An excerpt from
CHAPTER THREE
THE GREAT CRITERION
Ideologies striking at the heart of the Gospel
100. I regret that ideologies lead us at times to two harmful errors. On the one hand, there is the error of those Christians who separate these Gospel demands from their personal relationship with the Lord, from their interior union with him, from openness to his grace. Christianity thus becomes a sort of NGO stripped of the luminous mysticism so evident in the lives of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Vincent de Paul, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, and many others. For these great saints, mental prayer, the love of God and the reading of the Gospel in no way detracted from their passionate and effective commitment to their neighbours; quite the opposite.
HOMILY
Presented to: St. Benedict Cathedral, Evansville, IN
Presented by: David Rice
Date(s): March 16 &17, 2019
Season: 2nd Sunday of Lent – Cycle C
Scriptures:
- 1st: Gn 15:5-12, 17-18
- Resp. Psalm: Ps 27; The Lord is my light and my salvation
- 2nd: Phil 3:17- 4:1
- Gospel: Lk 9:28B-36
Theme/Title: In our lives, let us strive to be transfigured in the image of Jesus Christ. May we strive to answer the call of Christ in all our thoughts, words, and actions.Introduction
- Cincinnati Mission Trip; serving food at lunch and the antics that occurred in order to get more food
- One guy turned his ball cap around thinking he would not be recognized; funny, but not
- Tommy – homelessness witness
- Could ask him any question
- Was well-educated; had experienced great success in business
- Then, it all turned around on him
- Spoke about the very deep pit that is “poverty”; the difficulty in breaking the cycle and getting out
- Tommy has dedicated his life to serving Christ and helping others
Scripture Exegesis
- Today’s Scriptures – Theophany; appearance or presence of God
- Have we and how do we experience the presence of God?
- How? Where? When? Through what means? How do we know it is authentically God?
- Gn 15:5-12, 17-18. Abram experiences God and enters covenant relationship with him. God gives wonderful assurances to Abram and his descendants
- Lk 9:28B-36; Transfiguration. Focused on the amazing theophany experienced by Peter, John and James on the mountain. From the cloud, God says: “this is my chosen Son; listen to him.”
Life Application/Evangelization/Catechesis
- Today’s Gospel is more about Jesus’ divinity as compared to last week’s that focused more on his humanity.
- Jesus is fully God and fully human – both and
- Jesus in his humanity can completely relate to our human condition
- In his divinity, Jesus is our Savior.
- So, back to the question of how we experience God?
- One very important way we experience God is through the people with whom we share life’s journey.
- Recall the story I shared about some of our mission trip experiences
- God calls us to be his helpers in the world and to proclaim Christ as Redeemer. This call is especially strong in our Catholic social teaching of preferential option for the poor. That principal can be summed up in this way: economic decisions and institutions should be assessed according to whether they protect or undermine the dignity of the human person.
- Some approximate statistics: 15% of people in the Tri-State live below the poverty line; more than 30,000 people
- Here in our community, particularly in our Christian community at SBC, there are multiple ways in which we can live out this call, ways in which we can be God’s hands and arms. We do not have to reinvent the wheel.
- SVdP – providing much needed assistance to families who are experiencing hardships and financial problems
- ECLC – striving to provide a means out of poverty; a hand up and not a hand out
- CAJE – working to change the existing systems; focused to a greater degree on the “justice” aspects and compared to the “mercy” aspects of helping others
- If you are looking for ways to become more involved in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ, to experience life in Christ in this way, please call and talk with us
Closing
- The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ is a beautiful and powerful reminder that we are called to become more like Jesus; to strive for holiness.
- May we always strive to experience God more fully though Jesus Christ.