HOMILY FOR 14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME--7/8/12--SURRENDER TO CHRIST

14^th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME–7/8/12

  by Eric R. Barr, STL

READING:  2 COR 12:7-10

  I. Strength through Weakness

A.  Sometimes we believe our sins, our weaknesses are so bad that we will never be close to God.  Our reading from Cor. tells us today that it is precisely through our sins, through our weaknesses that we can come close to God--not that sin is good--far from it.  But we can turn the tables on our sins, our bad habits and become strong in goodness even though our sins make us weak.  What do I mean?

B.  Examples of three saints:

1.  Augustine--wanted to experience every pleasure because he thought his life would be full if he could party as much as he wanted to, have as much sex as he could, have drinking buddies in abundance.  His search for meaning was kind of decadent; how would he ever be holy?

2.  Joan of Arc heard voices--of saints and angels.  Friends and neighbors ridiculed her, she was all alone, a woman in a man's world.  People perceived her as weak and strange; how would she ever be holy?

3.  John Vianney was dumb, so stupid the Church said he couldn't be a priest.  They were right, it was a good judgement on their part, he was stupid--how could such a man who couldn't keep a fact in his brain become holy?

C.  Each of these three turned their weaknesses over to God.  Each of them said, "I can't do it alone Lord; I need you."  And you know what happened?  Exactly what happened to St. Paul.  Christ said to Augustine, whose hormones never knew a rest, Christ said to Joan of Arc, whose voices made people think she was crazy, Christ said to John Vianney, whose stupidity kept him from knowing enough to be a priest, Christ said to each one of them--"My grace is enough for you, for in weakness, power reaches perfection."  And you know what they answered him?  Exactly what St. Paul answered, "I willingly boast of my weaknesses that the power of Christ may rest on me... for when I am powerless, it is then that I am strong."

1.  St. Augustine became a holy man whose passion for life helped hold together a Church beset by barbarians.

2.  St. Joan of Arc became a courageous and strong woman who helped France regain independence, gave France a king, and taught us all what it means to be a friend of God.

3.  St. John Vianney convinced a reluctant Church to ordain him priest, and though he was not smart, his intuitive knowledge of people made him one of the most loved priests and confessors of our time.

D.  They allowed Christ to transform their lives and overcome their sins and weaknesses.

II. How did they do this and how can we do the same?

A.  No magic here--just surrender to the will of Christ.  That means letting Christ be the power in your life, letting Christ be in the driver's seat.  It does not mean giving up responsibility for our actions; surrender to Christ acknowledges that he created us and has a destiny for us and letting him guide us along the right path will in fact keep us from being overcome by our own acts of darkness and sin.

1.  Too often we think our sins should keep us away from Christ.

2.  Wrong--they should make us run to him.

3.  We will fall, but for Jesus, it's not the falling that's so bad, it's the refusal to get up again, the belief that we are too evil to do good.

4.  We use our sins, our bad habits as a crutch to keep from being holy.   Augustine, Joan of Arc, John Vianney were no better than us, they just understood that Christ could transform even their weaknesses into goodness.

--Augustine's lust was transformed into a passion for friendship and a love for his people.

--Joan's strangeness became a cry for France to be different, to throw off slavery and become a nation once again.

--John Vianney's stupidity could never mask a heart that could read the souls of men and women and help them walk towards God.

B.  Christ can take our sins and weaknesses and render them powerless to harm us anymore--maybe we are alcoholic, maybe a recurring sexual sin troubles us, maybe our anger or bitterness gets in the way of our being truly good and truly human.  Make those sins powerless by turning to Christ and giving him the power to guide your life.  It really is as simple as that.  Will we cease from sinning?  Probably not.  But this is the promise of our faith:  we will sin less and our sins will have much less power to sadden us and turn us away from God in despair of ever being good.  Give Christ the power and each of us will discover that though weak, we are strong; though sinful, yet we are touched by grace; though wounded, we are destined to be holy, called by Christ to be his friend, to be his saint.

Comments

[Nike Air Max]

Very good post. Made me realize I was totally wrong about this issue. I figure that one learns something new everyday.