Homily, November 13, 2022

Speaker: Fr. John Esper

November 12, 2022

770

From The Pastor

The goal of the Christian life is union with God. Union with God begins now through our relationship with Christ who is the revelation of Divine truth in the fruit of our redemption. Faith in God is built on maturing trust through the lived experience of Divine mercy, forgiveness, and justice. Jesus is the Incarnate reality of God’s presence in our sinful world as we face the challenges of this perilous journey from life in the flesh to the fulness of life in the Spirit.

God’s love is constant, faithful, and unchanging. Given the trials and tragedies of this life, faith and trust in the providence of God will only be realized in a living relationship committed to prayer and attention to the presence and action of God in the self and in the world. For those with eyes to see, God is ever-present and willing to be found. For those who do evil, God becomes a myth, or a lie made up to soothe the pain and suffering of the oppressed.

Ideally, all would believe in God. However, as St. Paul made clear in last week’s second reading, ‘…that we may be delivered from the perverse and wicked people, for not all have faith.’ The perverse and the wicked tempt the faith of the believer as they see arrogant evildoers in the comfort of their power and prosperity. Where is God and why does the justice of God allow our suffering?

The readings today are about judgment and the last days. The tone is unpleasant, even scary. However, the intention and final message is one of hope for those who cling to faith in times of destruction and fear. ‘Lo, the day is coming…’ The day that is coming is the day of the Lord; the last days when the just and the righteous will be received by God while the arrogant and all evil doers will be ‘set on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch…’ They will come to nothingness and will be no more.

Why? As the essence of love, God desires that all share in the Divine union. Christian believers understand that God’s judgment on the world is Jesus. God’s judgement is mercy for all who seek it. Weak and wayward sinners are included in the Divine mercy of redemption in their desire and faith to be with God. Not all want God. Not all are willing to surrender to mercy or admit personal weakness in need of forgiveness. Those lost in the wiles and confusion of evil live in the delusion of their own power. That power may come through wealth, control, violence, and authority over others. It often includes lies, deception, confusion, and manipulation to disrupt human goodness. The truth of love is denied and rejected. God is lost and the dignity of the human person is limited only to the ability to control others. In the view of the world this can be a heady and appealing state of being. If I can get that, why shouldn’t I?

There is no reality without love. Love is truth, God is love, Jesus is God. Love is the essence of all being. Those who reject and refuse love for the sake of self-made authority, worldly wealth and its power will come to nothing; no thing, without reality or being. This is what inspires the image of a blazing fire that leaves nothing but stubble.

Christ remains, the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end. God is the origin and the conclusion of all that is. Sin is forgiven. Weakness and failure are healed. The lost are found and the wayward will be welcomed home. God will claim all who seek him. Those who look truth in the face and call it a lie refuse the gift God offers. Blasphemy is the only unforgiveable sin. Those who deny and reject the truth of Divine love revealed and given in the person of Jesus choose to bind themselves away from God. God will accept and heal all. Only those who willingly and intentionally refuse this offer will be lost.

Why are Christians hated and persecuted? Because Christians hold a power the world does not understand that cannot be changed, manipulated, or controlled. Jesus was hated and killed because he exposed the injustice and oppression of those who wantonly denied the dignity of others. John the Baptist was beheaded because he exposed the adultery of Herod taking his brother’s wife. Christians who speak and reveal the truth of God are persecuted by those whose guilt and shame are exposed. Evil does not need a reason to do evil because it is evil and will do anything to disrupt the works of God.

Where is the hope? In Jesus who bore the weight of our sin and weakness that we may know the freedom and wholeness of his love. Although the destruction of the Temple is historically true, Jesus uses the image to reveal a new spiritual reality. Jesus himself is the living temple of the Divine presence in the world. Believing in Jesus, accepting Baptism, and living the movements and virtues of the Christian life makes us a dwelling place of Christ in the world. You are a temple of God and an image of Christ for all who see the light of your goodness.

We hope and long for the promise of the day of the Lord. The final day is the day of eternal glory. Yet, every day is the day of the Lord. Every day we can make God present in the world by living the love we profess as we journey to heaven. Our hope and our promise is heaven and Jesus is the way. Let us be at peace as we persevere to the end.

Father John Esper