HOMILY WEEK 28 02 – Year I
Genuine Religion – an Inner Healing Journey of Faith:
Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch
(Rm 1:16-25; Ps 19; Lk 11:37-41)
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One of the best compliments I have ever received came from the late Verna Vandale, former director of Guadalupe House in Saskatoon. She once shared with me how, although Indigenous, she grew up in Southern Saskatchewan without her language or culture, so people sometimes called her an “apple,” red on the outside, but white on the inside. She told me I was just the opposite – white on the outside, but red on the inside!
Both the readings today invite us into a genuine life of faith based on inner integrity rather than external observances.
I would think all of us have, at one time or another, broken some social rule, expectation or taboo, to our shame and embarrassment. In today’s gospel, Luke has Jesus actually intentionally violating the stringent Jewish religious custom of washing hands up to the elbow before eating, to teach the Pharisees an important lesson – they were relying way too much on these external rules, and ignoring the much more important requirement of genuine faith – inner integrity based on self-awareness and healing of one’s negative attitudes.
During a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I witnessed some of that externalism that bothered Jesus so much: a man very publicly wrapping a leather thong around his arm in an airport to pray; a family bringing their own kosher food onto an airplane to eat, and a rabbi struggling to place an amulet over a man’s cap at the Western Wall. All these are good practices in themselves, but when they supplant the more difficult task of faith – naming our inner defects of character like greed, false pride and stubborn self-will, we run the risk of falling into that externalism and a certain kind of meritocracy Jesus found all too prevalent.
As the Messiah, Jesus had a two-fold mission – to redeem and to sanctify; to forgive us and to heal us. Genuine faith and religion, then, does not consist of observing external rules, but rather, admitting our sins and coming to Jesus for his forgiveness, and then going deeper – becoming aware of our sinfulness (that which makes us sin – our painful emotions and negative attitudes) and coming to Jesus for healing of those defects of character. Then we can be free to express our inner freedom, integrity and holiness through external actions of charity that will be more credible.
As I grow older, and hear from more and more people about their struggle with others who are actually spiritually blind – who do not see themselves as they are, making sometimes hurtful statements and even behaving in hurtful manners to which they seem oblivious – the more I come to appreciate Jesus’ attitude towards the religious leaders who obsessed about external rule and regulations, yet were completely unaware, it seems, of their lamentable inner attitudes and defects.
That awareness is what the Jewish religious leaders lacked, which is why Jesus called them hypocrites and liars. We need to examine ourselves today as well – can we see our inner shadow? and as the saying goes, “Name it, claim it, don’t blame it, tame it and then we can aim it” or help others, having experienced forgiveness and healing (salvation) ourselves first.
This can be a very humbling experience. I can think back over my whole life of ministry, and name five persons (three religious sisters and two brother Oblate priests) whom I have upset by my deeply-rooted tendency to control, the last incident being less than two years ago. True, I have improved a lot, but that journey towards inner healing and integrity takes time, prayer and some diligent effort.
Ron Rolheiser offers some help here, based on St. John of the Cross. Rather than focus on our defects of character and trying to eliminate them, it is more effective to focus on the opposite virtues or gifts of the Holy Spirit, and try to “grow them.” That makes sense, as Jesus wants to give us the Holy Spirit, and that Spirit, rather than yank out our defects, will slowly but surely fill us with such security in being loved by God they will be pushed out without our even noticing (often, others will notice our growth before we do).
The other readings add some important elements to today’s liturgy. In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul reminds us both of the power of the Word of God for salvation, and the role of creation as the first bible or revelation (“God’s eternal power and divine nature … have been understood and seen through the things he has made”). Psalm 19 poetically agrees as “the heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament (creation) proclaims his handiwork.”
This is very encouraging for Lucie Leduc, director of the Star of the North Retreat Centre in St. Albert, me and our team. We have worked hard over the past three years to create Aurora Living, a process of personal growth and spiritual formation bringing together Word, Creation, Community, Contemplation and Justice. This passage could serve as a foundational biblical base for such a venture.
St. Ignatius of Antioch
Today the Church honours St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr. Ignatius is believed to have been a convert to Christianity and a disciple of John the Evangelist. Bishop of Antioch for 40 years, he was arrested during the persecution under Trajan, condemned for confessing Christ and taken in chains to Rome. The ship in which he was sent travelled along the coast of Asia Minor and at every port crowds of Christians would greet him. While on his journey to his death, Ignatius dictated seven letters on the Church, now counted among the treasures of early Christianity. Ignatius arrived in Rome about the year 107 and was taken directly to the amphitheater, where lions devoured him.
Here is an excerpt from one of his letters, demonstrating his unflagging faith in Jesus Christ: “I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God.”
The Eucharist brings together creation, the Word and heart-felt faith. We listen to God speak to us; use gifts of creation that are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus, and are mandated to go out and live that faith from the heart through love. May our celebration today help us find God in creation, experience him through his Word, and empower us to live out our faith with heartfelt love.
