The Twenty-sixth Sunday in
Ordinary Time [A]
Ezekiel 18:25-28 ─ Philippians
2:1-11 ─
Matthew 21:28-32
September 25, 2011
Christ Jesus… though he was in the form of
God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. [Philippians 2:5-6]
Sacrifice is the heart of the
Christian life. The capacity for self-sacrifice
is the measure of authenticity in the Christian life. This capacity is something that can ebb and
flow throughout the course of a Christian’s life. Because of Original Sin, this capacity is
greatly diminished. Unfortunately, the
Sacrament of Baptism does not restore this capacity to its original
state, as it was in the beginning.
This past week when I was grocery shopping, I
saw a car with one of those license plate frames that has a little saying on
the top and bottom of the frame. This
one said: “Insanity is hereditary: you get it from your children.” (All the kids in the pews are looking at
their parents and wondering why they’re smiling so big. Don’t worry, boys and girls, someday you’ll
understand.) We might say that the
capacity to drive others insane is the capacity we’re born with. The
capacity for self-sacrifice, on the other hand, has to be acquired.
The capacity for self-sacrifice is the
measure of authenticity in the Christian life.
By contrast, the world around us encourages us to do what? The world that surrounds us encourages us to
do either what is contrary or in contrast to the path Christ asks
us to walk. We often choose to follow not
the Way of Christ, but to follow the contrary way of the world: that is, instead of choosing self-sacrifice,
we choose self-glorification and self-gratification. Or in contrast to Christ’s path of self-sacrifice,
we fudge a little bit: we make
sacrifices, but not of our selves.
We sacrifice what is of little meaning to us. We sacrifice things to which we have no
attachment. We’re like the child on Ash
Wednesday who proudly announces that he’s giving up spinach and broccoli for
Lent.
During the month of October at St. Mark’s
Parish, we’re going to focus on the meaning of Christian vocations in the
Church. This focus will take several
different forms. The first and most
important form will be prayer, consisting of Masses, Holy Hours, and
rosaries. The Masses and Holy Hours will
take place here at the parish, of course.
The rosaries will be prayed both here at the parish, and also
(hopefully) in your homes. More
information about all these opportunities for prayer will be found in the
bulletin over the next several weeks.
Right now I want to mention another
opportunity during October for our high school students. A week from Wednesday, on October 5th,
two guests will speak here at St. Mark’s.
One of the recently ordained priests of our diocese will speak to our
young men of high school age, and one of the Sisters of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary will speak to the young ladies of high school age. The two presentations will be made at the
same time, from 7─8 p.m., which is the usual time for high school religious
formation this year. As always, food and
fellowship will take place beforehand, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
But all of our efforts during October will be
of no avail if we don’t help our young men and women free themselves to
answer whichever call God asks of them.
In other words, putting knowledge about vocations into our young
people’s minds is not enough. A
vocation is also a matter of the will.
Christian formation in any subject requires a shaping not only of
the mind, but of the mind and the will. Any school that only gives knowledge
about math, English, music, etc. is very possibly wasting its time. If a school doesn’t also give its students a love
for those subjects, then the knowledge will likely evaporate, or the
students will keep it from sinking deep into their minds to begin with.
The same is true in a parish program of
religious formation. The same is true
with the vocation that God has for each young person. It’s not enough for the young person to learn
about what God wants. The young person
also has to want what is learned.
The young person has to want whatever God wants for him or
her. But for a young person to be able
to want whatever God wants, a change has to happen inside the
young person.
To point a young person’s free will away
from one’s own desires, and instead to point it forward toward
the desire for God requires… purification.
A young person’s own fallen, human will has to be purified like the
biblical gold that’s tried in fire, so that what
emerges in the capacity for self-sacrifice. This is the capacity that’s incarnate
in the Son of God. This is the capacity
described poetically by Saint Paul in our Second Reading, where he paints a
portrait of self-sacrifice in the Flesh, in the person of Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with
God something to be grasped. Rather, he
emptied himself, taking the form of a slave… he humbled himself, becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Every Christian vocation—whether religious
life, marriage, or priesthood—can be lived in a counterfeit form, which is to
say, only for one’s self. But to
accept and live one of these vocations freely takes the capacity for
self-sacrifice: which is the capability
of living in Christ Jesus, and for Christ Jesus, rather than for one’s own self.
To grow in this capacity requires purification. Because while it’s true that each human being
is conceived and born with free will—any parents of a two-year-old can tell you
that—this free will is initially pointed in the wrong direction. Again, any parent of a two-year-old can tell
you that the favorite word of a two-year-old is “No!” The child’s next favorite word is “Mine!” Unfortunately, self-will doesn’t disappear on
a child’s third birthday. Human beings
don’t spontaneously become more selfless as they grow older. They usually learn social skills that help them
mask their selfishness. The
sacrifice of selfishness is something that comes much more difficultly.
To accept a vocation in Christ is to
recognize that my life is not “mine”, but “His”. To live a vocation in Christ is to say
“Yes!” to God’s Will for me, not “No!” God our Father calls us to spend our
earthly lives not like the first son in Jesus’ parable: saying “No” to the father’s will, and only
later doing it. Nor does God will for us
to be like the second, who’s all talk and no follow-through. To call God our Father means to be a
child who always says “Yes” to Him, and who always puts the words that
we mouth inside church into action during the week when we’re outside
the church and in the world.
To bring my human will into harmony
with His divine Will requires purification. St. Francis de Sales speaks in his Introduction to the Devout Life about the
hard work that purification demands. He
says:
In a single instant
St. Paul was cleansed with a complete purgation,(a) and so too were
St. Catherine of Genoa,(b) St. Mary Magdalen… and certain
others. However[,] such purgation is as
miraculous and extraordinary in the order of grace[,] as resurrection
from the dead is in the order of nature[,] and therefore we should not
look for it. The usual purgation
and healing, whether of body or of soul, takes place only little by little[,]
and by passing from one advance to another with difficulty and patience. …. The
soul that rises from sin to devotion has been compared to the dawning day,(c)
which at its approach does not drive out the darkness [immediately] but
only little by little. ….
In this enterprise we must
have courage and patience…. What a pity
it is to see souls[, on the one hand,] who [realize that they are] still
subject to many imperfections after striving to be devout for a while[,] and
then begin to be dissatisfied, disturbed, and discouraged[,] and almost let
their hearts give in to [the] temptation to give up everything and go back to
their old way of life. On the other
hand, are not those souls also in extreme danger who by an opposite
temptation think themselves cleansed of every imperfection on the very first
day of their purgation, regard themselves as perfect before they have scarcely
begun, and try to fly without wings? ….
The work of purging the
soul neither can nor should end except with our life [on earth] itself. We must not be disturbed at our
imperfections, since for us perfection consists in fighting against them. How can we fight against them unless
we see them, or overcome them unless we face them? Our victory does not consist in being
unconscious of them[,] but in not consenting to them, and not to consent
to them is to be displeased with them.
To practice humility it is absolutely necessary for us at times to suffer
wounds in this spiritual warfare, but we are never vanquished unless we lose
our life or our courage. Imperfections
and venial sins cannot deprive us of spiritual life; it is lost only by mortal
sin. Therefore it only remains for us
not to lose courage. Save me, O Lord, from cowardice and discouragement,
David says.(d) Fortunately
for us, in this war we are always victorious[,] provided that we are willing to
fight.
