Thursday, April 3, 2014

Homily: Thursday of the 4th Week of Lent - "Come to me to have life"

Continuing his teaching following the miracle of the healing of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus offers some very challenging words to his hard-hearted audience today.  He explains how it shouldn’t be so difficult to believe in Him, after all John testified to who he was, his Father testified, his works testified, the scriptures testified.

You know why you don’t believe?  Because you are more interested in receiving praise from others for your good works, than getting to the heart of your faith--in truly serving God and loving God.

Therefore, he says, “I know that you do not have the love of God in you.”  What terrifying words to hear from the lips of the incarnate Son of God.  For was it not their greatest commandment to love God with their whole hearts, minds, and souls?  He says, you fail to love God, because you are more concerned about getting people to praise you.  You have missed the point of faith and service because you have made them all about you.

What terrifying words!  Yet, Jesus offers an invitation.  “Come to me to have life.”

He calls us away from what is inessential back to what is absolutely essential: having our hearts set on God before all else: before fame, before pleasure.

Those Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving help us to realign our priorities, to dispose our souls again to all that God desires for us.

Ash Wednesday was four weeks ago, if you haven’t found Lent to be challenging perhaps it’s time to enter more deeply into the prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that we may, as we prayed in the opening prayer “be corrected by penance and schooled in good works, to persevere sincerely in God’s commandments and come safely to the paschal festivities” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.


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