4th Sunday Year C - Homily 2

Homily 2 - 2016

On Monday evening I watched on TV the Australian of the Year awards. I am so glad I did. It gave me a wonderful buzz to see so many good people lined up and to learn of their outstanding kindness, generosity, skill, determination and so on in their service of other people. I had not heard of any of them before; and I imagine that not many of them had previously attracted much or any attention from the media. Whatever about the media, it seems they give us what we want; and apparently what fascinates us and gains our attention is generally the bad news, trawled from anywhere and everywhere – provided it is spectacular enough.

We talked about the awards briefly at Mass on the next morning, Australia Day. One of those present made the point that there are so many good people doing so many good things, even locally, here in Hamilton – so many people volunteering their time and energies in the service of others. Local media are better, perhaps, at reporting the good news, but I fear that the national media must have the stronger influence on the nation’s mood.

St Paul seems to have got carried away in tonight’s Second Reading. So often it became the reading of choice at weddings, though in Paul’s mind, what he had to say applied to everyone. His message is a great one as we slowly gear ourselves up to enjoy this Year of Mercy as suggested by Pope Francis. And yet, beautiful and all as it is, I am not sure that we are convinced of what Paul said.

The whole reflection deserves our careful attention – especially the adverbs “always” and “never”. Let me read the middle paragraph again; and remember Paul was not writing specifically to husbands and wives, but to everyone and in relation to everyone. “Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.” 

In practice, I am highly selective. Does it matter? Perhaps that depends on what I am seeking. Do I really want happiness? Or am I content to put up with less? What do I really desire? Do I ever really give myself space and time to notice and clearly identify my deepest longings?

Yet, even if we decide to give Paul’s message a try, we find it impossible to live consistently. Fascinatingly, the impossible can become possible – if we allow everything to start with God, the creative energy within our world. We know that God is love. So let us read Paul again, this time substituting the word “love” with “God”. “You, God, are always patient and kind; You, God, are never jealous; You, God, are never boastful or conceited; You, God are never rude or selfish; You, God, do not take offence, and are not resentful. You, God, take no pleasure in other people’s sins but delight in the truth; You, God, are always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.”

We struggle to believe that, because as children we got the message that in the end God will judge us. “Good bye” then to love. When all is said and done, judgment trumps love! But if God is love, then God is not true to God’s own justice if God does not love. God’s justice requires that God consistently love. Or, put another way, God has already judged the world, us, and God’s justice declares “Guilty!” But there is more. Since God’s justice means that God must always love, God’s justice then declares, “ … but forgiven!” We are both, guilty and forgiven. That presents no particular problem to love. You do it yourself to those you love.