTIVELY PURSUE FOR ALL, EACH AND EVERYONE, OF THOSE UNPLEASANT PEOPLE.
THE GOLDEN RULE: ‘DO TO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO TO YOU’ IS NOT BASED ON ANY SELF-INTEREST. I’M CALLED TO TREAT YOU THE WAY I WANT TO BE TREATED NOT BECAUSE IT BENEFITS ME, BUT BECAUSE I’M SUPPOSED TO BE A CHILD OF GOD AND, IF I WANT TO BE A CHILD OF GOD, I MUST ACT LIKE MY PARENT. IF WE WANT TO GROW TO SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD, WE HAVE TO ACT LIKE A SPIRITUAL ADULT. WE HAVE TO PRAY ‘FORGIVE THEM FATHER’ JUST LIKE OUR SPIRITUAL ROLE MODEL DID.
THAT’S TOUGH WORK, REALLY TOUGH WORK. ALTHOUGH IT WOULD MAKE OUR LIVES EASIER AND WE DO IT OFTEN ENOUGH, IT’S REALLY HARD TO WATER DOWN THIS GOSPEL. SURLEY, WE WOULD SAY TO OURSELVES, JESUS DIDN’T MEAN WE HAVE TO FORGIVE AND WORK FOR THE GOOD OF THAT PERSON WHO IS SO, SO UNPLEASANT. SUCH WATERING DOWN IS FOOLHARDY. JESUS PARTICULARLY TELLS US IN THIS GOSPEL THAT IT’S THE HARD CASES THAT MAKE THE CHRISTIAN. EVEN SINNERS CAN LOVE THE LOVABLE. THE CHRIST FURTHER DRIVES HOME THE DANGERS WHEN HE TELLS US IN THE CLOSE OF TODAY’S GOSPEL:
IF WE WANT TO AVOID JUDGEMENT AND CONDEMNATION, IF WE WANT TO BE FORGIVEN, IF WE WANT TO GET THE FULL MEASURE OF GOD’S LOVE, WE HAVE TO DO THOSE VERY SAME THINGS.