HOMILY WEEK 20 06 – Year II
Dwellings of Humble Faith:
Memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux
(Ezk 43:1-7; Ps 85; Mt 23:1-12)
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“Mortal, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will reside among the people of Israel forever.”
Weaving the first reading and gospel together today invites us to be humble dwelling places for our Trinitarian God.
In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel shares with us his vision of the glory of God filling the first temple, and is told that this temple is where God will dwell among the Israelites forever. We know from elsewhere in Ezekiel that the glory of God so filled the temple on the day of its dedication that the temple priests could not even enter the temple. What an awesome sight and experience that must have been for all the religious leaders and the people – realizing how special they were in God’s sight to be chosen as they were, poor and puny as they were.
They could, I suppose, be somewhat excused for how, over centuries of time, oppression, persecution and even exile, they let that specialness go to their heads, forgot the commandment to love that went along with that specialness, and fell for the false gods of over-attaching to possessions, prestige and power. Those temptations are just as real today as they were then.
Fast-forward to the time of Jesus, the time of the second temple and the rule of Herod. We know that when the second temple was dedicated after the exile, the glory of God did not return to the temple, which always bothered the religious leaders. If God was supposed to be dwelling in the temple, why was it not apparent as it was when the first temple was blessed?
Some see in this mystery the reason why the Pharisees especially became so predominant in the life of Judaism at the time of Jesus. If they could keep the law perfectly, then, they reasoned, God’s shekinah or glory would return to the temple. So added to the laxity of the folks and the addiction to possessions, prestige and power of the religious leaders, was now the legalism of the Pharisees and the scribes, their servants.
We see that played out in the warning Jesus gives us about them. Tying up heavy burdens that they then lay on the shoulders of others, is an experience of Power. Doing all their deeds to be seen by others and wanting to be called rabbi, is evidence of the addiction to Prestige. And making their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, reveals an addiction to Possessions. No wonder the Spirit of God left the temple and did not return – the religious leaders, and the hapless people along with them, had lost their way.
Both today’s psalm, and Jesus in the gospel, give us the corrective, the sure way that God will dwell in our land. For the psalm, we are to be faithful to God and work for justice in all our dealings. Then our love will be real and as God wants it to be. In the words of the psalm, “steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.”
For Jesus, the antidote to the infidelity of the Israelites and especially their leaders, is an attitude of humility. So much so that Jesus even resorts to some Semitic hyperbole, or holy exaggeration, to underline the critical virtue of humility in our lives – we are to call no one teacher, instructor or even father. That is not meant to be taken literally, of course, but seeks only to stress how important it is that we be humble and let go of all false pride, and reliance on those secondary goods of possessions, prestige and power in our lives.
Jesus models for us that humble attitude, as he becomes one with the poor, portrays a non-violent image of God, and ministers to all in an inclusive manner.
It is so easy for us also to lose our way. Théodore Letourneau OMI, as superior general, came to Canada in 1935, saw what the Oblates at that time were doing, and proclaimed that they had lost their way. Their task was not to be building and running huge institutions like the Indian Residential Schools, but rather to be living among the people, learning the language, respecting the culture, and sharing the gospel with them. Would that we had listened to him at that time – we would have been spared the harsh criticism and legal action we are facing today because of that complicity in a very harmful and flawed government policy.
Today we are given a humble model of someone in whom God certainly dwelt – St. Bernard of Clairvaux. He was born near Dijon, France, in 1090 of a noble family. In his Apologia, he wrote it was because of his unruly nature that he chose the newly founded Cistercians, thinking their austerity could tame him. At age 22 he joined the new monastery at Cîteaux, founded 14 years earlier to reject laxity and riches of the Benedictine Order such as Cluny, and to return to a primitive poverty and austerity of life.
His remarkable enthusiasm helped persuade his uncle, four of his brothers and two-dozen friends to join him. Within three years he was sent out with 12 monks to a diocese in Champagne where, in a valley that came to be known as the Valley of Light (‘Clairvaux’) Bernard founded the monastery where he served as abbot for the rest of his life.
Bernard was a man of great holiness and wisdom, and although often in poor health because of his austerities, he was active in many of the great public debates of the time. From the time he became abbot until his death in 1153, Bernard dominated the religious and political life of Western Europe. He strongly opposed the luxurious lives of some of the clergy, and fought against the persecution of the Jews. He was a prolific writer, of an inspiring rather than a technical kind, and his writings have had a lasting influence on Catholic spirituality. His efforts even had an effect on Cluny, inspiring reform efforts there. His abbey became the mother house of dozens of Cistercian monasteries around the world. By the time of his death, the Cistercian Order had grown from one house to 343, of which 68 were daughter houses of Clairvaux itself. When Bernard died, Europe mourned. He was canonized in 1174 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1830.
The Eucharist we celebrate now is a humble meal involving great faith. We admit our unworthiness to even be part of it, listen to the Word of God, and believe the bread and wine we receive is the Body and Blood of Jesus.
May our celebration empower us to let go of any hypocrisy in our lives, to be humble, and be a dwelling place of God’s spirit, sharing our faith and love with the world, as did St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
