Sermon, 10th Sunday after Pentecost, July 28, 2013

10th Sunday after Pentecost  –  July 28, 2013

Epistle 1 Corinthians 12: 2-11                 Gospel Luke 18: 9­-14

            We have been given great encouragement to pray in the parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18: 1-8), which comes just before today’s reading. The widow in that parable repeated her petition to the judge over and over again until he gave her what she asked for just to get rid of her. Jesus asks: Will not God grant the petitions (prayers) of the faithful who cry to him day and night? The parable of the unjust judge begins with Jesus saying: “And he spoke a parable to them, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint” (not to give up). The unjust judge granted her petition, that he didn’t want to hear, and will not God grant our requests, since He asks us to ask of Him? If our faith fails then prayer fails because faith is the source of prayer. A river cannot run, St. Augustine tells us, if the headwaters are dry. And St. Paul asks: “How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed?” (Romans 10: 14)

            Jesus said, “the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?” (Luke 18: 8) He was talking about perfect faith. If we had perfect faith we could move mountains.  Yet, Jesus tells even His Apostles in the Garden of Olives, “Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation.” (Mark 14: 38) St. Augustine asks, “What does it mean, to enter into temptation, if not to depart from the faith? As faith retires, temptation advances.” Our Lord told Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” (Luke 22: 31, 32) The Apostles had great faith, but even they asked, “Lord, increase our faith.” (Luke 17: 5) Our prayers make our faith stronger, and more perfect.  

            Faith is a gift given to the humble, not to the proud. The publican in today’s Gospel was humble, so much so that he would not even lift his eyes toward heaven when he prayed, “O, God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

            In today’s Epistle, St. Paul talks about the graces of prophecy, knowledge, tongues and miracles. If we don’t see these around us today, then we can look to the lives of those saints who had these gifts.  Saints are the common property of all of us, and their biographies are interesting, instructive and exciting.

The special gifts that Paul talks about, these miracles, were necessary in the early days to spread the faith authoritatively. And spread it did, even though the Catholic Faith is contrary to our human inclinations. If someone hurts us we want to hurt him back but we are told to pray for him instead. We want to sleep in on Sunday, but we are told we must attend Mass. We want to eat our fill during Lent, but we are told to fast. The world doesn’t like the discipline of Christ. The resistance to Christians faith by the Roman Empire and others was great, yet the Church quickly spread throughout the world.

St. Augustine observed three incredible things with regard to the miracles that helped  to spread the Faith: 1) that Christ rose from the dead in the flesh and ascended into Heaven, 2) that the world believed He did, and 3) that a small number of men from the bottom rungs of society convinced the world that He did. Those opposed to the Church refuse to believe Number 1, that Christ rose from the dead. They do acknowledge Number 2, that belief in Christ spread throughout the world because they can see that with their own eyes. Thirdly, our opponents can only account for the world-wide spread of the Church by agreeing to Number 3, that a few obscure and ignorant persons spread this faith around the world. As St. Augustine put it: “If people will not believe that the Apostles performed miracles in testimony of the resurrection of Christ, [then] they ask us to believe in a greater miracle, namely, that the whole world did believe without a miracle.” (The City of God, Book 22, Ch. 5)

Regarding today’s Gospel reading, there is no more appropriate teaching as a sequel to the destruction of  Jerusalem,  “. . .  every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.” The Jewish nation, represented by the Pharisees, was proud. This pride destroyed them -- and made possible the salvation of the Gentiles. We today must take care not to fall into the same trap because pride will cause our destruction also. Dom Guéranger writes: “Israel is assured, by prophecy, of a return to God’s favour when the end of the world shall be approaching, (Romans 11: 25-27)  [but] there is no such promise of a second call of mercy to the Gentiles, should they ever apostatize after their baptism.”

We can pause in our lives and look around the world and the universe and reflect on our nothingness, but this is not humility.  Rather, it’s a conviction that forced itself even on the devil and is the chief cause of his rage, because in his pride he wanted to be like God. On the opposite side we can see what happens when the Holy Ghost takes possession of a soul -- He gives us an extraordinary clear-sightedness, both as to who we are in the universe and Who God is.

Satan makes his slaves act out of pride and self-importance. The divine way teaches us humility, and humility leads us to the truth. Jesus told us, “The truth shall make you free.” (John 8: 32) Truth makes us free by liberating us from the tyranny of the father of lies. This is true liberty. But worldly people do not want true liberty, they want sin, and they want everyone to approve of their sinful lives. They want to suppress true liberty. That is why they  persecute those who speak up for what is moral and good. The world does not understand that real greatness consists in The Truth, and that those who have the courage to be humble will find it. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. (John 14: 6)  He is the Way to the Truth that we all seek and He will lead us to an eternal Life of joy.    +++

We Celebrate the Tridentine Latin Mass