20th Sunday after Pentecost 22 Oct 2017 Sermon

20^th Sunday after Pentecost 22.10.17 Incarnation

The nobleman’s son was healed instantly, and from a distance. The word, or even the thought, is enough for Our Lord.

As the centurion in another story realised, Our Lord did not need to be in the same room to heal someone. Just give the command and that will do it (Mt 8,8).

More frequently though, Our Lord does work miracles close up. He touched the sick, placing hands on them; or spoke to them directly. He did not have to do this. He could have healed everyone from a distance.

We pause to consider the extent of this power, and this goodness; to let ourselves be overawed.

Why then does He come to us physically? The physical is to be taken up into the spiritual, and thus enriched.

We might wish sometimes we were like the angels, and did not have frail bodies. However, to translate the spiritual into the physical domain is a great achievement, and is why Our Lord did exactly that Himself.

If we can achieve spiritual glory in our physical condition we give more glory to God, and we will be rewarded with a glorified body (Ph 3,21).

Our Lord wants to bless us in our humanity, body as well as soul.

This is why the Sacraments were established.

Many say they do not need sacraments. They can just think about it, at home and that is enough (so they say). But it is not enough. We do not possess the faith or charity or other related qualities. We are simply not strong enough to do this on our own.

In any case it is God's will that we come together to support each other as in today’s epistle – singing psalms, mutual encouragement etc.

We need as much help as we can get.

God can always act outside of His own structures, but generally He wants us to respect those structures and practices, thus to make the Church stronger by our participation and enthusiasm.

Many Catholics have fallen away from sacramental practice. It could be they do not think they need any extra help. Or that the Church and its processes cannot help them. Or just loss of faith and clarity of thought.

Whatever the reason anyone who refuses to engage in the sacraments is likely to fall into one or other of the many snares that are possible.  And the longer they stay away the more ensnared they can become.

It is vital that we keep close to the Church, and thus Our Lord. We keep the beliefs and the practices.

We know the Lord can heal us from far off but that does not mean we can stay far off!

We need to be in there, as close as possible, realizing His infinite power, but respecting also His will, that things normally happen in a certain way.

For example, Holy Communion is the normal way we receive him most strongly. He may come to us some other way, but we do not presume on that.

We want to keep all the entrances open as far as letting God intervene in our lives - the normal, the unusual, the everyday, the once in a lifetime, the public, the private, the individual, the communal - we will take it all. We receive with gratitude and with expectancy.

Many do not put themselves in the way of God’s blessing. What’s the use, they say? A great deal of use if done consistently and humbly.

So we bring our frail mortal flesh into submission to the great healing power of Christ, and we hope with due humility to share in His glorious Resurrection.