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Homily file for August 13, 2023 19th Sunday
Yet I felt obliged to go.
And though it took me more than a year to finally get there, and finally this
past week, I went and made the trip.
We had a nice visit for an
hour or so what surprised me was that I felt so much better for having made the
trip. I didn't expect I didn't expect to feel bad. But I also didn't expect to
feel affirmed in this relationship. What
I also learned was that while my effort to visit my friend was a good thing –
it did not make me in control of the outcome, the result.
This friendship which I had
thought was permanently changed by distance by the new location by new
circumstances. Evidently, the friendship at its core, there was a beauty of
presence, there was God himself, that was the Holy Spirit.
God is in charge of the
result. In the Gospel this Sunday, Peter has an idea about walking on water, Peter gets out of the boat to
walk on water. But Peter thinks he's in charge of the outcome. He takes a few
steps successfully and then loses his way plunges beneath the water, Peter is
all wet. Peter is not in charge of the outcome, the results.
[_02__] ISRAEL HISTORY
And there were earlier moments in history of Israel when the
people walked on water or through water, while staying completely dry. The most
famous of this is in the Book of the Exodus in Jewish Scriptures, the crossing
of the Red Sea, with Moses leading the way, while the Israelite / Hebrew people “figure”
they are about to be captured.
They had been running as
far and fast as they possibly could. They've arrived at the water – at the deep
end of the Red Sea, and they're about to be captured by the Egyptian chariots and charioteers. They do not know how to swim or cross. There's no ferry boat or any other boat.
And they're trying to
escape from the Egyptian soldiers and chariots. Their only hope was for God to
part to separate the waters, and they cross on dry land, Moses parts the
waters. And this gospel is another reminder that Jesus is the new Moses, parting
the waters enabling us to “stay dry”, if we follow Him.
[_03__] Why does God rescue his
people by helping them to cross the Red Sea?
Why does God rescue Peter
who was about to drown? Sometimes we might imagine that our own chances of
survival or rescue from a situation depends on our own merits on our own value
or talents.
And maybe we read this “Coast
Guard”-style rescue of Peter in the same way. I.e., Jesus has to save Peter in order to make
him a leader.
The last week, Jesus took
Peter up the mountain of the Transfiguration with James and John. In other
words, Peter, Jesus has a lot invested in Peter. Peter is the priority; he is Jesus’s
1st round draft pick.
Jesus loves Peter, so we may
say, Jesus has put a priority on Peter, therefore he saves them. The truth is,
Jesus loves Peter no more or no less than he loves you or me. And we might also
feel unsteady or feel that we are drowning at times.
In St. Paul's letter to the
Romans, we read that God shows His love for us that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
Jesus doesn't love you,
because you have proved yourself to Him. He proves Himself to you by loving
you, even offering you and me forgiveness for our sins.
The normal way that we
receive mercy absolution for our sins, as Catholics is to go to confession,
which I admit, is a sacrament that has fallen on hard times. You may think it
has less relevance these days.
But, truly the confession has even more relevance these days. Because these days, when we fall or fail, we easily think at that the only way to recover from my failing or my failure from my sin is to prove myself by doing something excellent, equally good to make up for what was bad. I.e., we are performance focused, achievement oriented.
[_04.02__] But that's not the gospel. When Jesus urges us
to be perfect to be virtuous, He's not asking us to just rack up more
successes, or more successful goals to make up for all the penalties committed.
Or [BASEBALL]à need to hit more home runs
to compensate for my strikeouts?
Those are sports rules –
they are not the rules of salvation. Peter even gives into this foolish pride.
Peter thinks this way.
[_04.03__] OBJECTIONS
There are objections to go
into confession. For example, why do we object to confession we say: [go 2 God
direct] yes, you should go to God directly whether you repent or rejoice.
Yet, we go to confession
for our sins for the same reason we go to the doctor for our health or the
dentist for our teeth, in other words to receive a 1-on-1 affirmation and
assurance of forgiveness. Also, confession has a stricter privacy and secrecy
than any doctor-patient confidentiality. You're safe in the confessional!
Another
reason we might not go to the conflict go to Confession is because we say well,
the priest is a sinner too. He's got lots of sins. Have you ever said, “The priest
– the padre – is worse than I am”
That could
apply to me. It's possible. It's, but that's not a reason not to go to
confession.
It's also not a reason not to go to the doctor or to the dentist, the dentist. The dentist might not have great teeth. The doctor might not be in great health, but the doctor can still help you.
[_05__] In the 1st reading today, Elijah, had come to a cave, hideout on a mountain, because the queen of Israel, the royal family in Israel, are so displeased with his religious preaching and they want to take his life. Elijah was being persecuted for doing what was right. He did something spectacular earlier and defeating the idols that were leading people away from God. Now Elijah is looking for affirmation of God's presence. But God is not speaking to Elijah in the earthquake or in the wind or in the fire. He's speaking to him in a tiny whispering sound, a still small voice, going to confession to receive our sins is the way for us to hear God's voice to know that we are forgiven and to focus more closely on God's voice. He is inviting us to come to Him.
[_end__]
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