Homily for 17 Sep 2015

17 Sep 2015

If you ever just sit down and read one of the gospels straight through, you’ll see Jesus as a very steady, stable person.  People come at him, it seems, from every side; some are against him (like the Pharisees), some are intrigued by him (like the crowds we so often hear of), and some are committed to him (like the woman in the gospel today).  But no matter what the people around him are doing, he just goes along . . . steady and sure.

That’s part of the attraction of Jesus—his inner strength and his quiet assuredness about what he’s doing.  No matter what people say about him, he just does what he does.

And that’s the diligence St Paul talks about in his letter to Timothy.  “Set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. . . . Be diligent in these matters, be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to everyone.”  Diligence and commitment are attractive . . . to us; but to our culture today—not so much.

Oh, we have activists around, for sure.  We experience people who are committed to ideals; though, they’re not Christian ideals; they’re not ideals of real love and self-sacrifice.  But, of course, that kind of commitment comes and goes.  Instead, the diligence and commitment of Christ—and therefore of us—is a commitment to God’s ways, whether or not they’re appealing to others.

And that’s a hard commitment to make.  When we see the numbers of Catholics declining; when we see our youth being lured away by something more exciting, we’re tempted.  We’re tempted to do what’s trendy without first wondering: Is that trendy thing true?  Is that God at work?  We’re tempted to step off the path of Christ and onto . . . another path.

The Pharisees complained that Jesus forgave the sinful woman.  But he didn’t backtrack and revamp his program to appease them.  He forgave the woman, and left the others to follow him or reject him.  Of course, he hoped that everyone would follow him.  But he knew only too well that not everyone would.  He never sacrificed his commitment to the Father so others would follow him.

He never sacrificed the one thing that was his most powerful invitation for others to follow him.  He never sacrificed his commitment to the ways of God.  If we ever wonder how to draw others to Christ, perhaps the best thing we can do is remain steadfast—and joyfully so—in love for our God.  No matter what others say, may we remain true to our God.