13th Sunday after Pentecost 23.8.15 Thanksgiving
It is possible to take Almighty God for granted. As soon as we have whatever we ask from Him we are gone. This is ‘Gimme’ praying – Gimme this, Gimme that!
It is treating God like a servant or a secretary. When things go smoothly enough for long enough we can forget all about Him.
Instead we should thank Him – thank Him often and eternally.
To thank God is not just good manners; nor just an insurance that if we thank Him for the last blessing we are more likely to receive the next one. No, we thank Him because it is right to do so. It is something that needs to happen, and we need to do it.
Dignum et justum est. It has to be done. There is a kind of cosmic balance involved. God gives goodness out all the time. The creation, receiving His goodness, needs to return it in the form of thanksgiving.
To take God for granted is to become alienated from Him. We may not mean Him any offence; but we will surely be separating ourselves from Him.
We see plainly the consequences of this separation in the various disasters around us on the moral sphere. If we do not acknowledge Him we will have a distorted view of reality and humanity.
This in turn will lead to lots of sin and destructive behaviour.
How much better the world would run and how much happier we could be if we did acknowledge God’s centrality and superiority.
While it is right to see God as close to us, and providing for our needs, we must maintain a sense of His majesty and not forget that He is God.
We are tempted to fashion our own version of God, like the golden calf – a god who will make no demands on us.
When we thank Him we open ourselves to a transcendent view of reality; and break free from just the material and physical concerns of this world.
Then we find our true status before Him – we are infinitely inferior, and very fortunate that He treats us as well as He does.
If we humble ourselves before Him we will be exalted. But even when exalted we still remain grateful.
We are lucky He even made us in the first place. We had no claim upon Him then, and even less now that we have sinned. So we can at least be grateful. If we make it to Heaven it will be only by His mercy and grace. There the phrase ‘eternally grateful’ will apply.
In today’s Epistle we are reminded that Salvation is free gift. If we receive it gratefully and humbly the gift will take effect.
The moment we think we can do it ourselves it all starts to fall apart.
Our world denies God at every level, and many people pride themselves on doing that. And some want to stamp out every trace of recognition of God.
We must do the opposite of all that and bring Him back into public view. We must be the light on the hilltop. It is imperative that He be made known – because it is right and fitting; because we need it for our own sake; and because those living in darkness need it.
One man came back to say ‘thank you’. This has been our story ever since. The Mass is an expression of thanks, among other things. Where would we be without Jesus Christ and His sacrifice?
But we are not without Him and therefore in a very fortunate position. Gratias agamus Domino Deo Nostro!
Thursday, 27 August 2015
Thursday, 20 August 2015
12th Sunday after Pentecost 16 Aug 2015 Sermon
12th Sunday after Pentecost 16.8.15 Where is God?
In the face of suffering, and especially injustice, people ask: Where is God?
Let us locate Him, and find out exactly where He is, and what His intentions are.
The Good Samaritan represents Jesus Himself, as the one who comes to relieve suffering.
God has deep compassion for all who suffer, and He seeks to bandage them up – to apply the remedy needed for each problem.
He also bandages up spiritual, emotional, mental problems, not just the physical. He is concerned for every corner of human existence.
People will say: No, he does not heal us. He lets the sufferings continue and leaves us to our own devices.
It is true that not every problem is solved immediately, nor exactly as we would wish it; but we can discern God’s intentions and His way of acting in our world.
Sometimes - many times - He does work a miracle and all is set right (eg the various healings and raisings from the dead in the Gospels).
But most of the time God shows His love for us by teaching us how to love.
There is a saying to the effect that while it is a good thing to give a hungry man a fish, it is better to teach him how to fish!
We could say the same thing for how God loves us. He does help us directly, and often with a miracle; but His main way of healing us is to teach us how to do what He would do, to love as He would love – to be ourselves Good Samaritans.
If there is a hungry man at my front gate I don’t just pray he get fed; I feed him myself. And this pleases God because this way two people benefit, the one receiving and the one giving.
If we can solve even one problem it is an improvement. We cannot solve every problem or save every person from hunger etc, but we do what we can and where we can. Even one good action will have an atoning effect, and will contribute to better structures in our society.
God is concerned for everyone - the one suffering, and the one who should be helping, and the ones who should be concerned for the overall workings of our society.
He loves us first, and this, if we let it take effect, must spill over into our own attitudes and actions.
Our attitude will be kinder and gentler. Our actions will be practical and helpful.
We will learn to love the unlovable – those who oppose us, who hate us, who persecute us.
We seek, as Jesus did, to bring them the mercy of God, to bring them to a change of heart.
Charity towards them will mean prayer for their conversion and offering the word of truth. Some of them at least will convert.
So it is not just a matter of praying that God do something, though we always pray. We have to see that we are involved in the equation. God wants to heal us of our problems at the same time as the people more obviously in need of help.
He heals us of hard-heartedness, selfishness, indifference to the sufferings of others.
God could rain down food on the hungry, give sight to all the blind, heal every sickness – all in a moment. But most of all He wants to change the way we think; to change our minds and hearts.
So this is ‘Where God is’, as so many ask.
We ask God why does He not do something? He asks us: why do you not do something?
It begins with me. It is always tempting to put the onus on someone else, but I have to learn to be Christ-like. It is not so hard as we might think: He loves us first; and He give us the grace we need for every situation.
In the face of suffering, and especially injustice, people ask: Where is God?
Let us locate Him, and find out exactly where He is, and what His intentions are.
The Good Samaritan represents Jesus Himself, as the one who comes to relieve suffering.
God has deep compassion for all who suffer, and He seeks to bandage them up – to apply the remedy needed for each problem.
He also bandages up spiritual, emotional, mental problems, not just the physical. He is concerned for every corner of human existence.
People will say: No, he does not heal us. He lets the sufferings continue and leaves us to our own devices.
It is true that not every problem is solved immediately, nor exactly as we would wish it; but we can discern God’s intentions and His way of acting in our world.
Sometimes - many times - He does work a miracle and all is set right (eg the various healings and raisings from the dead in the Gospels).
But most of the time God shows His love for us by teaching us how to love.
There is a saying to the effect that while it is a good thing to give a hungry man a fish, it is better to teach him how to fish!
We could say the same thing for how God loves us. He does help us directly, and often with a miracle; but His main way of healing us is to teach us how to do what He would do, to love as He would love – to be ourselves Good Samaritans.
If there is a hungry man at my front gate I don’t just pray he get fed; I feed him myself. And this pleases God because this way two people benefit, the one receiving and the one giving.
If we can solve even one problem it is an improvement. We cannot solve every problem or save every person from hunger etc, but we do what we can and where we can. Even one good action will have an atoning effect, and will contribute to better structures in our society.
God is concerned for everyone - the one suffering, and the one who should be helping, and the ones who should be concerned for the overall workings of our society.
He loves us first, and this, if we let it take effect, must spill over into our own attitudes and actions.
Our attitude will be kinder and gentler. Our actions will be practical and helpful.
We will learn to love the unlovable – those who oppose us, who hate us, who persecute us.
We seek, as Jesus did, to bring them the mercy of God, to bring them to a change of heart.
Charity towards them will mean prayer for their conversion and offering the word of truth. Some of them at least will convert.
So it is not just a matter of praying that God do something, though we always pray. We have to see that we are involved in the equation. God wants to heal us of our problems at the same time as the people more obviously in need of help.
He heals us of hard-heartedness, selfishness, indifference to the sufferings of others.
God could rain down food on the hungry, give sight to all the blind, heal every sickness – all in a moment. But most of all He wants to change the way we think; to change our minds and hearts.
So this is ‘Where God is’, as so many ask.
We ask God why does He not do something? He asks us: why do you not do something?
It begins with me. It is always tempting to put the onus on someone else, but I have to learn to be Christ-like. It is not so hard as we might think: He loves us first; and He give us the grace we need for every situation.
Thursday, 13 August 2015
11th Sunday after Pentecost 9 Aug 2015 Sermon
11th Sunday after Pentecost 9.8.15 The gift of speech
He has made the deaf hear and the dumb speak (Mk 7,37). Our Lord, in working miracles, also had a deeper message. In this case the miracle symbolises His desire to open the ears of everyone to hear the word of God; and loosen the tongues of everyone to speak that word.
The greatest privilege of speech is not that we can talk to each other but that we can talk to God, and hear His word to us.
He has made us to be able to do this; we must not misdirect the power.
The misuse of the tongue must be in the top ten sins. Speaking evil to, or about, others - lying, blasphemy, gossip, insults, angry disputes, yelling - how much that is false, unkind, or destructive is spoken by the tongue.
The power of speech is explosive; it needs a lot of harnessing, as explained in the epistle of St James. The tongue is a small thing but it can do a great deal of harm. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind but no man can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so. (Jm 3,7-10)
To be able to speak is a privilege, and a sign of the higher status that God has invested in the human race. It is up to us to use the gift wisely according to God’s intent. It will help if, before we speak, we first listen: Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening (1 Kings 3,10).
He intends that every word we speak should be edifying and constructive. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen….Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. (Eph 4,29-31)
We thank God for this gift and with His help we seek to eliminate the misuse.
In one way we have to tighten the use of the tongue – eliminating gossip etc. In another way we need to be loosened – in proclaiming the Gospel, encouraging, instructing, charitable correction.
We can be afraid of what others will think. So when we need to speak we may not, eg to correct an injustice.
St John the Baptist leads the way in a long history of courageous prophets who, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, found the right words.
Our Lord promised us that the Holy Spirit would give us the words to speak when taken before kings and governors (cf Mt 10,19)
If we are to speak good things there has to be goodness in the heart first. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries (Mk 7,21)
The Lord heals the whole person, not just one part of the body.
If we are healed within we will not make so many uncharitable or bad-tempered remarks, and the like.
Nor will we say too much. We will be like the wise man who keeps his counsel (cf Prov 29,11).
We will say the right thing, in the right amount, and in the best possible way.
Only the Holy Spirit can help us to do all this.
In a world which is noisier than ever before, where we are immersed in technology that enables more, but not necessarily wiser communication – we must maintain an interior silence.
From that silence, where we let God’s word act upon us, we are then qualified to speak.
May His word be heard and proclaimed among all His people!
He has made the deaf hear and the dumb speak (Mk 7,37). Our Lord, in working miracles, also had a deeper message. In this case the miracle symbolises His desire to open the ears of everyone to hear the word of God; and loosen the tongues of everyone to speak that word.
The greatest privilege of speech is not that we can talk to each other but that we can talk to God, and hear His word to us.
He has made us to be able to do this; we must not misdirect the power.
The misuse of the tongue must be in the top ten sins. Speaking evil to, or about, others - lying, blasphemy, gossip, insults, angry disputes, yelling - how much that is false, unkind, or destructive is spoken by the tongue.
The power of speech is explosive; it needs a lot of harnessing, as explained in the epistle of St James. The tongue is a small thing but it can do a great deal of harm. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind but no man can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so. (Jm 3,7-10)
To be able to speak is a privilege, and a sign of the higher status that God has invested in the human race. It is up to us to use the gift wisely according to God’s intent. It will help if, before we speak, we first listen: Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening (1 Kings 3,10).
He intends that every word we speak should be edifying and constructive. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen….Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. (Eph 4,29-31)
We thank God for this gift and with His help we seek to eliminate the misuse.
In one way we have to tighten the use of the tongue – eliminating gossip etc. In another way we need to be loosened – in proclaiming the Gospel, encouraging, instructing, charitable correction.
We can be afraid of what others will think. So when we need to speak we may not, eg to correct an injustice.
St John the Baptist leads the way in a long history of courageous prophets who, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, found the right words.
Our Lord promised us that the Holy Spirit would give us the words to speak when taken before kings and governors (cf Mt 10,19)
If we are to speak good things there has to be goodness in the heart first. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries (Mk 7,21)
The Lord heals the whole person, not just one part of the body.
If we are healed within we will not make so many uncharitable or bad-tempered remarks, and the like.
Nor will we say too much. We will be like the wise man who keeps his counsel (cf Prov 29,11).
We will say the right thing, in the right amount, and in the best possible way.
Only the Holy Spirit can help us to do all this.
In a world which is noisier than ever before, where we are immersed in technology that enables more, but not necessarily wiser communication – we must maintain an interior silence.
From that silence, where we let God’s word act upon us, we are then qualified to speak.
May His word be heard and proclaimed among all His people!
Thursday, 6 August 2015
10th Sunday after Pentecost 2 Aug 2015 Sermon
10th Sunday after Pentecost 2.8.15 Fear of the Lord
The publican had it right because he acknowledged his nothingness before God.
The pharisee was presumptuous and proud. He declared himself righteous before God and that is a dangerous thing to do. True goodness is very exacting and is not something we should presume we have. And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone (Lk18, 19).
So we pray like the publican. We do this every time we offer the Mass. We use more words and ritual, but we are in essence repeating the publican’s words: Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Every time we offer Mass we are renewing our share of the covenant; and bringing forth from God a new act of mercy on His part.
As often as this memorial sacrifice is offered, the work of our redemption is wrought. (Secret, 9th Sunday after Pentecost).
The mercy of God is current and immediate. We claim that mercy for the world. Lord, your people rebel against you non-stop, so we intercede nonstop, that you have mercy and win them over.
God has made a covenant with His people, and we are included in that. It is not, however, a covenant between equals.
God is superior to us in every possible point. What we have is only a sharing in what He has.
By the workings of grace we participate in God's life. We must never forget for a second that we are made by God, and kept in being by Him; and this so we can do His will, and live with Him forever in Heaven.
This is how things are set up. It will work fine if we keep our place, but if we break away at any point we will know great misery.
The covenant is in our favour because God gives far more to us than we give to Him.
Even what we do give is really His anyway (eg old sacrifices of animals or crops; and now His own Son!) Our giving does not add to what He already has, but He is pleased with our gratitude.
In a world which ever more ignores, insults, and disobeys God we go back to basics. My lifetime is as nothing in Thy sight (Ps 38,5)
Some will say that we do not have to abase ourselves before God. We can stand and look Him in the eye. No more need to kneel or bow before Him. They consider these things demeaning and not befitting our true status as children of God.
True, we are children of God, but children are supposed to honour their parents.
And all the more should we honour God as Father, and infinitely above us.
To show Him honour is not to contradict our status; it is an expression of that status. We are sinners brought in from the cold to dine at the Father’s table.
Even if we lived entirely good lives we would owe Him honour; but because we sin it becomes all the more necessary that we get back on the right footing with Him.
So our worship takes on a penitential flavour. We proclaim His greatness and our own nothingness.
Then, having restored the correct balance in the relationship, God can act in us and through us as He pleases (epistle).
The right attitude we seek is called Fear of the Lord. This is not fear, as in being afraid. Rather it is a healthy reverence; a sense of awe and wonder, which leads to joy; to a sense of relief and gratitude that we can enter God’s presence, despite being so unworthy.
God wants us to rejoice in His presence, to enjoy the good things He has given us; and to flourish in the light of His face.
Having entered in, God wants us to act like princes, His children, in showing the same bounty to others that we have received. Thus we want others to know what we have found.
We are all sinners and all called to greatness.
The publican had it right because he acknowledged his nothingness before God.
The pharisee was presumptuous and proud. He declared himself righteous before God and that is a dangerous thing to do. True goodness is very exacting and is not something we should presume we have. And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone (Lk18, 19).
So we pray like the publican. We do this every time we offer the Mass. We use more words and ritual, but we are in essence repeating the publican’s words: Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Every time we offer Mass we are renewing our share of the covenant; and bringing forth from God a new act of mercy on His part.
As often as this memorial sacrifice is offered, the work of our redemption is wrought. (Secret, 9th Sunday after Pentecost).
The mercy of God is current and immediate. We claim that mercy for the world. Lord, your people rebel against you non-stop, so we intercede nonstop, that you have mercy and win them over.
God has made a covenant with His people, and we are included in that. It is not, however, a covenant between equals.
God is superior to us in every possible point. What we have is only a sharing in what He has.
By the workings of grace we participate in God's life. We must never forget for a second that we are made by God, and kept in being by Him; and this so we can do His will, and live with Him forever in Heaven.
This is how things are set up. It will work fine if we keep our place, but if we break away at any point we will know great misery.
The covenant is in our favour because God gives far more to us than we give to Him.
Even what we do give is really His anyway (eg old sacrifices of animals or crops; and now His own Son!) Our giving does not add to what He already has, but He is pleased with our gratitude.
In a world which ever more ignores, insults, and disobeys God we go back to basics. My lifetime is as nothing in Thy sight (Ps 38,5)
Some will say that we do not have to abase ourselves before God. We can stand and look Him in the eye. No more need to kneel or bow before Him. They consider these things demeaning and not befitting our true status as children of God.
True, we are children of God, but children are supposed to honour their parents.
And all the more should we honour God as Father, and infinitely above us.
To show Him honour is not to contradict our status; it is an expression of that status. We are sinners brought in from the cold to dine at the Father’s table.
Even if we lived entirely good lives we would owe Him honour; but because we sin it becomes all the more necessary that we get back on the right footing with Him.
So our worship takes on a penitential flavour. We proclaim His greatness and our own nothingness.
Then, having restored the correct balance in the relationship, God can act in us and through us as He pleases (epistle).
The right attitude we seek is called Fear of the Lord. This is not fear, as in being afraid. Rather it is a healthy reverence; a sense of awe and wonder, which leads to joy; to a sense of relief and gratitude that we can enter God’s presence, despite being so unworthy.
God wants us to rejoice in His presence, to enjoy the good things He has given us; and to flourish in the light of His face.
Having entered in, God wants us to act like princes, His children, in showing the same bounty to others that we have received. Thus we want others to know what we have found.
We are all sinners and all called to greatness.
Thursday, 30 July 2015
9th Sunday after Pentecost 26 Jul 2015 Sermon
9th Sunday after Pentecost 26.7.15 Punishment
We have two sets of people being punished in today’s readings: the Jews of Moses’ time (Epistle), and the Jews of Our Lord’s time (Gospel).
There were over a thousand years between these two groups. And another two thousand years on to our time.
As the song says, When will they ever learn?
We, the human race, do not seem to make much progress in wisdom or humility, or plain obedience to the will of God.
When people reject God they take up other things which are not only inferior to God but positively opposed to Him.
The worship of false gods always involves blatant immorality because it is, at root, the worship of Satan.
It is often observed today that there is probably more evil on the face of the earth today than at any time in history.
And we wonder in our conversations whether the world is heading for a mighty big chastisement in view of the blatant and continuous insults to God.
We would enjoy seeing some of the evildoers put to rout, as is a frequent request in the Psalms and other Old Testament books.
But we also would be sad to see massive destruction of life (including the innocent).
So we pray for other means to change people’s hearts, not just wiping them out.
We can be like Abraham praying outside of Sodom [If there be ten good men etc…Gn 18,20-33].
We want people to repent. For their sake and for the sake of the world in which we live. It is a lot easier if everyone is behaving.
We should not want enemies to be smitten unless for their good, offering them every chance to repent. So we are not motivated just by vengeance or malice.
Or we can wish them to be smitten for the good of others, as in the destruction of an aggressor (eg an invading army, against which we use force, not out of malice, but to protect the innocent life of those being invaded.)
We can have justified anger against many, but we are obliged to desire their salvation.
As God says Himself: He takes no pleasure in the death of a wicked man; rather let him turn from his evil way and live (Ezek 33,11)
We might have our ideas what God should do but we must leave it to Him to know exactly what to do in each situation, and with each person.
We humans can be harsh or lenient at the wrong times. God will always get it right. We allow our passions to interfere; this is not a problem with God. He is even-tempered!
When God does punish it is not because He has finally lost His temper, but because He sees that it is necessary to use strong methods with certain people.
Some will resist even when punished. They will probably deny it is God at the heart of it anyway (eg they will say an earthquake is just natural forces at work). Or they will take offence at the idea that God would punish, and still refuse to submit to Him.
In the meantime we pray both that people do repent, and that we be spared from destruction. Both intentions will be more likely to become reality if we pray, and pray unceasingly.
We persevere in this prayer whether we think people are going to repent or not. Always at least some will repent, even if not the generality of people. If nothing else we will be reparating for evil done.
Reparation is important and necessary. We are like the people gathered at the foot of the Cross. For pure love of God we are sorry for the offences made against Him.
We have two sets of people being punished in today’s readings: the Jews of Moses’ time (Epistle), and the Jews of Our Lord’s time (Gospel).
There were over a thousand years between these two groups. And another two thousand years on to our time.
As the song says, When will they ever learn?
We, the human race, do not seem to make much progress in wisdom or humility, or plain obedience to the will of God.
When people reject God they take up other things which are not only inferior to God but positively opposed to Him.
The worship of false gods always involves blatant immorality because it is, at root, the worship of Satan.
It is often observed today that there is probably more evil on the face of the earth today than at any time in history.
And we wonder in our conversations whether the world is heading for a mighty big chastisement in view of the blatant and continuous insults to God.
We would enjoy seeing some of the evildoers put to rout, as is a frequent request in the Psalms and other Old Testament books.
But we also would be sad to see massive destruction of life (including the innocent).
So we pray for other means to change people’s hearts, not just wiping them out.
We can be like Abraham praying outside of Sodom [If there be ten good men etc…Gn 18,20-33].
We want people to repent. For their sake and for the sake of the world in which we live. It is a lot easier if everyone is behaving.
We should not want enemies to be smitten unless for their good, offering them every chance to repent. So we are not motivated just by vengeance or malice.
Or we can wish them to be smitten for the good of others, as in the destruction of an aggressor (eg an invading army, against which we use force, not out of malice, but to protect the innocent life of those being invaded.)
We can have justified anger against many, but we are obliged to desire their salvation.
As God says Himself: He takes no pleasure in the death of a wicked man; rather let him turn from his evil way and live (Ezek 33,11)
We might have our ideas what God should do but we must leave it to Him to know exactly what to do in each situation, and with each person.
We humans can be harsh or lenient at the wrong times. God will always get it right. We allow our passions to interfere; this is not a problem with God. He is even-tempered!
When God does punish it is not because He has finally lost His temper, but because He sees that it is necessary to use strong methods with certain people.
Some will resist even when punished. They will probably deny it is God at the heart of it anyway (eg they will say an earthquake is just natural forces at work). Or they will take offence at the idea that God would punish, and still refuse to submit to Him.
In the meantime we pray both that people do repent, and that we be spared from destruction. Both intentions will be more likely to become reality if we pray, and pray unceasingly.
We persevere in this prayer whether we think people are going to repent or not. Always at least some will repent, even if not the generality of people. If nothing else we will be reparating for evil done.
Reparation is important and necessary. We are like the people gathered at the foot of the Cross. For pure love of God we are sorry for the offences made against Him.
Thursday, 23 July 2015
8th Sunday after Pentecost 19 July 2015 Sermon
8th Sunday after Pentecost 19.7.15 The way to happiness
We are taught as children not to eat everything in sight; not to be greedy; to consider others, and various other points of etiquette and character-building.
It is good for us to learn manners, but there is also a spiritual parallel here to be learnt.
As we should not reach out too greedily for the food, nor should we for any other perceived benefit.
As we learn restraint and self-discipline in one area so we need to apply it in all areas.
We learn to be patient, humble, generous, considerate of others; and not to be ruled by our appetites.
We need to cultivate these attitudes and make them the basis of our whole spiritual life.
If we are patient with God Himself we will obey Him even when there is no immediate or obvious reward; and even if there is no obvious penalty for disobeying Him.
It is not that hard insofar as God has laid it out for us like a garden. Everything you want, just ring, and you shall have it. The only tiny condition is that you must not touch the forbidden fruit.
And as soon as we are forbidden something we want to know why, and think about how we can get around that command. No matter how much God blesses us we still want to sneak a little more. We don’t want to wait around to be happy. We want to be happy now, as well as later.
So we are tempted to advance our own interests even if it means going against God Himself.
This is the essence of all temptation and all sin.
Sin is snatching at happiness in a way that is too much too soon (like being greedy with food).
If Adam and Eve could not withstand the temptation we are in a worse position because human nature has been weakened by the first sin, and we live in a sin-infected world.
But there is still the same essential simplicity of the choice before us as Adam and Eve faced.
We are still promised happiness if we obey God; and threatened misery if we disobey.
We are no longer in the Garden but God still wants to bless us and make it as easy as possible.
Adam and Eve misfired. Jesus and Mary came along and did better. And now they are helping us to extricate ourselves; to give up slavery to sin and take up holiness of life instead (epistle).
In small and steady ways, in a thousand little things, we can make progress as we throw off the old yoke and take on the new identity.
We can change ourselves if not the whole society.
I cannot stop other people bashing and robbing, lying and killing. But I can stop myself from those things; or even the less obvious sins like speaking ill of others, laziness, pride, anger.
The closer we get to the way of Christ the better we are going to feel, and we can make at least some impact on the whole society, especially if many of us are making the same resolutions.
We must be patient with ourselves also, as we often stumble back into the old ways. We do not give up believing that it is possible to live without sin. It is simply a matter of following God’s instructions.
We learn to recognize the false logic of the devil: Disobey God and claim happiness now – this is the essence of his message.
We have learnt by now not to snatch at the forbidden fruit.
We are taught as children not to eat everything in sight; not to be greedy; to consider others, and various other points of etiquette and character-building.
It is good for us to learn manners, but there is also a spiritual parallel here to be learnt.
As we should not reach out too greedily for the food, nor should we for any other perceived benefit.
As we learn restraint and self-discipline in one area so we need to apply it in all areas.
We learn to be patient, humble, generous, considerate of others; and not to be ruled by our appetites.
We need to cultivate these attitudes and make them the basis of our whole spiritual life.
If we are patient with God Himself we will obey Him even when there is no immediate or obvious reward; and even if there is no obvious penalty for disobeying Him.
It is not that hard insofar as God has laid it out for us like a garden. Everything you want, just ring, and you shall have it. The only tiny condition is that you must not touch the forbidden fruit.
And as soon as we are forbidden something we want to know why, and think about how we can get around that command. No matter how much God blesses us we still want to sneak a little more. We don’t want to wait around to be happy. We want to be happy now, as well as later.
So we are tempted to advance our own interests even if it means going against God Himself.
This is the essence of all temptation and all sin.
Sin is snatching at happiness in a way that is too much too soon (like being greedy with food).
If Adam and Eve could not withstand the temptation we are in a worse position because human nature has been weakened by the first sin, and we live in a sin-infected world.
But there is still the same essential simplicity of the choice before us as Adam and Eve faced.
We are still promised happiness if we obey God; and threatened misery if we disobey.
We are no longer in the Garden but God still wants to bless us and make it as easy as possible.
Adam and Eve misfired. Jesus and Mary came along and did better. And now they are helping us to extricate ourselves; to give up slavery to sin and take up holiness of life instead (epistle).
In small and steady ways, in a thousand little things, we can make progress as we throw off the old yoke and take on the new identity.
We can change ourselves if not the whole society.
I cannot stop other people bashing and robbing, lying and killing. But I can stop myself from those things; or even the less obvious sins like speaking ill of others, laziness, pride, anger.
The closer we get to the way of Christ the better we are going to feel, and we can make at least some impact on the whole society, especially if many of us are making the same resolutions.
We must be patient with ourselves also, as we often stumble back into the old ways. We do not give up believing that it is possible to live without sin. It is simply a matter of following God’s instructions.
We learn to recognize the false logic of the devil: Disobey God and claim happiness now – this is the essence of his message.
We have learnt by now not to snatch at the forbidden fruit.
Thursday, 16 July 2015
7th Sunday after Pentecost 12 Jul 2015 Sermon
7th Sunday after Pentecost 12.7.15 Carried by grace
If we came across a large amount of money lying on the ground would we turn it in to some trusted authority, or would we pocket it?
Clearly one action is right and the other wrong.
If we do the right action it might be only for fear of getting into trouble; or it might be because such an action would come easily to us, as the obvious course of action. We have been trained in that much virtue at least.
In life we face several major points of decision and a lot more smaller ones. Every day we would face at least a few times when we have a choice between a better and a worse action.
How we decide will depend on various factors but much will depend on what sort of person we have become to that point, on our degree of character and sense of right.
It is better if we can habitually choose the right course because it has become a matter of course for us to do that. (Like Our Lady, for example).
Our Lord speaks today of good trees bearing good fruit - He wants this to be our habitual and normal state… good people doing good things all day long, without much turbulence.
It is God Himself that enables us to be like this. He gives us grace, firstly sanctifying grace which is the state of union with Him whereby we see things the way He sees them.
Then He gives actual grace which is the special impetus to help us in particular situations.
This is like having ‘wind assistance’. We are propelled in the right direction and carried a large part of the way.
Everyone will hit upon the right course of action sometimes but without union with God (being in a state of grace) there is a danger we will do good only when it suits us (and also make light of sin).
Unless we are in union with God our actions, though ‘good’ by human standards, do not have the supernatural quality that grace would give them. The main reason for doing good is to please God, just as the main reason for being sorry for sin is that sin displeases God.
If we are to be good and do good it requires an ongoing union with God, and then specific interventions by Him which will enable us to handle each situation in the best way possible.
We want to be good in private as much as in public; in our interior attitude as much as in our external behaviour. We want, above all, to be good simply to please God. Our actions, words and thoughts will all reflect His will.
As our union with Him increases this becomes more and more the normal state of affairs.
We come to find that being good is not such hard work as it might first seem, but actually a pleasure.
With heart and mind locked in union with God we find it ‘natural’ to rise above the usual sordidness of human nature.
It sounds easy when put like that, but we find it hard in practice when very few other people are concerned much about God’s will.
We have to go against the wind much of the time, the wind of popular opinion, of what is considered normal.
To be Christ-like in such an environment takes a lot of application but there is a lot of grace available and we can still do it. We go against the wind but the grace carries us where we need to go.
We can be not only good trees but trees which grow as our capacity to understand and carry out the will of God increases.
May He bring each and all of us to this state of happy and fruitful union with Himself.
If we came across a large amount of money lying on the ground would we turn it in to some trusted authority, or would we pocket it?
Clearly one action is right and the other wrong.
If we do the right action it might be only for fear of getting into trouble; or it might be because such an action would come easily to us, as the obvious course of action. We have been trained in that much virtue at least.
In life we face several major points of decision and a lot more smaller ones. Every day we would face at least a few times when we have a choice between a better and a worse action.
How we decide will depend on various factors but much will depend on what sort of person we have become to that point, on our degree of character and sense of right.
It is better if we can habitually choose the right course because it has become a matter of course for us to do that. (Like Our Lady, for example).
Our Lord speaks today of good trees bearing good fruit - He wants this to be our habitual and normal state… good people doing good things all day long, without much turbulence.
It is God Himself that enables us to be like this. He gives us grace, firstly sanctifying grace which is the state of union with Him whereby we see things the way He sees them.
Then He gives actual grace which is the special impetus to help us in particular situations.
This is like having ‘wind assistance’. We are propelled in the right direction and carried a large part of the way.
Everyone will hit upon the right course of action sometimes but without union with God (being in a state of grace) there is a danger we will do good only when it suits us (and also make light of sin).
Unless we are in union with God our actions, though ‘good’ by human standards, do not have the supernatural quality that grace would give them. The main reason for doing good is to please God, just as the main reason for being sorry for sin is that sin displeases God.
If we are to be good and do good it requires an ongoing union with God, and then specific interventions by Him which will enable us to handle each situation in the best way possible.
We want to be good in private as much as in public; in our interior attitude as much as in our external behaviour. We want, above all, to be good simply to please God. Our actions, words and thoughts will all reflect His will.
As our union with Him increases this becomes more and more the normal state of affairs.
We come to find that being good is not such hard work as it might first seem, but actually a pleasure.
With heart and mind locked in union with God we find it ‘natural’ to rise above the usual sordidness of human nature.
It sounds easy when put like that, but we find it hard in practice when very few other people are concerned much about God’s will.
We have to go against the wind much of the time, the wind of popular opinion, of what is considered normal.
To be Christ-like in such an environment takes a lot of application but there is a lot of grace available and we can still do it. We go against the wind but the grace carries us where we need to go.
We can be not only good trees but trees which grow as our capacity to understand and carry out the will of God increases.
May He bring each and all of us to this state of happy and fruitful union with Himself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)