HOMILY FOR THE 7TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME--2/20/11--LENT APPROACHES; BREAK THE CHAINS OF SIN

 
ST. FINDBARR EVANGELIZES THE CELTIC PEOPLES

 SEVENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME--2/20/11

        by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL

Readings:  LV 19:1-2; 17-18, MT 5:38-48

 

THE STORY OF ST. FINDBARR AND THE CHAINS

St. Findbarr, or St. Barr as he is affectionately known in Scotland, was almost as mighty of a sailor as he was a saint. When he had made all the Christians he could in Ireland, he set sail on his little boat for the northern islands of Scotland, and one day he landed on a beach with sand as white as snow. As he walked the beautiful beach with the surf pounding on his left and rolling green hills on his right, he spied a curious thing. A man was sitting on the beach just ahead of him, and this man had chains around his neck, wrapped around his body, dangling from his hands, dragging from his feet. Now, St. Findbarr, living centuries before the Rock Band Kiss or the Heavy Metal Bands of the 1980's when wearing chains was in fashion, didn't know what to make of this. He walked up to the man and said hello, and then the saint said, "Sir, are you a slave? Is that why you are wearing chains?" "No," said the man, "I wear them because I've always worn them." "Well," said Findbarr, "wouldn't you like to be free of your chains so that you could run up and down on this beautiful beach? In the name of God the Father, let me set you free." "No," said the man, "I'm used to their clinking and clanking; I can move just fine with my chains." With a groan, the man struggled to his feet and shuffled a couple of steps and sat down with a huff and a puff just to prove his point. St. Findbarr said, "Sir, wouldn't you like to be free of your chains so that your body would not be cut and bruised by the rusty iron? In the name of God the Son, let me set you free." "No," said the man, "I'm used to their scraping and scratching; I'm comfortable with my chains." And the man began to hop around and show the saint how the chains just bounced up and down on his body. Findbarr noticed the man didn't seem to mind but Findbarr also noticed the deep bruises, cuts and scratches the chains were causing. St. Findbarr said, "Sir, wouldn't you like to be free of your chains so that you could dance on the beach, in the shallows of the sea, with the seals and sea otters and not trip and fall? In the name of God the Spirit, let me set you free." "No," said the man, "I'm used to being tripped and tangled by them; I can dance just fine with my chains." And to prove it, the man began to dance and Findbarr found it hard not to laugh when the chains tangled and tripped the man's legs and he fell in heap, his chains clinking and clanking, scratching and scraping, tripping and tangling. "Hey," said the man, "are you laughing at me?" And Findbarr smiled a bittersweet smile and said, "My son, I have met many people as I've walked the land and sailed the oceans. Some have been good, some have been evil, some have been sick, some have been well, some have been learned, some have been simple, but none have been as ignorant or as foolish as you. Never have I met a man who chose not to be free, who chose to be tangled in a life of chains. Never have I met a man who chose not to be free and sit forever by the side of the sea." And he left him there. And he left him there.

I. Lent Is Coming. Break The Chains Of Sin!

A. Isn't it curious how we get used to the chains we carry; how we get used to the chains that weigh us down? We get comfortable with our chains, so much so that we do not even remember they are there. What are those chains?--A sin we commit so often that we think it's just normal behavior; a sorrow that never seems to leave us so that we think life will always be this way; a resentment and bitterness that binds our heart so that complaining, whining and harsh words are just the ordinary way we behave. Most of us have chains like these. Like the man who St. Findbarr met in the story I told, we get so used to the chains that weigh us down that we think they don't bother us, that we are really free. Truth of the matter is, we are in chains, we are enslaved, we are not free. The season of Lent which will be here in just a few weeks is our opportunity to recognize the chains that enslave us and a time to break the chains that bind us. It may sound a little early to think of Lent, but give this some thought:

B. Our biggest problem is not that we are evil--for we are not. Down deep we are very good. Our biggest problem is that we are blind. We cannot see that many of the things we do are evil and weigh us down, obscuring our goodness and keeping us from being all we are called to be. Lent is a time not to feel guilty, but a time to shake off the shackles of sin. But to do that, we first have to recognize that we sin. If you do nothing this Lent, you are like that chained and bound man on the seashore. If you choose to ignore those sinful things in your life this Lent, you are like that chained and bound man on the seashore. If you don't take a good long look at your life this Lent, you are like that chained and bound man on the seashore. And if we choose to remain chained and bound by our sins, sorrows and resentments, we will never be free and we will never see God.

C. In the Scriptures today, God in both the Old and New Testament asks us to throw off our chains. In the Old Testament, he tells Moses, "Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy." And Jesus says in the Gospel today, "You must be perfected as your heavenly Father is perfect." Don't you see? God is coming to each of us and saying, "Do you want to be free? Let me take those chains away." And all we have to do is recognize that we in fact are covered with chains. Lent will help us recognize those chains. Lent will help give us God's grace so that we can be rid of those chains.

II. What Can We Do?

A. All the Lenten activities we plan are ways in which our eyes can be opened to how much we need the freedom that faith in Jesus brings. To pray more by going to daily Mass at 7:30 am, coming to Stations of the Cross and Benediction on Friday evenings at 7 pm, making real plans to attend all the Holy Week Services--doing these things makes us more conscious of God's presence in our lives. Going to confession frequently this Lent makes us aware of how much we need God's mercy. Why not plan to go to private confession once this Lent and come to the parish celebration of the Sacrament? Coming to the From Ashes to Easter talks after the 7 pm Thursday Mass is a great way to learn a lot more about your faith, and when we know more about our faith, we become adult Christians with adult images of God and Jesus his Son. I also urge you to fast this Lent. If you spend this Lent trying to make your spiritual life more active, you will find yourself freer, more alive, and those things that chain you--like sin, like sorrow, like boredom, like wondering what your life means--will be a little lighter and may even be gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[communion gifts]

Fascinating story. Thanks for sharing. Will definitely show my grandkids. :)