9th Sunday after Pentecost 2 Aug 2020 Sermon

9^th Sunday after Pentecost 2.8.20 Beyond our strength

St Paul tells us that we are never tested beyond our strength (1 Cor 10,13).

This has been understood as referring to temptations to sin, and more generally to our need to cope with problems.

There is no sin that we have to commit. The temptation might seem to be overwhelming but cannot really be so. If we did not have power of consent there would be no sin.

Temptation is like a flame that can be easily extinguished in its early stages (eg putting out a match) but is impossible to control once it has taken hold.

We have to develop the discipline to be able to see temptation off very quickly or we will lose that promised protection.

We need also to have a solidly formed Christian character which will enable us to deal with any type of sin that might approach us.

By a combination of this general character and specific sorrow for sins, we will have access to the grace which will enable us to resist any temptation.

Sin is a misdirection of the will. It means we want the wrong thing more than the right one.

With divine help we can steer our own will back to the right path.

God is always the most desirable being, the object of our will. The best thing we can do is to align our wills with His. He will help us to see what we really want.

This is how the human race was supposed to be from the start.

This is to enjoy complete tranquillity of mind with no discordant passions.

Our bodies rebel as it is (Ga 5,17) but they will come into line if the will does first.

The other sense in which we can understand this verse concerns our ability to cope with sufferings more generally. God will never send us more than we can bear.

How much we can bear is very hard for us to know. We do not know our own strength in this area.

We can look at our lives and see times when we thought something was insurmountable, but now we see that we did get through it.

God parts the waters for us and we cross on dry land, like the Israelites.

We find in the lives of the saints that they all suffered huge amounts. Yet they could absorb that suffering. They had the capacity to love God to such a degree that the sufferings seemed light to them.

When we love enough we do not count the cost. When a crisis is on people rise to the occasion, for example, trying to rescue someone in need.

Would you lay down your life to save someone else’s. You probably would if you loved the person.

What about to save someone’s soul? Even more important.

And what about saving people we do not even know? The saints could do that because they were imbued so completely with the love of Christ.

If we have suffering we can ask for it to be removed or resolved; or we can ask that we be big enough to carry that suffering.

One way or the other God will never let us down.

This is our consolation and it is a powerful one.

Here again we need discipline to keep this awareness of God's help. We will be tempted to think that God has abandoned us. It could never be that.

The two senses in which we can understand this verse converge. If our wills are in union with the divine will, then we will not fear adversity nor be attracted to sin in any form.

May the grace of God sustain us through all storms, till we reach eternal peace.