Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr Ben Riley
The Bible is alive. It is the living, breathing, Word of God. The word that became flesh and dwelt among us.God revealed Himself to humanity through the scriptures, and they speak eloquently in every age.To the ancient Israelites, to the Jews of the time of Jesus, to the apostles, the early Church fathers, saints and faithful Catholics throughout the ages, and for us here today. It seems today that our readings are speaking particularly to us. They comment and give context to the reality of our time, and so today I am going to ignore our wonderful Gospel and speak only about our first and second readings.
The prophet Habakkuk does not speak to the people, he does not even prophesy about the Word of God, instead he speaks directly to God and his words echo the thought and sentiment of so many of us.
“How long, O LORD? I cry for help, but you do not listen! I cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not intervene. Why do you let me see ruin;why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me;there is strife, and clamorous discord.”
These words sound like they were written yesterday. It sounds like these words could have been written by one of my friends or family, any faithful Catholic, or Catholic writer. We see it all around us, the clamorous discord, the breakdown of marriage and the family, desensitized sexual promiscuity, subjectivity, political discord, anger, fear, and violence. There is no question that we live in a sinful world, and so the question becomes how do we respond?“
Beloved: I remind you, to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.”
Paul writes to Timothy who is a much younger man, and there is something of a mentor/mentee, a master/disciple relationship between them. Paul reminds Timothy of when he was ordained, and then he tells him the spirit that you should stir into flame is no cowardly spirit. Paul is addressing his protégé as a fellow soldier for Christ. The implication being that there is going to be a battle, and he has to have courage to face down the enemies. Paul is not telling Timothy he should be a soldier in the ordinary sense, he’s not telling him to attach his courage to the weapons of the world, rather to wisdom and to love.
Did you know that other than an ordination there are two other sacraments in the Church that include the laying on of hands? One is the Sacrament of the Sick, sometimes called the Anointing of the Sick. And the other is Baptism. In the Sacrament of Baptism, after the anointing with the Oil of Catechumens, the priest lays hands on the person and calls down the Holy Spirit, bestowing the character of Kingdom priesthood upon them. I am a ministerial priest, but we are all Kingdom priests, called by God, through our baptism, to serve him as priest, prophet, and king, that is: as sanctifiers, teachers, and leaders. We too, like Timothy are called to battle. To fight against the sinfulness of the world and our society. But the weapons we use to do this are not swords and daggers. They are not the swords of anger and the daggers of our tongues. Saint Paul is very clear, we fight back with love and self-control. When someone stands courageously with wisdom, with love, with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then that person is able to face down the powers of the world.When we try to fight “them” on their own terms, when we try to conquer evil with evil, we make no progress toward the Kingdom of God. We have to use a different weapon.
I’m going to conclude with a section from a book that a family friend gave me as an ordination gift. The book is called, the Greatest Salesman in the World. It disguises secrets for life, as business advice. This second secret I’m going to share is the key in fighting the battle against the destruction, sin, and discord in our world.
“I will greet this day with love in my heart.
For this is the greatest secret of success. Muscle can split a shield and even destroy life but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of men. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on whom I call can defend against its force. My reasoning they may counter, my speech they may distrust, my apparel they may disapprove, my face they may reject, yet my love will melt all hearts liken unto the sun whose rays soften the coldest day.
I will greet this day with love in my heart.
And how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones, yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart, yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my do, yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.
I will greet this day with love in my heart.
And how will I speak? I will laude mine enemies and they will become friends. I will encourage my friends and they will become brothers. Always will I dig for reasons to applaud; never will I scratch for excuses to gossip. When I am tempted to criticize I will bite on my tongue; when I moved to praise I will shout from the roofs.
I will greet this day with love in my heart.
And how will I confront each whom I meet? In only one way. In silence, and to myself I will address him and say I love you. Though spoken in silence these words will shine in my eyes, unfurl my brow, bring a smile to my lips and echo in my voice, and his heart will be opened.
I will greet this day with love in my heart.
And most of all I will love myself. For when I do, I will zealously inspect all things which enter my body, my mind, my soul, and my heart. Never will I overindulge the requests of the flesh, rather I will cherish my body with cleanliness and moderation. Never will I allow my mind to be attracted to evil and despair, rather I will uplift it with the knowledge and wisdom of the ages. Never will I allow my soul to become complacent and satisfied, rather I will feed it with meditation and prayer. Never will I allow my heart to become small and bitter, rather I will share it and it will grow and warm the earth. Henceforth will I love all mankind. From this moment all hate is let from my veins for I have no time to hate, only time to love.
I will greet this day with love in my heart.”