Homilies

February 23, 2008
Saturday of the 2nd Week of Lent
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
Fr. Jerome Machar, OCSO

The season of Lent is a time of particular commitment in the spiritual combat that pits us against the evil present in the world, in each one of us and that surrounds us. Throughout these sacred days we are exhorted to look evil in the face and dispose ourselves to fight against its effects; more than that we are to contend against all its causes, right up to its ultimate cause -- Satan. We are not at liberty to excuse ourselves from the task by unloading the problem of evil onto others, onto society, not even onto God. By undertaking the disciplines of lent we endeavor to recognize our own responsibility for the wrong that we do and consciously take it upon ourselves.

Tim Madigan made this observation when he received a coveted award in journalism. "We're journalists; we're not stenographers. We have the duty to let our outrage show through when we come across injustice. We need to let our compassion show through for other people's suffering. And we need to let our awe show through at the glory of life.  We have as much responsibility to celebrate life and the goodness of it as we do to root out evil" (I'm Proud of You , pg. 72).

As Disciples of Christ we are obliged to celebrate life in all its forms and give thanks to God for all the goodness of it. We are stewards or administrators of the goods of the earth. Wealth and worldly goods are not our exclusive possession. They are given to us as a sacred trust. We may not be able to do away with poverty; however, we can come to the aid of the poor people Providence brings to our doors or into our lives. The words of Saint John take on the tone of a ringing rebuke: "How can God's love abide in a person who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?" (1Jn 3:17). Our responsibility toward those who suffer poverty and abandonment is a duty of justice and not simply an act of charity.

With the prophet we call upon the Lord, "Dear God, come and care for your people. With a shepherd's crook lead your flock to green pastures" (Mic. 7:14). Having uttered this prayer, we must then act in the name of the Good Shepherd. Not only are we to pray for the poor, we are also to care for them. The disciple is to be concerned with God's greater glory. Jesus warns: "In this way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Mt 5,16). Everything is to be done for God's glory and not our own. This understanding must accompany every gesture of help to our neighbor. If, in accomplishing a good deed, we do not have as our goal God's glory and the real well being of our brothers and sisters, looking rather for a return of personal interest, we place ourselves outside of the Gospel vision.

Lent, precisely because it invites people to prayer, penance and fasting, represents a providential moment to revive and strengthen our hope. Prayer is the primary and foremost weapon with which to face the struggle against evil. Without the element of prayer, the human 'I' ends up by closing in on itself and the conscience, which should be the echo of the voice of God, risks being reduced to a mirror of the self. In the same way, interior dialogue becomes a monologue that gives rise to many forms of self-justification. Like the self-righteous brother in the parable, we choose to go hungry rather than sit at table with our repentant brothers and sisters. Languishing for lack of love, the first-born failed to recognize his brother and rejected the love of the father. In a word, like Esau, he gave up his birthright. 

It is love that forms and holds together our deepest and most lasting identity. It is love that unites us to one another. It is love that resists the drift into what in the end fails and crumbles. God holds us in his love and fortifies us with His grace. The call to be totally devoted and attached to God heart and soul, far from being a call for a mere emotion or a mood, is in fact an injunction requiring all-embracing, constant and active love of God. The invitation to repent is therefore a spur to return to the arms of God, our loving and merciful Father, to trust him, to entrust ourselves to him like adopted children, brought to the newness of live in Christ.