Friday, December 9, 2016

Homily for 9 Dec 2016

9 Dec 2016

Being a disciple of Christ puts us in a tough spot.  That’s because the ways of God can be (they aren’t always, but they can be) so different from the ways of the world around us.  And so, sometimes, to be a disciple of Christ is to be a fool—in the eyes of others.

Jesus talks about how children sometimes put others down when those other people don’t want to play their games.  St. Paul writes in a letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 4:10) “We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.”  And, then, at the trial and scourging of Jesus, there are the guards who put a purple robe on him, and a crown a thorns to mock him as a king.

To be a disciple of Christ, and to really try to follow his ways can put us in a tough spot.  Sometimes it makes us look like fools—in the eyes of others.  But what those others don’t see is that we are “like trees planted near running water, that yield their fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade; whatever we do, prospers” (Ps 1:3-4). 

If being a fool for Christ means living a blessed life in what really matters, then so be it: we are fools, happy fools walking in the path of God. 

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