___ Click Here for Audio of Homily ___
__ Click Here for Video of Mass___
[__v-06__] ● February 12, 2023 ● 6th Sunday, ● 2023-02-08 ● Sirach 15:15-20 ● Psalm 119 ● 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 ● Matthew 5:17-37 ●
[__01_] February 11 is our parish feast day – Our
Lady of Lourdes day – the day in 1858 on which Bernadette Soubirous first saw
the apparitions of Mary, as Bernadette is depicted above our altar in the
mosaic kneeling and praying the rosary.
This is a day to pray for healing, for
health, recovery for ourselves and our loved ones and to pray that we may be
free from any pain,
spiritual or physical.
Bernadette – who was born and raised –
in severe poverty – also knew pain and distress in her life. I’d like to touch
in this homily on our own response or reflex to pain – in terms of our
· Proportional
response
· Purposeful response
· Penitential
response
And while today we recall the heroism and
fame of Bernadette, in her own day, the experiences of the apparition brought
her family on unwelcome publicity.
The apparitions started about 70 years after
the French Revolution. Many French people suffered due to poverty, instability
in the government and instability in the Church. Governmentally, neither Social
Security nor welfare benefits existed; Bernadette's family couldn't pay their
bills. They were in pain.
And part of the message conveyed to
Beernadette was about digging deeper in our lives through prayer and penance
and sacrifice. Bernadette was told in the in the visions to unite her
sufferings to Jesus on the cross.
Bernadette gives us an example of a response
to pain that is proportional, purposeful, penitential.
· Proportional:
because she always spoke the truth even to those who didn't believe her. And
it's hard to just speak the truth when people don't believe us or we are
unpopular for doing so.
· Purposeful
because she always sought out the good of another, not her own good.
· Penitential:
because she spurned fame, notoriety, and she lived in pain and poverty.
[_02_] I
bring this up because the Gospel includes a warning – not about physical PAIN –
but nevertheless about something that can be painful à ANGER.
On the one hand, ANGER can be neutral
or even a positive thing. Jesus Himself displays, at times, righteous
anger/indignation. Jesus was angry with the moneychangers who turned his
father’s into an AMZN marketplace.
Nevertheless, Jesus says that when we are angry we are
“liable to judgement”. Our Lord is
warning us not to let our anger lead us toward revenge, hatred, bitterness.
When you or I feel the pain of anger,
we are called to consider how we can act in a way that is proportional,
purposeful, and penitential.
Proportionate to
the actual problem.
Purposeful and
based on the facts
Penitential –
is there anything I can do as a sacrifice? When experiencing the pain of anger,
I suggest we might consider that physical satisfactions - eating, drinking,
leisure – may not solve the anger. In
fact, the the opposite works better – a fast/sacrifice, a time of silent
prayer, in some way to search for survival with God’s grace.
E.g.,
earthquake: And by the way, how
are they finding survivors of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria? They're
finding survivors by silence. The cranes do their work, and then they go
silent. They listen for survivors. If we want to survive, we need silence as
well.
Also,
isn’t it true that righteous anger does
not simply give us payback. The penitential response is to give back and trust
God . Also, such fasting and praying
helps us remain calm and collected if we need to talk out and talk about our
anger.
[__04__] Many years ago, I recall a lapse in judgment
that I made – at my work – in which I was the cause of anger (frustration) from
my boss directed at me.
My boss’s “righteous anger” also
helped me to change and see the light.
One day, I did not show up for an
important lunchtime meeting – believing that my other meeting which ran late
was more important. Wrong answer.
At 12 Noon, at lunch time, the person
on my calendar stopped by my desk looking for me and asked where I was.
When I arrived back at my desk, my
boss informed me who had stopped by and asked me what happened. I did not have
a reasonable excuse. My boss was not pleased, but I also recall her anger was:
PROPORTIONATE
– TONE. there were no raised voices. She did not overreact
PURPOSEFUL
– TEACHING. She focused on the facts and allowing me to learn a lesson rather
than simply receive punishment. (I needed the reminder then – and still need
such reminders now -- I am no greater in dignity and importance than another
person.)
PENITENTIAL
– my boss gave me the benefit of the doubt or, as we say today, did NOT “throw
me under bus.” Thus, I was I was able
to reconcile and meet later with the same person. My boss made an otherwise bad
situation better.
[__05__]
What is Jesus’ reaction when he is angry?
à Consider, e.g., the woman caught in adultery
and the demand made on him to judge the case. Jesus is being trapped.
His response is:
Proportionate
and purposeful: he does not deny the sin, but simply asks those without sin to
judge the case. (Ironically, Jesus is the one without sin and he is judging the
case). He urges those who are angry –
that is is me sometimes – to examine our hearts.
Jesus’ response is penitential:
Jesus stuck his neck out – risked his
safety – for the woman. He is penitential.
The value of fasting and prayer – when
angry – is that it teaches us to rely on God for the ultimate resolution not on
oneself.
Anger,
when it is proportional, purposeful and penitential, a risk worth taking
and a feeling worth having.
[__06__] Jesus Christ had a proportionate response to human sinfulness and struggle, a purposeful response…and also a penitential response. He gave his life for you and for me.
Jesus teaches us this fulfillment of 5th commandment – Thou Shalt Not Kill – not to teach us how far we can go in our rage. He is simply urging us to examine ourselves before we act or react. Offering up our anger, our repentance to him has value for the whole world . We are not just students learning the commandments, by following the gospel, we are also teaching others to do so .... by offering up what we have, our humility will lead us to true greatness in the kingdom of heaven. [__END__]
No comments:
Post a Comment