Wheat and Weeds - Plants can't Change, but People Can

Location: Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Luxemburg, IA) – 4 p.m. Saturday

                St. Joseph Catholic Church (Rickardsville, IA) – 6 p.m. Saturday

                Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church (Sherrill, IA) – 8 a.m. Sunday

                Holy Cross Catholic Church (Holy Cross, IA) – 10 a.m. Sunday

Date: Sunday July 20^th, 2014 (16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

READINGS:

1^st Reading: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19

Resp. Psalm: Ps. 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16

2^nd Reading: Romans 8:26-27

Gospel: Matthew 12:24-43 (OR Matthew 13:24-30 {short form})

FOCUS: Human nature is not “static” – people can change, and we can help them.

FUNCTION: Share your faith with your friends; invite others to come with you to Church.

            Some things just are what they are.  A cup, for instance, will always be a cup – it might get used to hold pens and pencils, or to drink out of, or to put grease in after cooking, or to water flowers and plants, but no matter how it’s used, it will always be a cup.  You can’t change a cup’s nature, no matter what you do with it, even if you break it – then it’s a broken cup.  But it will always be a cup. 

          By way of contrast, the more I’ve reflected on human nature, the more I’m convinced that we are not so “static” – we can be other than what we’ve been; there are lots of stories in the history of Christianity of sinners who became saints, of hardened criminals who become upstanding citizens, of good people who became bad, and of bad people who became good. 

          St. Paul, before he became St. Paul, was a Pharisee who persecuted the Church, but became a devoted follower of Christ and the apostle to the gentiles after meeting the risen Lord on his way to Damascus.  St. Peter, before he became St. Peter, was probably a rough-and-tumble fisherman, who maybe swore a lot, was perhaps not particularly religious, but who heard the call of Christ, was converted in mind and heart, and eventually became the first Pope.  St. Augustine, before he became the Saint we know him as now, was a womanizer who struggled with chastity, but who came to know the Lord through the reading of the scriptures and became one of the Church’s greatest teachers. 

          Stories like these abound in the history of Christianity.  They’re stories of conversion – stories of people who became something other than what they were.  These stories point out the possibility that people can become something other than what they’ve been; a person’s nature can change – they can go from being bad to becoming good, or from being good to becoming bad.  Unlike cups, our nature is not “static” – it’s “dynamic.”  We can change – we can be more than what we think or imagine.  Everyone can be more than what they think or imagine.

          I think that’s an important principle to keep in mind when we think about the Gospel reading this weekend.  In Jesus’ interpretation, the wheat are the children of the kingdom, while the weeds are the children of the evil one.  And in some sense, it’s true, but these are not and cannot be “static” identifications; and this is where the analogy breaks down – while literal wheat and literal weeds cannot change their natures, such that wheat becomes weeds and weeds become wheat, human beings and human nature can change.  Children of the kingdom could potentially become children of the evil one, and children of the evil one could potentially become children of the kingdom.  Human life is dynamic.  The people we call evil have the potential to accomplish great good; and the people we call good have the potential to commit great evil.

          If we are children of the kingdom – children of God – we have a duty to share the good news of the kingdom with the so-called “weeds” among us – those who do not know the love of God, who do not have a relationship with God, who are seemingly outside the communion of the Church.  In one of Pope Francis’ recent “tweets” on Twitter, he said, “The Church, by her nature, is missionary.  She exists so that every man and woman may encounter Jesus.”  That’s a good reminder that our essential vocation as Christians is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with whoever has ears to listen. 

          By our word, by our example, it’s possible that “weeds” could become “wheat” – by our word, by our example, it’s possible that people who do not yet know God might come to know, love, and serve Him; it’s possible that we could become the conduits by which other people come to know the love of God.  And what an awesome and exciting responsibility that is!

          This is why the Church exists – to proclaim the presence of God’s kingdom in our midst, to proclaim that God is love, to proclaim that salvation is possible in and through the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world.  And truthfully, sometimes we are downright failing at our mission. 

          We don’t challenge young couples – in love, of course – to refrain from living together before they’re married so that their marriage can be pure and holy; we don’t invite friends, neighbors, and family members who are away from the Church to come back and build a relationship with God; we don’t talk about our faith and the ways in which God has worked in our lives.  We keep God a secret; we don’t share the message of the Gospel; we’re more interested in “maintaining” the Church than we are in “growing” the Church; we fail at living as God’s hands and feet in the world around us.

          We need to get better at this.  There are souls at stake.  People could get to heaven a little easier if we talked about heaven a little more.  People could find the pathway to the kingdom if we showed it to them.  People could grow in holiness if we challenged them to do so.

          So let’s do it.  Let’s share our faith with our friends.  Let’s invite others to come with us to Church to hear the message of the Gospel.  Let’s ask a non-Catholic if they’ve ever thought about joining the Church.  Let’s be God’s hands and feet in the world around us.  With God’s grace, everything is possible.                       

Our Call to Evangelization for the Salvation of Souls

Homily for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
    

READINGS:

First Reading: Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

FOCUS: Evangelization simply involves sharing our Christian hope with others. 

FUNCTION: Bring hope to others by sharing with them the good news of the Gospel.

          How many of you have ever met someone who seemed to embody the sentiments of the first reading?  Have you ever felt that way yourself?  The first reading from the Book of Job certainly does NOT give us a very happy vision of human life.  In fact, Job’s estimation of human life in general – and of his own life in particular – give us a quite hopeless and depressing and miserable picture of human existence. 

          Speaking about his own life, he says, “I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.  My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.  Remember that my life is like the wind; I shall not see happiness again.”  And to these sentiments, I would like to reply, “Hey, that’s the spirit!  Way to think positively! What an encouraging message!”  Ugghh.  Maybe not.  There’s not much hope to be found in Job’s estimation of the quality of life.

          This kind of extreme negativism about life can infect all of us at one point or another.  But for some people, this extremely depressing evaluation of human life is the only way they know how to think.  They approach life from the perspective that they are irrevocably doomed, that life is miserable, that nothing good will ever come their way.  Perhaps you’ve met some people like this.  They’re no fun to be around, that’s for sure.  And what they need most – pardon the terrible metaphor – is a triple espresso of hope!  They need to know that life is worth living, that life has value, and that it’s possible to find good, even in the midst of the darkness.  And this is where we – as Christians – are called to bring the light of Christ into the darkness of people’s lives. 

          Jesus gave us a mission to bring a message of hope to those who have none, to proclaim the Good News to those who are so desperate to hear it, to be a light in the darkness, and to help people know – in the words of the responsorial psalm – that God “heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.”  We have been called by Almighty God – through His Only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ – to be an evangelizing Church, to be a Church that boldly proclaims the Good News of the Gospel to the people of the world. 

          And sometimes we have done a really terrible job at this.  I know I’ve talked about this before, but we HAVE TO, HAVE TO, HAVE TO get over this false notion that religion is a purely private matter and that our faith shouldn’t be shared with others.  Because that’s the very philosophy that the Devil would have us profess, so that others don’t come to know the Good News of Jesus’ victory over sin and death and darkness and despair.  If we don’t get over that notion that religion is private, then so many people around us will continue to live lives that feel hopeless, depressing, and miserable – as was Job’s experience of life.

          Saint Paul gave us a lot of insights into the task of evangelization in the second reading.  He said, “Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible.  To the weak, I became weak, to win over the weak.  I have become all things to all, to save at least some.”  And about preaching the Gospel, he also said, “…woe to me if I do not preach it!”  We have a tremendous and powerful example of commitment to evangelization in the person and ministry of Saint Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles! 

          He never shrank from sharing the Good News of Christ with those around him, whether it was the members of the Churches he wrote to, or the people of the cities he visited, or even with royal officials and those in authority.  He never shrank from proclaiming the Gospel to anyone, because he knew that the message of the Gospel was meant for everyone and not just a select few!  God’s salvation is open to all people, and Saint Paul wanted everyone – or at least as many people as possible – to be saved by the grace and mercy of our loving God and Father, and of His Anointed One, Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior.

          Unlike Saint Paul, sometimes we “overthink” what it means to evangelize, or we make it out to be something more difficult than it actually is.  Evangelization simply involves sharing our Christian hope with others.  And that’s not so difficult.  It’s actually quite easy.  So how can we evangelize?

          We can share our hope with the people around us who disbelieve in God’s existence, and show them that God has revealed Himself to us through Jesus of Nazareth, God’s beloved Son.  We can share our faith and hope with sick persons, inviting them to see how the Crucified Lord shares in their sufferings and can make their suffering redemptive and life-giving.  We can share our hope with fallen-away Catholics and invite them to come back to Church to embrace both a personal and a communal relationship with God in and through the Church that Jesus established as His Body.  We can share with our family members the hope and the joy that we have because Jesus is in our life and we life by faith in His never-ending love and mercy.  I could go on, but I think you get the point.  Evangelization is not hard.  It’s simply a matter of being willing to share with others the hope that we have as Christians.

          But before we can share our hope and faith with others, we need to truly possess it ourselves.  As the saying goes, “You cannot give what you do not have.” And so we can ask ourselves: are we really living in the world as people of faith?  Is the virtue of hope present in our lives?  Do we love the people around us as Christ has loved us?  Do we really believe that Jesus has conquered the power of sin and death, and that new life is possible in Him?  In order for us to impart faith, hope, and love to others, we must have first received it ourselves.  Only then can we hand it on to those around us, so that they might know the same joy.

          Very soon, we’ll begin the Liturgy of the Eucharist, where we will ultimately receive the Body and Blood of Our Blessed Lord.  And as we heard in the Gospel – that Jesus went from town to town preaching, curing illnesses and diseases, and casting out demons – let’s allow this Blessed Sacrament that we receive to change us from the inside out, so that we, too, might reach out to others and help them to experience the healing, liberating and saving power of Christ.

 And let’s answer our call to be an evangelizing Church.  There are still many people in the world who share Job’s unfortunate sentiments about life.  To them, life is often harsh and cold, empty and difficult.  And so, following the example of Saint Paul, let’s share with the people of the world around us the Good News of our Christian faith, so that we might all be transformed by the light of God’s heavenly kingdom of peace, joy, justice, and love.