HOMILY WEEK 28 05 – YEAR I
Repent, Return, Rejoice:
Memorial of St. Hedwig
(Rm 4:1-8; Ps 32; Lk 12:1-7)
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A dishonest painter took a contract to paint a church, but cheated by thinning the paint. As long as it didn’t rain, he thought he would be okay. That night there was a big storm. He ran to the Church in the morning and saw that the paint was running down the walls. Coming closer, he saw it was forming letters. As he got even closer he could make out the words and read, “Repaint, you thinner, and thin no more.”
He readings today provide us with a message related to that story: Repent, Return and Rejoice.
There are two opposite spiritual stances in the readings: Repentance and Resistance.
The reading and psalm are all about repentance. Paul in his letter to the Romans calls blessed those whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered, whose sins will not be reckoned against them. The psalm expresses that stance well: Turn to the Lord in times of trouble and be filled with the joy of salvation. It continues to say, happy those whose sins are forgiven, against whom no iniquity is imputed; who confess their sins and receive forgiveness. So, compunction and confession lead to joy. This stance calls us to repent, return to God and rejoice in the experience of salvation.
What we find in the gospel is the opposite – Resistance. Jesus warns us about the yeast of the Pharisees that he names hypocrisy. I would add their unbelief, false pride, and stubborn self-will, all hidden under the cloak of religiosity. They display a total lack of self-awareness, of how sinful they are as they sit in judgement of others and especially of Jesus.
In this passage, Jesus singles out the Pharisees, perhaps because they most represent what is lacking in the religious system of the Israelites of his time. There is a backdrop to this tension. The Jewish religious system had become so corrupt during the time of the prophets that the Shekinah, or glory of God that had filled the first temple when it was dedicated, lifted up, left the temple, and headed East. What bothered the religious leaders was that this shekinah or glory of God did not return to the rebuilt temple after the return of the exiles. It was the Pharisees who thought that if they would keep the law perfectly, then the glory of God would return to the temple. That is why the Pharisees became the dominant religious force of Judaism within that self-proclaimed goal. Unfortunately, that stance lent itself to legalism and the heresy of Pelagianism – the mindset that they could become holy through human effort, and therefore did not need a saviour, or even a messiah.
What is most interesting is that the shekinah, or glory of God did return, but not to the physical temple of the Pharisees that would be destroyed by the Romans. It returned as flame and wind upon the disciples gathered in the upper room at Pentecost that signified the birth of the Church, the new people of God, the new Temple of God’s presence here on earth.
We are part of that new people of God, that new temple of the Holy Spirit, called to live that out through repentance, returning to God by receiving God’s forgiveness that leads to true joy.
I find that doing a monthly retreat or poustinia allows me time to reflect back on the month, become aware of any sin or sinfulness on my part, and celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation before, during or after that day of retreat. This is my way of repenting, returning to God, and I find that it is always a source of joy.
Our liturgy today honours St. Hedwig, who was born in Bavaria about the year 1174. At the age of 12, she married 18-year-old Henry, Duke of Silesia. In 1202, Henry succeeded his father, and the duke and duchess began their first building project, building the great Cistercian monastery for women at Trebnitz near Breslau. This was followed by many more foundations of different orders, including two hospitals. From 1209 Hedwig’s principle residence was near Trebnitz, where she lived a life of extreme austerity, helping the poor and prisoners and often spending time in the monastery, following its rule. Henry died in 1238 and Hedwig in 1243, having outlived all her seven children but one who became abbess at Trevmitz. That royalty, and a married woman with many children, would be canonized is both rare and remarkable.
The Eucharist is a living out of the message of these readings. It is an act of repentance with the penitential rite; the liturgy of the Word calls us to return to the Lord, and it is our greatest prayer that we celebrate with joy.
May our celebration today empower us to repent, return to God with all our hearts, be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and give our lives away selflessly as did St. Hedwig.
