First of all, I would like to thank the people who built this church for not building it on a steep hill or a cliff like Our Lady Of Perpetual Help in Fort Alexandra is. It makes me feel much safer to be able to say the things that might be difficult that I have to tell you today.
Can you imagine how mad the people of the Gospel were today? So angry, in fact, that they tried to throw Jesus, their own citizen, a hometown boy, off the cliff. They did not figuratively try. They did not threaten to. They actually grabbed him in a mob and attempted to throw him off the cliff. They were not talked out of their madness, Jesus had to use His divine powers to slip away, otherwise it would have been death at the hands of, perhaps, His close family members. Wow, what a home coming. I can see why bishops rarely put priests back in their home towns or at least they wait until they have gotten some use out of them before they send them. When people ask me if I would like to go to Vernon, I say no, I have no desire to.
All joking aside, this Gospel brings up a great challenge to us all – how did Jesus go from hometown hero to mobs seeking to kill Him so quickly? I see it simply. As we follow Jesus, it is easy to like Him for His miracles, for His raising the dead, for His humbling the Pharisees, for His beautiful and inspiring words. Like that person who always sends you pictures of nice things and nice sayings, some cats doing something cute (if you like cats), but what about the person who challenges your living situation, or your choices in life? What about the person who says you could do better? Or you have too much pride? Or says to stop swearing so much, or corrects us when we drive? The person who makes us think about something we have always done. The person who makes us uncomfortable. That person we could feel comfortable throwing off a cliff. How dare you tell me, how dare you challenge my choices?! I would rather cut you out than change, even if it would be good for me. This is our pride: I will do it my way. Jesus, you can be in my life if you send me nice pictures, like when people say nature is my church. I like the beautiful pictures but I don’t want you to change my life, unless of course it is to help my life my way, like curing a sickness or taking away a shameful habit. Some people avoid Church because there are so many hypocrites there. And so they have decided that there would be one less.
We come here because this is the place where we are to bend our knees and say, “Jesus, I can’t do it. I can’t humble my pride. I am not strong enough. I want more than a cute picture. I want more than a miraculous healing. I want more than an inspiring word. I want to live my life like you have created me to. I can’t do that on my own.” Look at the Second Reading, one of the most beautiful in Sacred Scripture. One of my sisters was told when she did her marriage prep not to choose it because it is so over used. I disagree – it is not used enough. Oh it is read but not used and that is the problem. For sure it is a beautiful verse of Scripture and if you came here for the beautiful picture then read it and leave. But if you want to live it then take out the word love and put your name in and see how you are doing. That is a test with an automatic fail. So we see we love the idea of Love but Love is hard. It is not hard, actually it is impossible.
This verse is meant to put us on our knees and say, “I can’t do this, Lord. I can’t bear all things. I can’t forgive all things. I can’t believe all things. I am not patient, kind or lack envy. I have sort of glossed over it because, in truth, it is challenging to measure myself against God and see how much I need Him to be what I am called to be.”
If we don’t accept this part of Jesus He will, as in His home town, walk through us and be on His way. This is more stark because this is Jesus home town. His mother is here, we are His brothers and sisters and we, too, have, like His home town thrown Him out when He challenged us about contraception, abortion, pornography, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, all kinds of sexual matters, money matters. When He challenged our excess of drinking or drug use. When He corrected our pride or need to control everything, our need to be right. Instead bending the knee and realizing that we couldn’t conquer ourselves and we couldn’t be like we have promised to be, we set Him aside, we cast Him out. To cast out one of the Lord’s teachings is to cast Him out. To willfully not listen, to shut our hearts, is to cast Him out.
Before you throw me over the cliff, or worse yet, shut your hearts to Jesus, listen to this:
I know it is true that our faith is impossible. I know it is impossible to put your name in the place of Love and not look pathetic, down right hopeless if that is the test for Heaven. But I also know through experience that if we bend our knees before the Mystery of God and say, “God, I can’t do what I have promised. I can’t do what I need to. Please help me,” that the strength will be provided. You will love and live like you have never loved and lived. You will go beyond human weakness like you never knew was possible. God will make you that iron wall, that loving source. God doesn’t tell us beautiful things so we can simply admire them and say that is nice. God tell us these things assuring us that if we but ask for His will it will exceed our expectations. It will allow us not to merely see a beautiful picture but to be a beautiful picture. Let us bend our knees and say, “Thy will be done. Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.”