topleft05.jpg (18208 bytes)HOMILY
The Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)
 03 February 08


 

For “free market” people like me who follow the stock market very carefully each day, what a world we live in!  The vision of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness can be ours.  All we have to do is to make sound investment decisions.  All too often, however, we miss the boat by not investing in a particular stock because we fear taking too much risk and potentially losing our shirt.

For example, take one initial public offering (IPO) in 1992 by a little-known company named America Online (AOL).  One hundred shares of AOL purchased at the IPO price of $11.25—an investment of $1,125.00—transformed into 3,400 shares of AOL stock worth $5.5 million in 1999.

I remember that IPO.  I also didn’t invest in AOL because I believed the business plan was way overblown.  I thought: Who ever would pay $19 per month to access the Internet when other providers, like Net Zero, were offering access to the Internet for $9.95 per month?  As it ends up, millions upon millions of people—like my sister—would.  I was happy with Net Zero and, because of that, lost out big time on AOL.

In a culture whose members are obsessed with (and, perhaps, addicted to) the pursuit of materialistic happiness, people will work extremely hard to pursue that they believe will bring happiness and sometimes, by chance, they stumble upon it.  Perhaps they make a huge return on an IPO.  Perhaps they win the lottery.  Or, their eyes bulge out of their eye sockets when the see the Publisher’s Clearinghouse van pulling into their driveway during the Super Bowl.

One of the problems with the pursuit of happiness as we live it out in our culture is that the pursuit of happiness requires looking at everything in our lives as a “means” to an “end.”  The only things that are valuable are those that bring us happiness.  We have “friends” whom we use to promote ourselves and our self-interests, irrespective of their lives and needs.  How often have we introduced a friend not by name but by that individual’s profession, job, or status?  We say: “This is my friend who’s a physician…lawyer…teacher” and so on.  We have “jobs” we use to accrue power and prestige so that, in turn, we can lord ourselves over others.  We will even use family members to advance our social status.  Why ever would a parent adhere one of those self-promoting “Proud parent of an honor student at XYZ School” stickers on the bumper of their vehicle?

See how easy it is to turn an “end” in itself—a human being—into a “means” to another end, namely, personal aggrandizement or pleasure?

Unfortunately, the pursuit of happiness as we live it out in our culture only breeds rivalries, injustice, and violence, widening the gap between human beings.  Then, feeling more like strangers than brothers and sisters each of whom has been created in God’s image and likeness, we lose the clarity of vision or perspective it takes to appreciate what we need to do if we are going to reverse the destructive forces we ourselves have unleashed in our unbridled pursuit of happiness.

In contrast with the pursuit of happiness—as this concept courses through our minds like water courses through the gills of a fish—Jesus paints a quite different picture in today’s gospel for those who would wish to be his disciples.  We must seek “blessedness” not fleeting and transitory happiness by adopting attitudes—the “be-attitudes” that bring the joy and peace of God’s kingdom to all of those places where war would otherwise be waged.

Blessedness is about being virtuous—something that cannot be taught.  While many of us may see blessedness in others and we may even desire to be blessed ourselves, we oftentimes don’t make blessedness central to our lives because blessedness has to do with possessing a character that enables us to see and to respond to people in a genuine and loving way, not in a calculating or self-justifying way.  In short, we are blessed as we treat people as valued “ends” in themselves not as “means” to some other desired end.

People who are blessed love God above all things, honor their parents, do not engage in violence, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not lie or slander, and do not desire what is not rightfully theirs.  These “blesseds” are dependable, their person character is firm and intact—absolutely rock solid (in Greek, πετρυς or “Peter”)—and it is upon the blessed Jesus said, “I will build my church.”

Blessedness results not from hard work although it is extremely difficult to be blessed when we are tested.  No, blessedness results when we decide—with a firm purpose of amendment—to cooperate with God’s life breathed into each of us at the moment God created us.  That breath of divine life is the source of our true character and, as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, is evident in eight key attitudes, those “be-attitudes.”

Let’s briefly consider those Beatitudes.

The first four depict our character in relation to God.  To be “poor in spirit” is to know that we need God and to place our trust in God.  That is how we learn that wealth, fame, and material comforts do not define our true worth.  To be “sorrowful” is to mourn the effects of sin in our lives, relationships, and world, seeing what truly is absent and desiring the conversion of mind and heart necessary so that we will bring healing to all of the troubled areas of our lives, relationships, and world.  To be “meek” is to recognize our limitations and powerlessness and to hunger and thirst for God’s kingdom, not for material wealth and fame.

People who are poor in spirit, sorrowful, and meek in character are those sincere and genuine women and men we know who foster trust and cooperation in a world full of corruption, dishonesty, and deceit.  Sure, all of that is what’s needed to be happy in this world.  But, because we live in a culture whose members believe that corruption, dishonesty, and deceit bring happiness, we must recognize how this attitude breeds rivalries, injustice, and violence.  This attitude ultimately devours blessedness,

The second four Beatitudes depict our character in relation to other people, proceeding from our desire to be blessed.  To “show mercy” is to forgive and reconcile, by bringing peace and unity to our families and other relationships as we allow what we profess in words (“forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”) to be demonstrated in the facts of our lives.  To be a “peacemaker” is to overcome the evil evidencing itself in our desire for vengeance, revenge, and violence as we extend an authentic and firm handclasp of friendship that is based upon a hoped-for future, not anchored permanently in some past misdeeds and hatreds.  To “suffer rejection and persecution” is to demonstrate the willingness to forsake every creature comfort, even our very lives if need be, because we possess the unshakeable belief that, by dying to ourselves, we gain life itself.  That is, when we are stripped of all of our material possessions, fame, and fig leaves—as we will be when the undertaker comes to pick up our bodies—our true character will show forth in our words and deeds.  As Jesus said at this very moment in his life: “Father, forgive them.  For they know knot what they do.”

People who are merciful, make peace, and suffer rejection and persecution are those sincere and genuinely humble women and men we happen upon in our lives whose character bestirs and quickens within us God’s life.  Sure, all of that appears to be complete and utter foolishness to those who seek happiness in this world.  But, ultimately, these are the attitudes that strengthen blessedness.  As St. Paul reminded the Corinthians:

God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.
 

NASA recently released a picture of the Earth, what the NASA scientists have named the “Blue Marble.”  The image is the most detailed true-color image of the entire Earth to date.  Using a collection of satellite-based observations, scientists and visualizers stitched together months of observations of the land surface, oceans, sea ice, and clouds into a seamless, true-color mosaic of every square kilometer (.386 square mile) of the planet.  It is an amazing and spectacular view of our earthly home:


 

Like the Blue Marble, the Beatitudes provide a spectacular image of human life that makes it possible for us to see what is beneath or beyond the false façade of happiness by distinguishing between that which is permanent from that which is passing as well as that which is valuable from that which is valueless.

Success in blessedness—unlike achieving happiness—is neither a matter of chance.  Instead, blessedness is the consequence of a cooperative effort with God’s life in us.  The attitudes and actions associated with blessedness are not feats for which we seek rewards—means to other ends—but a character that reveals something of God’s life—an end in itself.

In last week’s gospel, Jesus told those who would wish to follow him that authentic discipleship requires changing how they think.  As difficult as that is—just think about how we define happiness and how difficult it is to change how we think about what constitutes happiness—Jesus challenges those who would wish to follow him in today’s gospel to focus upon changing their attitudes and character.  If we set our sights on achieving happiness in a materialistic culture, we might (or might not) chance upon it by buying shares in the right IPO, purchasing a winning lottery ticket, or being picked as winner of the Publisher’s Clearinghouse sweepstakes.  But, all the while, our words and actions will betray an individual whose character is defined in terms of wealth, fame, and absent of any discomfort or suffering whatsoever.

My friends, is this not a completely unrealistic vision of life?  All we have to do is to open our eyes and look around.

But, when we set our sights on blessedness—make that decision with a firm purpose of amendment—virtue is no accident.  Why?  Because in allowing God to lead us—even in the midst of poverty, suffering, sorrow, and rejection—our words and actions will reveal something of God’s life in our troubled world that bestirs and quickens God’s life in other people.

This is what God has breathed into us: a hopeful and realistic vision of human life as a “means” to the blessed “end” of eternal joy in God’s kingdom.

 

 

A brief commercial break...
 

Hurry up!  Lent is begins this Wednesday, February 6th!

Each year, the people at Magnificat® produce a companion edition for the season of Lent.  Similar to a what older Catholics may remember as a "prayer book," the companion edition contains all sorts of prayers, readings, reflections, art, and activities for every member of the family to prepare each day of the season of Lent for the resurrection of Christ on Easter morning.

Grandparents might consider purchasing a copy for themselves and copies for each grandchild.  Confirmation sponsors might consider purchasing a copy for themselves as well as the person they have sponsored or are sponsoring in the faith.  Spouses might purchase a copy for themselves and use it for daily prayer during the season of Lent.  Parents might purchase a copy for the family and use it to lead prayer before dinner each evening.

At a price of $3.95 for 1-4 copies plus $1 shipping/handling, $2.50 for 5-9 copies plus $3 shipping/handling, and $1.50 for 10-49 copies (plus $5 shipping/handling), the companion edition makes a perfect and very affordable opportunity to prepare for the resurrection of Christ on Easter morning as well as an Lenten gift to spur family, friends, and colleagues toward greater spiritual growth during the holy season of Lent.

The companion edition has a limited press run that sells out each year.  Furthermore, orders are filled in the order received.  So, place your order early.

To place an order for the 2008 companion edition of Magnificat® for the season of Lent, call 1-970-416-6670 or email specialissue@intrepidgroup.com for ordering information.

 

 

 

mail2.gif (2917 bytes)      Does today’s homily raise any question(s) that you would like
                   me to respond to? Mail your question(s) by double clicking on
               
    the mailbox. I will respond to your question(s) at my first
                   available opportunity.


   Double click on this button to return to the homily
                                         webpage.