True Excellence (2022-01-30, Sunday-04)

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Homily –  Jan. 30, 2022 /  4^th Sunday

● Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19  ● Psalm 71  ● 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13  ●  + Luke 4:21-30 ●

Title:    True Excellence…

[__00-a_]      There can be a risk, a risk, something risky about doing your best about. And Jesus faces the risk – and wrath / anger - of the crowd when he raises the bar or raises the standard for them in Nazareth, in his hometown.  Jesus is suggesting that their salvation and safety is not guaranteed by God just because of their cultural roots or historic religion ..that there is a need to connect and persevere in our relationship with God. And, this is a challenging message for us as well. It may not be what we want to hear…

Have you ever felt rejected by someone or more than 1 person close to you, by your child or sibling or spouse someone whom you wonder, “why doesn’t this person get it or get the message?”

          You – perhaps – have been the prophet or messenger rejected in your own “town” or “school” or “home”.

It’s tough to speak to your own people. Sometimes, by doing our best – or trying to do better – we can wind up unpopular or separate from everyone else.

          This does not just happen in the moral decisions or  the journey to spiritual salvation … I’d like to make a comparison.

[__00-b_]     I remember very well the name of my 8^th grade classmate, a girl in class, who was # 1 academically, smartest student in the school.  And I remember the boy in my senior year of H.S., the # 1 academically and the smartest in school.

          How do you get to be # 1, so smart? Is it just a matter of individual intelligence or “brightness”.

          Yes, this has something to do with it…but I also think such attainment is similar to the Christian joy of taking up your cross each day and persevering.

          I also recall that the smartest student/girl in my 8^th grade class and the smartest student/boy in senior year were not – by any measure of “coolness” or “popularity” – the most cool or most popular in school.

          And, that just seems to be – at times – the price we pay for doing the right thing or even for being excellent.

          And, there is a risk in really trying your best, or doing your best… hey, you might fail… you might not make it… so why try so hard?

          Living the Christian life is about trying our best…

[__00-c_]    

          Here is just one example of why I did not turn out # 1 academically, but I also think it reveals something about my own temperament and need for God’s grace to do better.

One evening, when I was in high school, I went to the trouble of going go to the local public library to do my homework. This way, I would be more focused, less distracted.

One of my friends called my house that very evening and asked where I was, my mom told him: “Jim is at the library”  So my friend came to the library. But he didn't come to the library with his calculator and books and his notebook to encourage me in my studying, he came to the library in his car to interrupt my studying and to insist that we should go out for something fun. Needless to say, I did no more homework that particular night.

I bring this up just to this example, because we may at times in our lives, encounter those who share our values who encourage us and but also those who don't share our values, and who get in the way of our striving for excellence in doing our best.  I am not blaming my friend – I made my own choice about what I thought was the “excellent way” at that particular moment.

And, for me – at that moment – I judged that the excellent way was the easy way and not to make any more effort at my studies.

Sometimes, I give up too easily and that did not end in high school!

 

[__00-c_]     St. Paul writes in 1^st Corinthians ch. 12, v. 31, that he wants to show us a still more excellent way. Are you someone interested in the most excellent way? Are you interested in the excellent way? I'm interested in the excellent way I think we all are.

It happens in material things in our purchase of objects or selection of services, or of medicine, of a doctor or of anything we seek that which the who is the most excellent, who has the most stars in the Yelp review are the best Google review, the highest number of points.

Are you shopping for a car?  Are you seeking the highest review, even if it's not an expensive automobile, you and I want the most excellent in our price range we seek and after we get that automobile then we want the most excellent parking space. Have you ever looked up reviews for the best parking garage?

I have!

We want it all we wanted excellent. We even want excellent parking spaces.

[__00-c_]     St. Paul is aware of this pursuit of excellence in the Corinthian church, because Corinth was a place of competition, a place where it mattered where you went to school, whether your child attended the best schools, or whether your home was in the best neighborhood, the Corinthians were competitive.

          And for this reason, Paul had been pointing out in Ch. 12 of 1^st Corinthians, that there are different spiritual gifts, but the same God and the same Holy Spirit, who is the source of all these spiritual gifts, Paul listed the spiritual gifts, which had incited the Corinthians to figure out that one of them would be the smartest in the room if they had the highest spiritual gifts.

Or they'd be the best in the room . Some of these spiritual gifts were pretty spectacular pretty spirits prestigious, including wisdom, knowledge, healing.

Who would not healing right now, or who doesn't want to be the best possible healer?

So, some of us in the church – through the Holy Spirit – are called to be healers and there are many wounded, hurting people right now. I hope and pray that Our Lady of Lourdes, that our mission and ministry will help to heal you, bring you home, bring you to God.

Yet, here I am – as parish priest – needing to remember that the healing does not come from me but from the Holy Spirit to you.

So, Paul is saying that there is a still more excellent way, and Jesus himself excellent exemplifies that there is a more excellent way.

 

[__00-d_]     And now we go to 1^st Corinthians ch. 13 in which the most frequently written and spoken word is à L-O-V-E. Love !

It is tempting to read this and reduce Love to that which we “fall into”

We have all experienced in some way, the moment of falling into love, or being very captivated or enamored by a particular person. Falling in love is not strictly a precursory to the lifelong commitment of marriage. 

We can see how even 2 friends can fall for or experience a very great affection for and connection with each other.

This, however, is not really the highest form of love. The most excellent way involves a commitment and decision from spouse to spouse, parent to child, brother to sister, child to parent.  And, there will be moments when we are not we do not – as they sing in The Lion King – “fel the love tonight…”

[][][]            Peter Kreeft, Boston College Philosphy professor, makes this observation, asks this question:

But how can we love someone if we don't like him? Easy — we do it to ourselves all the time. We don't always have tender, sweet, comfortable feelings about ourselves; sometimes we feel foolish, stupid, asinine, or wicked. But we always love ourselves: we always seek our own good. Indeed, the only reason why we feel dislike toward ourselves and berate ourselves is precisely because we do love ourselves! We care about our good, so we are impatient with our bad. [H-2021.04.01]  [][][]

So, I find myself challenged by this to love even the person I do not like. That is different from falling in love. This is the excellent way.

In what ways does this challenge you and me?

We read: “Love is patient”

It is our calling to be patient with the person who makes us wait.

We read: “Love is kind”

It is our calling not to return with kindness or prayer or blessing to the person who has insulted you.

We read: “Love is not pompous or boastful.”

          It is our calling to be humble or even silent about our achievements when everyone else is being praised or bragging… or putting their report card on the refrigerator.

          Love is the more excellent way.

Jesus has given us the supreme example of love by laying down his life for you.

And for me, Jesus is also similar to the kid in your class who is getting better grades than everybody else. And as they say he is throwing off the curve or messing up the curve by getting braised better than everybody else. And making everybody else work so hard. We don't like that kid. That kid is the enemy of the state.  Jesus was also the “enemy of the state” and was crucified for this.

    Because what we want is just to compare ourselves to everybody else. Jesus is that kid who gets a 90 when everybody else is getting 65 Jesus is leading the way but we are called not to compare ourselves to others, but to compare ourselves to Him. That to live by love, charity, by sacrifice, and to help others to find Jesus. Even if they are falling behind in class or even if they are not in school – or in church -- with us right now.   [FIN]