Homily, 29th Sunday Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Fr. Paul D. Williams, Jr., pastor, Saint Joseph's, Dalton GA
In his book, “The Great Divorce”, which explores in story-form the differences between heaven and hell, C.S. Lewis gives beautiful descriptions of heaven. The premise of the book is a man's journey towards heaven, on which he learns through various events what heaven is all about. Towards the end of the book, the man and his “Teacher”, a guide somewhat like a guardian angel, see a large procession coming towards them - what seemed like a river of dancing light. It turns out to be a procession of people, led first by angels who were dancing and scattering flowers. Then following were hundreds of young boys and girls singing songs that, the man describes, would bring eternal youth to the hearer if they could be heard on earth. Then the musicians and other people... and even animals - cats, dogs, horses and birds. And the whole procession is being offered in honor of one woman in the center of it all, whose beauty can’t be described in mere human words. The man immediately suspects that this must be the Virgin Mary and asks his guide, “Is it? ... Is it?” And his guide says, “No, not at all. It's someone ye'll never have heard of. Her name on earth was Sarah Smith and she lived at Golders Green.” The man protests, “But she seems to be a person of particular importance.” “Ah, she is one of the great ones. Remember that fame in this country and fame on earth are two different things.” “Who are all these people?” “Those are members of her family - every person she met became part of her family through the abundance of life she had in Christ, and the love she had spread like the waves from a rock thrown in a pond - no one knows where it will end.”
St.
Thérèse of Lisieux (October 1st), most commonly known as the
“Little Flower”, is a “Doctor of the Church.” Though she
wrote only one book, a memoir intended for her family and superiors,
she is a master of spirituality of the Church. She has
a beautiful story to explain why she considered herself a "little
flower" in the garden of the Lord. She writes that she found
herself pondering one day how it was that “God has his
preferences”, seemingly favoring one person over another - giving
one person extraordinary gifts, another only painful sufferings, and
still others no visible gifts at all.
Well,
she explains it this way: “Jesus has been gracious enough to teach
me a lesson about this mystery, simply by holding up to my eyes the
book of nature. I realized, then, that all the flowers he has made
are beautiful - the rose in its glory [and] the lily in its whiteness
do not rob the tiny violet of its sweet smell, or the daisy of its
charming simplicity. I saw that if all these lesser blooms wanted to
be roses instead, nature would lose the gaiety of her spring-tide
dress - there would be no little flowers to make a pattern over the
countryside.” She goes on, “And so it is with the world of
souls, which is the Lord's garden. He wanted to have great Saints,
to be his lilies and roses, but he has made lesser Saints as well;
and these lesser ones must be content to rank as daisies and violets,
lying at his feet and giving pleasure to his eye like that.” She
concludes, “Perfection consists simply in doing his will, and being
just what he wants us to be.”
In
today’s Gospel, James and John were seeking greatness and
importance, “Lord, see to it that we sit, one at your right and the
other at your left, when you come into your glory.” And Jesus
gently reminds them that the only way to greatness is through
service, which he showed through the Cross.
But
what strikes me about what St. Therese said and what Jesus says in
today’s Gospel is that he does want us to strive for greatness, not
in the world’s eyes, but in heaven’s eyes. After all, he says,
“Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” And throughout
the Gospels, Jesus speaks about the rewards that await us in heaven
if we do his will on earth by giving of ourselves and serving others.
At the end of the Beatitudes, he says, (Mt. 5: 12), “Rejoice and
be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” In the Sermon
on the Mount he says, (Mt. 6:19), “Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth, but store up treasures in heaven.” And he says
that when you fast, pray, and give alms, you should do so in secret,
without drawing attention to yourself , “And your Father in Heaven
who sees in secret will repay you.” In other words, what we do in
this life matters. Our actions have eternal consequences. Jesus
says that some will be called great and others called least in the
kingdom. By our actions now, we determine our greatness in heaven.
The
reason St. Therese is a doctor of the Church is that she taught how
we can achieve this greatness even in the midst of our daily life.
Her secret was that she learned how to do small acts with great love.
When she was sick and having trouble walking, she would offer the
pain for missionaries around the world. When she was not receiving
any consolation in prayer, she would persevere despite the hardships.
When she had reason to be annoyed by another nun, she would not be
impatient but instead thank the Lord for another opportunity for
mortification. If others thought ill of her, she rejoiced, knowing
that if she deserved it, she would take it as correction, but if she
was innocent, she would delight that she was sharing in Jesus’
suffering.
Now,
this great love that she showed in small actions came from her
docility to God’s will, but she was no weakling or pushover. She
was very strong-willed, it’s just that her will was properly
ordered towards the Lord. She had great confidence in God’s help.
As the Letter to the Hebrews says, “let us confidently approach the
throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and to find help in the
time of need.” There’s a delightful story about her trip to
Rome, where along with hundreds of other pilgrims, bishops,
archbishops, and cardinals, she attended a papal audience. Most
present were allowed to receive the Pope’s blessing and kiss his
ring, but they were strictly forbidden to speak. But Therese got up
her courage and when it was her turn, she said, “Most Holy Father,
I have a great favor to ask you!” She had just turned fifteen and
wanted to enter the Carmelite Convent, but she was too young. The
Holy Father looked at her gently and told her, “Do whatever your
superiors tell you.” But she didn’t give up, “Oh! Holy
Father, if you say yes, everybody will agree!” And how could he
not give in to such a beautiful child, so he said, “Go… go…
You will enter if God wills it.”
And
each of us can be filled with that great love and confidence, even in
the midst of our daily life. Wherever we happen to find ourselves,
we can serve the Lord, grow in holiness, and strive for sanctity.
When we are driving, we can be patient and not grow angry with
others. When we are at work, we can refrain from engaging in the all
too common office gossip that belittles and defames others. With our
gifts and talents, we can choose to support the Church and other
worthy charities rather than get caught up in this materialistic and
consumerist culture. In our families, prayer, weekly attendance at
Mass, and seeking the Lord’s will can be an integral part of our
lives, rather than an afterthought. When an illness or cross comes
our way, we can bear it, imitating our Lord’s Cross.
You
know, whether we see ourselves as a rose or lily, violet or daisy in
the eyes of the Lord, if we seek joy on this earth and eternal
happiness in God’s Kingdom, we need only remember what St. Therese
said: “Perfection consists simply in doing his will, and being
just what he wants us to be.”
