Homily for 29 Feb 2016

29 Feb 2016

Maybe they know Jesus too well—or maybe they think they do.  They have him all figured out.  They got it.  You know, they might even able to teach Jesus something. 

We could be talking about the people in the synagogue at Nazareth, or Naaman the Syrian.  Or some of our Christian friends who use Scripture as a sledge-hammer, rather than as a healing remedy.  We could even be talking about some of our Catholic brothers and sisters, who are quick to judge and slow to listen.

Maybe they know Jesus too well—or maybe they think they do.  But, in reality, there’s always something new about God; there’s always something more to take in.  God is, truly, our nearest and dearest Friend, who walks with us; but he’s also: “Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.”  And it takes great humility to see God for who he is—and to see us for who we are in relation to him.

At every Mass we sing: “Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts!”  And to be “holy” is to be “distinct from.”   Of course, God and his ways are quite different than ours; and so, God is not simply “holy”—rather, God is “Holy, holy, holy!”  That’s the song of a humble people; a people who know God so well that they know they can never know him completely.

It’s also the song of a joyful people; a people who find joy in being “athirst for the living God;” who find joy in the humble anticipation of what God has in store—something beyond what we think it should be.

It’s good to be secure in faith; it’s good to profess the Lord to others as we know him.  But let’s be careful not to be so sure of ourselves that Jesus “passes through the midst of us and goes away.”