HOMILY WEEK 15 02 – Year II
Transformative Faith and Repentance:
Optional Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis
(Is 7:1-9; Ps 48; Mt 11:20-24)
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“Repent and believe – the kingdom of heaven is near.”
That first sentence of Jesus in the Synoptic gospels is reflected in the readings today as an invitation to us – to stand firm in faith and allow that faith to transform our lives.
Isaiah, in the first reading, urges us to stand firm in our faith. King Ahaz and the people of Judah trembled with fear. Enemy forces had begun a siege on Jerusalem and were poised to invade the holy city. In fear for his people and his own life, Ahaz considered the unthinkable – seeking help from the mighty Assyrian army to stave off this attack. The problem with this strategy is he would have to surrender to Assyria and turn Judah into a vassal state. Even worse, he would have to remove the altar of the Lord from the Temple and erect an altar to the Assyrian gods in its place – and offer sacrifices to these gods.
However, the Lord sent the prophet Isaiah to urge Ahaz to hold firm. “Remain tranquil and do not fear,” he told the king (Isaiah 7:4). Isaiah told the king to cling to his faith in God’s ability to protect him and his people. Without that faith, neither he nor Jerusalem would be able to stand.
Isaiah’s words show us that faith really does matter. It mattered for Ahaz, and it matters for us. Faith sets the foundation of our lives, just as a house’s foundation provides a solid footing for the building and a safe environment for the people who live there.
Our faith in Jesus can do the same for us. It grounds us so we can live with hope, even in the most challenging of environments. It equips us to meet tough situations with peace. It helps us to remain on the path of obedience. Best of all, it brings us joy and comfort because it tells us God is with us and that our difficulties are never the end of the story.
We all have situations that tempt our faith – an illness, perhaps, or a job change or a wounded relationship. But just as God told Ahaz, God says to us, “Stand firm in your faith!” Ahaz’ situation seemed desperate, but God had an answer for him, even so, our challenges may seem insurmountable, but God has an answer for us as well. It may not always by the answer we are looking for, but in faith, we can trust that it’s the best answer possible.
In the gospel, Jesus chides the towns of Galilee not just for their lack of faith in him, but also for their refusal to repent, to change their ways, to be humble, confess their sins, come to Jesus for healing, and follow him into the kingdom of God. As the Messiah, Jesus came with a two-fold mission – to redeem and to sanctify, to forgive and to heal. A first step in coming to believe in Jesus is to be aware of our need for forgiveness. The stronger the sun, the sharper our shadow; likewise, the closer we are to God, the more we will be aware of our un-Godlikeness. That was Peter’s reaction after the miraculous catch of fish – “Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
The Greek word for “repent” is “metanoia” or “putting on our highest mind,” being the best person we can possibly be, changing our worldview, seeing ourselves in a more honest light, with a greater awareness of our need for both forgiveness and healing. As Pope Francis likes to remind us, God never tires for forgiving – we are the ones who neglect to come to him to receive that forgiveness. In Jesus, God has forgiven us everything we ever did or will do – when we celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation, we are receiving that forgiveness in an incarnational way and are being reconciled to Christ’s body, the Church.
Above all, if we are aware of our sinfulness, that which makes us sin – our painful emotions and negative attitudes – and ask for it, we will receive inner healing and be, little by little, transformed into greater Christlikeness, as St. Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (It is like with unveiled faces we are looking in a mirror, and being transformed, from one degree of glory to another, into Christlikeness, which comes from the Lord who is Spirit). So, our faith in the end is all about forgiveness and healing, reconciliation and transformation. As Richard Rohr loves to put it, “transformed people transform people.”
Today the church invites us to honor St. Camillus de Lellis. Born in Abruzzi in central Italy (1550-1614), Camillus became a Venetian solder like his father. When his father died, Camillus pursued his mania for gambling and lost everything. He ended up working at a Capuchin friary. Because of a diseased leg, he was unable to join that order, but found his vocation in caring for the sick. The conditions in hospitals in the 16th century were horrific and Camillus resolved to establish an order to care for the sick and dying. Ordained, he founded the nursing congregation of the Ministers of the Sick, the Camillians. Despite his own poor health, he served as general of his order, built hospitals and ministered to soldiers on the battlefield. Canonized in 1746, he is patron of nurses and of the sick.
The Eucharist is our greatest prayer, involving repentance in the penitential rite, and at its core, a foretaste of the eternal banquet in the kingdom. May our celebration bring us forgiveness, healing and empower us to live it out in acts of charity.
