6th Sunday after Pentecost 21 July 2019 Sermon

6^th Sunday after Pentecost 21.7.19 Hunger for God

You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink. So with faith, we can preach and teach, and exhort and give good example, but we cannot force anyone to take up the faith. It must come from within.

There would be no point in forcing someone to be a disciple of Christ because one has to love Him, not just obey Him. And love requires assent of the will; it cannot be extorted.

We try instead to persuade people to believe in these things and to act accordingly.

Our Lord wants all His disciples to be thinking about what they are doing, and to choose voluntarily to serve Him.

It has to be voluntary. He loves us first, then hopes that we will be induced by that love to return something to Him.

This in turn will complete our formation as human beings; only when we love God do we become fully human, as God designed us.

So there is a lot of waiting, and hoping going on here.

The Church prays for all the stray children of the world to find their way to her.

But no force. Each person must find it for himself.

We cannot make you drink but we can put the banquet before you, and  hope it will attract you.

The appeal of our particular banquet is more subtle than the usual feast.

If people are hungry they will know it and they will be looking for food.

With spiritual  hunger, however, they may not know they have it.

Many today search for meaning in their lives. They often are searching in the wrong place.

The nightclubs, the stadiums, the shops, the internet… there are so many options, but so much confusion also.

The world offers endless activity and multiple distractions from the main point: which is: are you ready to meet your God in judgment if you happen to die today?

Are you consciously serving this one true God each day of your life?

It is easier to be entertained than to probe the depths of the spiritual life. But unless we probe and seek we will miss the point over and over again.

Life is not an escape from reality but a claiming of it; a growing into reality.

Our Lord was concerned for the hunger of the people, not just the physical hunger. He knew he could fix that because the people would all want food.

But He was concerned at a deeper level for their souls, their spiritual hunger. This was much harder to fix because many would deny there was any such hunger; others would say they can solve it themselves

All those who make wrong turns require a certain amount of effort from the Church to retrieve.

We call people (including ourselves) back to the main point.

We are to know, love and serve God; to seek Him with all our hearts and minds; and having found Him to hold on forever (cf Song of Songs 3,4).

The Eucharist will feed us at this deeper level. It will satisfy our spiritual hunger. It will enable us to take on more of the qualities of Christ. We will become more like Him in all relevant respects – an outcome much to be desired.

All are invited; no one is forced. If there is force it is that of our needs and desires leading us to the food which satisfies, which transforms us into images of Christ.

Taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps 33 (34), 8).

5th Sunday after Pentecost 14 Jul 2019 Sermon

5^th Sunday after Pentecost 14.7.19 Charity

When David went into battle with Goliath he had only a slingshot while Goliath had all the usual weapons. A bookmaker would have said that Goliath was the favourite. But David was the winner.

When Christ came into the world He had no weapons; only a message to give. The world was in the grip of the prince of darkness and for the most part did not want His message.

They put Him to death trying to silence Him; but He rose again and His message, His word,  lives on.

The world, with all its military power, could not kill the Word of God.

Our Lord instructs us to love our enemies, to forgive those who offend us. This makes us feel like we are walking into the lion’s den. I might love them – we say - but they do not love me! They will kill me if I try to get them to respond to Christ’s Gospel.

This at least is what we fear – that the message of love will not work, and it might get us killed.

Then we remember how many times the result has been different from this; that in fact the victory has been achieved, despite all appearances.

The very existence of the Church after so much persecution reminds us of the power of heavenly assistance.

Even if the messenger is killed, there is Resurrection. Evil thinks it has won the day, but there is Our Lord again, even more alive than before. There are the countless martyrs, resplendent after their brief ordeal.

This is not only a physical triumph, but a moral one as well. It means that Good can absorb anything evil can throw at it, and still prevail.

All the Davids of the world can overcome all the Goliaths, simply by trusting in the word of God and the power that goes with that.

It means that we can return love for hate and still come out on top.

In fact we must do this, because otherwise we will not have access to the power of Christ.

We will overcome only if we do things His way.

If we fight fire with fire; if we curse those who curse us; if we generally operate by worldly standards – it will not work; we will be as miserable as anyone else.

The Church is meant to be the leaven in the bread; we have to show the world a better way.

This is the way referred to in today’s epistle: being merciful, modest, humble, not returning evil for evil, but blessing; refraining the tongue, seeking after peace.

And in the Gospel, not only not killing physically but not hating either, not even thinking about killing.

This is demanding, but it is the best way forward.

It is not weakness but strength to rise above the usual currents; not just flowing downstream but going up instead, to where the power comes from.

The saints show this in action. They could achieve so much because they were linked with Christ, used His methods and followed His plan.

They risked their lives, and even lost their lives, for the sake of the glory that lay beyond – the glory of Heaven, and the glory of earth wherever Christ is obeyed.

It has to be done this way. The way of the Cross. And then Resurrection. We look and feel like underdogs, and yet we come out on top, not only surviving but winning.

We resist all temptations to be cynical about the power of God to change things. Evil has been embedded for a long time, and it shows its influence everywhere. Nevertheless, we see the much greater power of God prevailing.

So far it has looked like we were living in a jungle. We have to turn that jungle into a garden, well-ordered and peaceful.

4th Sunday after Pentecost 7 Jul 2019 Sermon

4^th Sunday after Pentecost  7.7.19 Obedience

The apostles were trying to catch fish and they would have been happy if they had achieved that much.

They went from there to being among the most important people in history, working countless miracles for good, converting and saving many souls, and themselves enjoying the glory of heaven!

They went a lot further than they would have expected.

We can take a hint from this. We might spend a lot of our time thinking nothing is happening; thinking that we do not have much influence on world events; yet we have our own share in glory to fulfil.

Our Lord calls us to follow Him, but does not tell us (beyond broad outlines) what is going to happen. We lay down our nets and follow Him.

We do not allow ourselves to be discouraged if we have waited a long time and nothing seems to be happening. This is a fairly normal state for a Christian.

Great things can happen any time, and when they happen they really happen.

It is helpful also to remember that we are not here to ‘succeed’ (as the world might see it) but primarily to do the will of God; to be holy as He is holy (1 P 1,16), not because it brings a reward or because it has good effects, but simply for its own sake.

We obey God in gratitude and awe; simply because He deserves it from us, whatever we may think the result is going to be.

Obedience is vital. The epistle speaks of disorder in creation (Rom 8,21-23). The way to get back the original order is to reverse what caused the disorder, namely Sin. We reverse sin by obeying where we have previously disobeyed.

There is God's will and then there is our own will. The only way things will run as they should is if everyone who has a free will is prepared to surrender that will, resolving instead to live always by God's will. This way there is no longer any opposition between what God wants and what I want.

We discover that God's will works much better for us than any version of events we could produce.

It is only the fact that millions defy God's will that we have the world as it is.

It is only by surrendering our own will that we can be part of the ‘team’, the whole Church, establishing God's kingdom.

If you can't beat them join them, so the saying goes; but not in this case. We will beat them (the world) by giving them something different.

Whether we have success or failure we will follow through to the end.

Living by God's will means that we always agree with Him. We still make our own judgments and decisions, but always in deference to His higher understanding.

We do not always get what we want with God. Instead we come to want what we get! What we want will adapt as events unfold. We can go a long way with that principle. Look again at the apostles.

We don’t have to be happy about everything that happens. Neither is God! There are many sufferings as the epistle says.

God's will is always seeking to repair what is damaged, and to enhance what is good. On that principle things are always on the way up. If we cooperate with His will that process will be accelerated and be much more obvious.

We ‘put out our nets’ and what seemed improbable or impossible will become commonplace.

3rd Sunday after Pentecost 30 Jun 2019 Sermon

3rd Sunday after Pentecost 30.6.19 The Sacred Heart

The Sacred Heart is a great consolation to us, reinforcing for us the essential stance that God takes towards the human race – which is one of mercy; mercy which God desires to give, with a desire which has the intensity of a furnace.

God not only forgives our sins; He wants to forgive; He desires it intensely.

We know we are supposed to forgive each other, but we would probably not describe our desire for this as a raging fire. (More likely it will be anger  that is raging!)

The idea of longing to forgive takes a bit of grasping. It is something we can work our way towards.

Pure charity desires the good of the other person; it does not rest with merely one’s own needs.

When Our Lord gave Himself in sacrifice for sin, He was not doing it for His own benefit; it was a total act of giving for others.

He could see the potential joy that awaits the sinner who repents. He considered it worthwhile to suffer Himself so that others could have this joy and freedom.

For God this is a matter of the utmost importance. We can be offhand about sin, not grasping how God sees it.

God cares greatly what happens to each person, far more than the person himself. He can see the damage that sin does, and He wants to rescue us from that.

The parable of the Lost Sheep brings out this desire on God's part. He is joyful to retrieve one sinner, even at great effort.

Many people would shrug and say, What makes you think I am lost?

Not everyone wants to be forgiven; not everyone is willing to change the offending behaviour.

This does not stop the offer of Mercy coming from the Sacred Heart. Our Lord is willing to forgive any and every offence. For His part there is no grudge, no lingering malice.

He wants the other to come to the joy of union with God, of purity of conscience. It is the greatest liberation.

He wants us to take the same view as regards others; that we want the mercy of God to reach every person, and bring about not only forgiveness but a change of  heart.

Consider, for example, how in courtrooms people abuse the convicted criminal, wishing him in hell etc. They should be wishing him in Heaven, having repented.

Or if someone burgles our house we are grieving more for the state of soul of the robber than of whatever property we may have lost.

The ninety-nine sheep should be hoping and praying that the one sheep is found.

These things are challenging for us, but transformed by contact with the furnace of God's love, our hearts can be transformed.

Our primary prayer is that each person be right with God.

This is far more demanding than just a physical rescue. We are looking for something much deeper, the whole renewal of soul - and that is hard work, even for God.

He will not force mercy on people so He has to appeal to them to come along at their own speed.

Success requires that there be heartfelt sorrow for sin, and purpose of amendment. The Sacred Heart and all the company of Heaven rejoice when this happens.

We will rejoice more in proportion as we ourselves are transformed by His mercy.

In the meantime we do not forget our own need of forgiveness, and we can ensure that with a proper sense of contrition.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us!