Today is the Feast of the Holy Trinity. It is traditional for many preachers to begin their homilies with the statement that the Holy Trinity is a mystery and then talk for twenty minutes proving to people that it is still a mystery. Today, I have decided to do something different starting with those wonderful words from today's gospel.
"God so loved the world that he sent his only Son. God did not send
his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might
be saved through him.
John 3:16-18
"God so loved the world that he sent his only Son not to condemn the world, but to save it?" "To love, not to condemn, but to save?" In light of those words, I am going to do two things today. (1) I am going to say a bit about what we are told that God sees as he looks down on us. (2) I am going to say a bit about what I see looking out at you!
WHAT DOES GOD SEE LOOKING
DOWN AT US?
What God sees looking down
on us is summarized in today's gospel. "God so loved the world
that he sent his only Son. God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through
him." Those words are a re-affirmation of the words recorded in
the Book of Genesis. "God created mankind in his image. In the image of
God, he created them; male and female he created them." "God looked
at everything he had made, and found it very good."
(1) The first thing
today's gospel teaches us is that it was God who loved us first and sent his
Son because he loved us. (2) The second thing today's gospel shows us is that
God is not acting for his own sake, but for our sake, not to satisfy his desire
for power, not to bring a universe to heel, but to satisfy his urge to
love. God is presented to us as a Father who cannot be happy until his
wandering children have come home to him. (3) The third thing today's gospel
shows us is the width of God's love. It is not a single nation that he loves.
It is not only the people who love him that he loves. It is not only the people
who love him back that he loves. He loves the whole world! He loves the
unlovable and the unlovely. He loves the one who loves God and the one who
never thinks of God. He loves the one who basks in the love of God and the one who ignores the love of God. As St. Augustine put it, "God loves each one
of us as if there was only one of us to love." God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn us, but because he wanted to show the world that
he loved us! Because he loved us so much, he wanted to save us from our own
self-destruction!
Because people do not seem
to understand the concept of "the unconditional love of God for us,"
they keep reverting to their "sinners in the hands of an angry God"
theology which promotes a stern, angry, unforgiving, get-even God, rather than
a gentle, loving and forgiving God. So many so-called "believers"
still think that if the "unconditional love of God for us" is
preached convincingly then people will start doing anything they want to do and
all hell will break loose! They believe that preaching the "fear of
God" is the only way to motivate them to change and keep them in check!
That's sad indeed and it's wrong! The truth of the matter is that God looks
down on us with great love - always has and always will!
WHAT DO I SEE LOOKING OUT
AT YOU?
As I look out at the
congregation of Our Lady of Lourdes when I come here, I don't just see a
crowd! I see you! I see individuals! In a sea of families, some individuals
stand out: young families with small children, immigrants, widows and widowers,
special needs children, struggling youth, racial minorities, old people with
canes and walkers and even military personnel sometimes.
I SEE YOU AND I PRAY FOR YOU
I pray especially for
those married couples in church with 1,2,3,4 or more kids in tow. They have
given up their own comfort and convenience and have committed themselves to
becoming servants of their children for several years. They provide them with
food, shelter, health care, entertainment, education and protection. They cook
for them. They do their laundry, cut their hair or take them to the barber
shop, shop for their clothes, meet with their teachers, wash and maintain the
family car and teach them how to use technology properly. They take them to
endless sports events, make costumes for Halloween and take them Trick or
Treating, help them with their homework, serve on boards and committees, take
them to the doctor, fund extra-curricular activities, bake cakes, muffins and
cookies on demand for school and parish events, volunteer at church, look after
their own elderly parents, celebrate their birthdays, decorate the house for
holidays, help them with Sacramental Preparation, get things repaired and try
to keep things running smoothly around the house.
I pray especially for the
older parishioners, especially widows, widowers and those who are single either
by choice, circumstances or divorce. I pray for the immigrants who still
struggle to adapt and find their way. I pray for the sick, the home-bound and
those in institutions like prisons, away from home for school, in hospitals or nursing homes and in the
military.
As I look out and see immigrants, I am reminded to pray for them and my many friends in other countries around the world, especially in Ireland, Germany, Belgium, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad, Togo, Kenya and Tanzania. Because I was lucky enough to lead well over 150 priest convocations and retreats in 10 countries, and because I was lucky enough to establish the "World Priest" program at St. Meinrad serving priests and seminarians from several more countries who are now serving in the US, I know people from around the world and hear from many of them especially around the holidays. I intentionally and regularly pray for them and their families. Yes, I even pray for the descendants of our Native Americans, from whom we European immigrants basically stole this land, as well as the descendants of our African Americans we basically stole from several African countries as slaves.
I pray with a special
intensity for our youth and young adults, especially those who are bullied, those
confused about their sexual identity, those who have been abused, those with
low self-esteem, those who are lonely, those battling addictions, those who suffer
from debilitating physical conditions including obesity and those who risk life
and limbs serving in the military. I pray that they will choose to
embrace the church especially when they grow into adulthood and settle
down.
I SEE YOU AND I PRAY FOR
MY OWN ABILITY TO INSPIRE YOU
I pray that I can be a better priest. I pray for my own ability
to inspire you to be better disciples through my words from pulpits like this and through my many blog posts, through my efforts to give you the best quality service I can give you and
through my example as a friendly and compassionate person at the door when you arrive and leave Mass.
I pray especially for my
own good health at 82 years old. So far, so good! I know that I am lucky. Realizing that I am lucky, I also
pray that if I do have some serious health issues coming up, I
will somehow be able to model for others how to handle pain and suffering with
as much poise and grace as possible like I have witnessed many parishioners like you handling it.
Besides my past blessings and present good health, I pray with deepest gratitude for my faith, my vocation and what I already have materially. I do not pray for a bigger house, a newer car, a better job, a better family, another vacation or even for more income. I find myself "satisfied" with what I already have and for the people who already love me. I pray that you do too!
