{"id":1225,"date":"2018-07-10T15:42:48","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T15:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/?p=1225"},"modified":"2018-07-10T15:42:48","modified_gmt":"2018-07-10T15:42:48","slug":"homily-week-14-02-yr-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/10\/homily-week-14-02-yr-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"HOMILY WEEK 14 02 – Yr II"},"content":{"rendered":"

Idol-free Living<\/em><\/p>\n

(Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13; Ps 115; Mt 9:32-38)<\/p>\n

**************************************<\/p>\n

There is a sign at Fountain Park pool that says, \u201cKeep this an idle-free zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, we are called to live in an idol-free zone<\/em>; to trust the one true God with our lives, and to pray for more missionaries to spread that message.<\/p>\n

The first reading describes the idolatry<\/em>of the people. One definition of an idol is a false god having an overly great influence on one\u2019s life. Any addiction can be a false god \u2013 especially the addiction to money, fame and power. Even in the gospel, the opponents of Jesus claim he is also in idolatry, casting out demons by the ruler of demons.<\/p>\n

The reading also adds infidelity<\/em>to their idolatry. They ignore the Word of God, and are set on doing their own will \u2013 having Kings and Princes without God\u2019s knowledge, and relying on their own efforts to make themselves holy, or on sacrifices \u2013 a religion of externalism that is superficial and does not reach the heart.<\/p>\n

One could say addiction a form of idolatry \u2013 worshipping a false god. So much so that it is advisable for an addict who wants to marry to go for treatment first, as that addiction could invalidate a marriage. How can one promise a life-time of fidelity to a loved one, if one is already married to a chemical or a process activity that will always come first in the addict\u2019s life?<\/p>\n

Addiction is cunning, baffling and powerful. On a personal note, it took time for me to recognize work-a-holism as idolatry. I had to be told bluntly I was breaking the first commandment. It also took time to recognize doing my will in God\u2019s name in my ministry was infidelity \u2013 even treason. According to T. S. Elliot in Murder in the Cathedral, <\/em>to do the right thing for the wrong reason is great treason.<\/p>\n

We can question ourselves: is there any idolatry or infidelity in our lives at the moment?<\/p>\n

The psalm is just the opposite: calling us to trust in the Lord, but also stating Israel trusts in God who is in heaven, and not an earthly idol.<\/p>\n

In the Gospel, we see the one true God incarnate, the one in whom we are to trust, who is without addiction, in action. What Jesus does in the gospel is just the opposite of an addicted life: teaching, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom where there is no addiction, and healing the sick. Jesus then remarks the people are like sheep without a shepherd, and we are to pray for more laborers \u2013 more missionaries who will trust him and be faithful to him by being like him \u2013 teaching, proclaiming the Good News of freedom, and performing a ministry of healing.<\/p>\n

The Eucharist calls us to place our complete faith in Jesus, his Word and his Body and Blood as our one true God, and to let go of any false gods in our lives.<\/p>\n

May our celebration empower us to trust in God completely, imitate Jesus in teaching, proclaiming, caring and healing, and pray for more laborers who will do the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Idol-free Living (Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13; Ps 115; Mt 9:32-38) ************************************** There is a sign at Fountain Park pool that says, \u201cKeep this an idle-free zone.\u201d Today, we are called to live in an idol-free zone; to trust the one true God with our lives, and to pray for more missionaries to spread that message. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ordinary-time"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1225"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1226,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1225\/revisions\/1226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}