Family Matters
This
past weekend I participated in the Share a Deacon and served and preached the
homily at Sacred Heart Parish in Shreveport, LA. It was so good to be with my
extended brothers and sister in Christ at this beautiful little church.
We
know the obvious topic of this Sunday is the resurrection and everlasting life.
But another of the themes today seems to be family: A mother and seven sons,
St. Paul addressing the Thessalonians as brothers and sisters twice; and in the
gospel that declares we will be children of God.
So,
let me tell you about my family. My momma and daddy met at the Strand Theater.
He was the manager and she was the popcorn girl. They knew each other two weeks
and got married.
My
father was a good Baptist preacher. My mom was a good Catholic. She never
converted and to me that made my Daddy a great preacher. He respected her
faith.
They
had three boys. I’m the oldest and sweetest; but, we weren’t angels. I always
thought we were pretty good. But, after I was ordained a deacon, one of my
cousins told me, “You boys all turned out pretty good, but y’all were a scary bunch.”
We
were average boys growing up. Sure, we were rough. We wrestled, fought, and tormented
each other. I was never arrested. We were bigger than our parents by junior
high. We were too big for most punishment, so my dad would say, “All I ask is y’all
grow up to be good and holy men. Be like Jesus”
Good
and holy men, my Daddy wanted our salvation. He wanted us to know God and the promise
of eternal life.
The reading
from Maccabees is a story of a mother and her sons. They were arrested and
tortured by the king. Despite torture, they sons were good and holy men. They
professed their love for God. “It is my choice to die
at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him….” They
loved God and in that love was the promise of resurrection.
They
knew the truth St Paul would later write about “…the
Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of
Christ.”
Not
everyone believed in the resurrection and eternal life.
The Sadducees
didn’t believe in resurrection and were trying to trick Jesus. They asked
Jesus, “What if a woman’s husband dies and she has not
children. She then marries each of his seven brothers and they all die, without
any children. When the resurrection comes whose wife is she? The
question was who is responsible for her welfare.
Jesus
told them when the resurrection comes there will be no marriage
or remarriage. Those chosen for the resurrection will never die, they will be
like angles. They will be children of God. God will take care of us.
These
readings are about families and for those of us who love our families so much.
My daddy died over thirty years ago and I still love him.
It
is by that same love we can understand how love lasts forever.
God the
Father loved and through love came his word and that word is Christ, the son. The
love between them is the Holy Spirit. This is the Trinity and the Trinity is
love.
We didn’t
love God back. The world could not find God in creation, in existence, or in
God’s interaction in history. God still loved.
God loved
so much He sent his word to become man. Christ, by his love, took the sins of
the world; so, we could love.
Christ
gave us the love that is the Church and the expresses of love that are the sacraments.
And, to strengthen and grow our love, God sends the Holy Spirit. God still
loves.
St.
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “May our Lord Jesus
Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement…
encourages your hearts…. ” Love is everlasting.
God keeps sending his love to us. God’s love does not end and that love is enteral
life. The body can die but love never dies.
The world wants us to think we can never have
the love of God. We’ve failed his love because of bad choices or lifestyles.
The world says live in it. Continue on. Forget God, forget the church.
Remember, the LORD will
strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
Christ
came for everyone to know his love. We must realize it and return it. The Catechism
teaches those who die in God's grace and friendship
can live forever with Christ.
So
here I am, a man of Holy Orders, someone who has given his life totally to
Christ. Yet, I look at my brothers and see my father’s words, “Y’all be good
and holy men. Be like Jesus.” I see a brother praying over his children. Another
sees the face of Christ in people others ignore.
We
were a scary bunch. I have never been perfect. We have all faced troubles but like
the Psalmist sings our lives have been “Steadfast in our
paths, our feet have not faltered.” Mostly.
Not
everyone believes in the promise of eternal life. But, because of Christ, “I believe in life everlasting.” God’s love
will provide for us.
My family
in Christ, my brothers and sisters, I wish that you know life everlasting. I pray for your salvation and God grace to
know love that never ends. It’s never too late.
I
always end with the prayer of my father - Y’all be good, y’all be holy and preach
the gospel by the way you live and love Amen.
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