Homily for
The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Sunday 29 January 2017
The Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
A Parish of the Diocese of Bethlehem and The Episcopal Church
Readings:
This is a most beautiful Gospel that is proclaimed in our
midst in this Mass. Jesus himself
proclaims blessing on all sorts of people, and what a delight it is to see this
blessing of the multitudes. And yet I
find myself being very much aware that there are some who see nothing desirable
or beautiful in these words of blessing.
In an episode of one of my favorite British comedies, The Vicar of
Dibley, the Council Present asks the priest what that “left-wing liberal
nonsense” was that she had proclaimed from the pulpit. With a look of shock, she responded: “The Sermon
on the Mount.”
That portion of the Gospel that has been proclaimed in our
midst today is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, the portion commonly
referred to as “The Beatitudes.” In the
wisdom of the world the message of these blessings are foolish to be sure. Where else but in the Gospel and from whom
else but Jesus would we hear anything like this. If we consider these matters apart from our
Christian faith, how does any of this make sense? How is it that the poor in spirit, the
mourning, the meek, the hungry, the persecuted and reviled could be considered
blessed? The common wisdom of the world
would say quite opposite. Apart from
faith these would seem to be the most unfortunate of persons in the world,
undesirable in every way and open to being taken advantage of by so many
others.
So how is it that these ones are the blessed of the
world? How can Jesus say such things? And how is it that we as Christians can
embrace and affirm these blessings? The
answer I believe lies in this truth. It is
precisely these ones who are aware of the need for a helper, a very specific
helper. It is these who have the
greatest ability to seek the help of God, for they know that they have none
other to whom to turn in time of trouble.
One of my favorites quotes is this: the late Patriarch
Alexy of Moscow said “When there is no thunder, so one makes the sign of the
cross.” My friends, this Gospel is full
of thunder clouds crashing into one another and making terribly terrifying sound
waves to shock all who hear them. The
Evangelist Matthew shows this first beatitude to be not a financial trouble but
an emotional trouble. These ones are
troubled souls who are battered on every side and could not be in a lower place
in the depth of their soul.
This first statement embraces the whole of the rest of the
Beatitudes. All that follows this is
simply a further exploration of the trouble faced by these ones and an
identification of the poverties of the souls on which Christ turns his merciful
eyes. Some of these depths need no
explaining. We all know the depths of
mourning and grief; some more than others.
This, dear friends, is again one of those places where I am scarred by
what I do in between Sundays. One night
this past week I sat with three different families for three separate deaths. The saddest of all these was a young woman barely
18 years old. There are no words for the
grief of a mother and a grandmother in the face of such loss.
These things ought not be so! These are the sentiments of those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, who speak out and who cry in the face of things
that should never take place. Jesus
calls these ones blessed as well. And
what does the wisdom of the world say about these ones? More times than not the world ridicules such
ones, calling them idealists who are wasting their breath.
This is sadly a common theme and accusation. It is made against those who seek peace in
places where peace has been desired but never found. It is made against those who put their hope
in God both in times when life is simple and especially in times when life is
harsh and suffering is great.
There truly are no words for moments such as these and
those who feel so sharply the pain of life when brokenness and sin become
visible in our midst. And here is a
truly remarkable thing. Jesus himself
knows that there are no words for such moments.
Jesus stands with these ones who are found in the depth of emotional
poverty and in his presence he shows compassion for these ones whom he loves
deeper than words can express. Now
remember my friends what it means to have compassion. We often forget that this word means “to
suffer with.” Jesus embraces these ones,
and in that embrace he takes upon himself the sorrowful emotions that weigh
them down. It is this embrace that
causes these ones who are seen in the wisdom of the world to be unfortunate
fools to be more truly shown to be the blessed and beloved children of God, of
God who is their help, their strength, and their salvation. By his presence and compassion, Jesus
comforts those who grieve, fills the emptiness of souls, shows mercy and brings
healing.
But if this is so, how then is it that such ones as these
are still found in our midst and in the world?
Remember how Paul speaks of the thorn in the flesh that he endured and
how be begged that Jesus would take it away.
And what did our Lord tell his apostle?
Jesus said unto him: “My grace is sufficient.” Jesus’ presence gave him the strength to
endure this thorn for a time and season until at last the time would come when Jesus
would call the apostle from this life into the Kingdom where there are no more
thorns, no suffering, no death, no sin, no poverty of the soul. In this Gospel Jesus speaks of this also when
he points to the reward of heaven and of that greatness that will completely undo
all that is presently broken.
These are words of great comfort, and how we should feel
that comfort. After all, how many times
have we ourselves been in such a place of emotional poverty? Only my friends, this Gospel is intended for
something greater than our own comfort.
Remember that Jesus spoke these beatitudes not to those who needed to
hear them but rather to his disciples.
And why did he teach these things to them? He did so because he expects that those who
hear his voice in the Gospel, including us who hear the Gospel on this day,
would go and do likewise. These ones of
whom Jesus speaks are blessed ultimately because Jesus has drawn near and felt
their emotions and walked with them through their suffering. As Jesus is with them, so also ought we, who
bear the identity of Christ and are called Christians, be with them to bless
them with the blessing of Jesus.
This is not an easy task to be sure. If anything it will simply add to the poverty
of our souls and make us more aware of the need for Jesus’ presence not for
others but for ourselves. I recently finished
reading a book on Mother Teresa. I must
admit that I was a shaken by the account that this saint of our generations was
greatly troubled in her own soul. She
who blessed so many by her presence, pointing others to Jesus and his
compassion and mercy, felt so strongly for decades the absence of Christ and
longed for a God that seemed to be just out of reach in the face of suffering. She who was the mirror of the heart of Jesus
was famished in the depths of her own soul, longing for Jesus to heal her also
and fill her with abundant blessings.
The last verse of this Gospel speaks for her and for us
all. Truly she has received at last the
mercy of Jesus who has called her into the Kingdom of God where the reward of
eternal life overwhelms all that was broken and bestows blessing for which
there are no mortal words.
Father
Timothy
Alleman
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