20th Sunday after Pentecost 18 Oct 2020 Sermon

 

20^th Sunday after Pentecost 18.10.20 Redeeming the age

 Redeeming the time because the days are evil (Ep 5,16).

 What sort of a life does it take to redeem a wicked age? A holy life, a life dedicated to God in the pursuit of His will. A life free from sin, and flourishing with good works. If we have not been free of sin, then we can begin to be so at any moment.

A holy life can redeem the times on two levels. (that of example which persuades, and making recompense to God, atonement for sin.)

Persuasion. We are the light of the world, And we should not put our light under a bushel (cf Mt 5,14-15). See how they love one another, an early commentator said.

There is no doubt that Christianity lived fully would have a profound effect on the surrounding society.

Many people have converted to the faith for just such a reason. They saw something they wanted for themselves. Peace, Joy, Love etc.

The first Pentecost is probably the clearest example of this. But there are many other times, eg the missionary work of St Francis Xavier or St Patrick.

When people see the real thing at least some of them will respond.

We have to do extra to make up for lost ground. Scandals and generally poor behaviour from the Christians sets the whole work back.

Bad behaviour does not take anything away from the truth of our faith; but psychologically it makes people less inclined to see our light on the hill.

Many cannot or will not make the distinction between the theoretical and the practical.

All the more reason for the rest of us to be holy. Which leads to Atonement.  If everyone behaved we would have an easy time of it. But there are mountains of sin  being committed every day, and this all has to be ‘redeemed’, compensated for.

We understand that it is the Precious Blood of Christ which atones for all the sin of the world.

We cannot atone by our own efforts because we do not have sufficient to give to God, even with the best will.

However, we can achieve a lot by being fully attentive and receptive to what God is doing by offering us the way of atonement.

The Precious Blood will have more effect in atoning for the sins of the world if at least some people cooperate in the process.

A few can atone for many, as with Abraham and his ten good men (Gen 18,23-32) or with the saints, who all had this intuition for making atonement.

When we make atonement for other people’s sins we are taking some of the pain due to them.

This is both a burden and a privilege. It is the way of Christ and all the saints.

Living holy lives is the way to help others: giving them good example, and helping atone for their sin.

This is easier said than done. Holiness requires a certain discipline and effort.

Some things come easier than others, like loving our mothers. But a lot of it requires a real wrenching away from disordered inclinations so that we can be moderate and balanced in all things.

One reason we come to Mass is to receive the grace we need to live holy lives.

We redeem the surrounding world by flooding it with the love of God. Having reached a point of sufficient sorrow for offending God's divine majesty, we can then bear fruits of holiness, the whole process spreading to all corners of the world.