HOMILY WEEK 28 01 – Year I
Set Apart for the Gospel:
Thanksgiving Day
(Rm 1:1-7; Ps 98; LK 11:29-32)
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In 1976, while heading home after an old-timer’s hockey game, I came across a fatal accident. A head-on collision had occurred between a drunk driver and a pickup truck of local youth. The drunk driver was trapped in his vehicle on the highway, while the still warm body of the young man was in his truck in the ditch. I prayed for him while others tried to rescue the trapped driver, and the injured waited for an ambulance to arrive. I could not have left that scene without trying to help. Ron Rolheiser OMI would say that I was “consecrated” by that event, and that all other plans that I had for that evening necessarily had to wait.
St. Paul, in the first reading, proclaims very much the same reality. He has been consecrated, set apart, not by an accident, but by the unique, historic, life-changing resurrection of Jesus from death to an entirely new and unprecedented life. His encounter with the crucified-risen Lord on the road to Damascus transformed his whole belief system and his life. He would and could never be the same.
By our baptism, what applies to St. Paul, also applies to us, very much like coming upon an accident. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit calls to be apostles set apart for the gospel of God, to bring about the obedience of faith among all people.
The other readings flesh out that mandate that we have been given. The psalm proclaims that the Lord has made known his salvation, has revealed his vindication, the victory of our God – the resurrection of Jesus to new life.
Jesus, addressing a resistant and unbelieving crowd in the gospel, speaks of a sign of Jonah, who was in the belly of a whale for three days – a clear inference to his own liminal time in the tomb from Good Friday to his resurrection to new life on Easter Sunday.
So, the resurrection of Jesus consecrates us, sets us apart, to bring the whole world to the obedience of faith. There is a faith pattern that is at work here. It all begins with belief in the resurrection. That leads to a more personal faith in Jesus, that in turn leads to placing our complete and total trust in him, that in turn leads to the “obedience of faith,” to surrender our lives and wills over to him – the commitment to do his will and not our own will, as Jesus always sought to do only the Father’s will.
Step 3 of the 12 Step program puts it well: “Made a decision to turn my life and my will over to the care of God I understand God.” As we will all die eventually, perhaps the real challenge is to surrender now, to turn over our will to the Father, which is to anticipate our death, to “die before we die,” the truest sign of faith.
Jesus then adds another telling quality to a life of faith in him – repentance: “The people of Nineveh repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here.”
So, repentance naturally accompanies faith in Jesus, along the line of this saying, “The stronger the sun, the more clearly we see our shadow.” Repentance is metanoia, putting on our highest mind, changing our ways, receiving the unconditional love of God through forgiveness of all our sins, opening ourselves up to receiving the healing of our sinfulness (defects of character like painful emotions, negative attitudes and even our addictions), and resolving to do only God’s will in our lives. That is what is called theosis, divinization, renewal, transformation – becoming more and more Christ-like.
Today is Thanksgiving Day. Well-known retreat master Fr. Matt Linn S.J. encourages participants in the events he presents to end each day with a litany of thanksgiving for the day’s blessings, as a way of deepening our joy in life. I would add that since God turns everything to the good for those who love God, we can even thank God for the trials, failures and challenges we face each day, adding to that gratitude.
That inspired me to come up with a litany of the things for which I am grateful for in my life, which have given me both joy on the one hand, and made me a deeper, more compassionate person on the other.
The blessings include: the gift of faith in a Trinitarian God who is family, relationship, divine dance; faith in Jesus who is brother, savior, Lord and intimate friend; the love of Mary our spiritual mother; belonging to the Body of Christ, the church; parents who within all their limitations of codependency and workaholism gave us stability, security, affirmation, love of music, values of honesty, responsibility, self-worth as important members of a farming family with chores to carry out and freedom to develop our talents; the support and challenge of siblings; friends and soul-mates who accepted me as I was; Oblate community life; the support of my brother bishops; the richness of Indigenous ministry; spiritual directors who guided my steps along life’s way; the 12 Step movement; wise mentors like Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Dorothy Day, Catherine de Hueck-Dougherty, Richard Rohr, Ron Rolheiser to name a few who taught me so much; dedicated lay men and women who love and serve the church in so many ways; the love of many World Wide Marriage Encounter couples, and most recently the dedication of numerous members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society so dedicated to serving the poor.
The Eucharist itself means, in Greek, “to give thanks.” It is our greatest prayer, and so the best way we can give thanks to God for all of God’s blessings in our lives. We believe that the crucified-risen victim is present in each of us, in the Word that is proclaimed, and in the event of the Eucharist that makes present that unconditional love Jesus revealed to us on the cross.
May our celebration today, consecrate and set us apart in even deeper ways, to go out and proclaim this good news of the victory and vindication of Jesus, and bring all others to this obedience of faith.
