Dear friends, My Homily for Sixth Sunday of Easter (A) 2014. LIVING CHRIST MEANS OBSERVING HIS COMMANDMENTS During these Sundays of the Easter Season, the Church takes us back to the Last Supper, giving us a chance to dig deeper into its meaning.Throughout his Last Supper discourse, Christs constant refrain is: if you love me, you will keep my commandment.That commandment is to love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34), the commandment of Christian charity.These are his parting words to his closest disciples, the last flow of love from his Sacred Heart before it is broken and pierced.They are special words. We need to hear them, to let them sink in. Jesus knows that these twelve men are normal, fallen human beings. They are weak and ignorant, stubborn, and headstrong.And yet, he also knows that they truly love him. They want to be his disciples.They are just like us: flawed, but committed.He earnestly desires to teach them how to live out their commitment to him, and so he gives them his new commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.That is the mark of a Christian, a true follower of Jesus Christ.Its not in pretty words, fancy rituals, and complicated prayers.Its in following the example of Christ, who gave his life for us on the cross (John 12:31-33).To give our lives, leaving behind our comfort zones in order to help our neighbors and build a better world,to be truthful, responsible, honest, pure, and faithful even when it feels like were being crucified,thats how we follow Christ (2 Cor. 4:8-11; 6:3-10). This is the path to loving him and living life to the full.It was the path he taught his Apostles, its the path he teaches us, and its the path he blazed before us by his passion, death, and resurrection. ST. MARTIN BECOMES A CHRISTIAN St Martin of Tours lived in the 300s and became one of the key founders and pillars of Christian civilization.He started the first two monasteries in France, each of which thrived for 1200 years, until the Protestant Reformation destroyed them.He became a bishop and converted thousands of pagans through his preaching and a steady stream of amazing miracles.He put his own life in jeopardy again and again in order to defend the true faith.But his most famous action was his very first Christian deed.As the son of a Roman military officer, he was forced to join the army when he was 15.Still a teenager, he was stationed in France, where he heard about the Christian faith.When he was about 20, he reached a turning point.He was coming back into the city after a hard days patrol.It was winter and bitter cold.As he approached the city gate he saw a starved, half-naked man shivering and begging.People were laughing at and insulting the poor man; no one gave him anything.Martin sensed that Christ wanted him to do something.But all he had was his magnificent military cloak and his armor.He stopped his huge warhorse and dismounted.He removed his heavy cloak and, taking his sword, cut it in half.He wrapped one half around the poor beggar and put the other half back on his own shoulders.Now the onlookers laughed at him.That night, in a dream, he saw our Lord wrapped in that half cloak he had given away, and heard him say, Martin, not yet baptized, has covered me with this garment.After that, he retired from the Emperors army, joined Christs army, and changed the course of history.St Martin had learned what being a Christian really means: loving one another as Christ has loved us. LOVING CHRIST BY SPEAKING WELL OF OTHERS When we look at our lives to see how we have been living out this greatest commandment, the one Christ cares most about, what do we see?At first glance, it seems like we are doing pretty well.In general, we are kind and polite - we are nice people. Niceness is one of our societys greatest achievements.And it is an achievement. Being civil, considerate, kind, and polite is one effective way of loving one another - Christ did the same.But how deep does it really go?But a second glance shows plenty of room for improvement, especially in our words.Our society loves to talk about other peoples failings.Our news and entertainment industries are built on scandal and detraction.Is that loving one another as Christ loved us?Jesus was full of mercy and compassion, more eager to forgive and cover up peoples faults than to broadcast them.When we gloat over others failings, we are doing the exact opposite.Christ thinks well of us. Christ speaks well of us, seeing the good we can do and the saints we can become.He keeps the sins and failings in the confessional (John 8:10-11). He never spreads them around.We cant always control our spontaneous thoughts. Our fallen, selfish nature will often fixate on the speck in our neighbors eyes even when we still have a log in our own eye (Matthew 7:1-5). But we can always control what we say about others.This week, lets show Jesus our love for him by speaking well of others,(Phil. 4:8-9) just as he spoke well of his enemies on the cross,when he prayed: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.(Luke 23:34). If we make an effort to love him in this way, he will help us. And if we persevere, he will, as he promised, reward us.
Posted on: Sat, 24 May 2014 17:03:23 +0000
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