Homily

In today’s epistle St. Paul tells us that we should use the gifts that we have been given to build up the Body of Christ, the Church. He says we ought to hate what is evil and hold on to what is good, loving one another with fraternal charity and to be zealous, fervent, hopeful, hospitable and prayerful. It’s quite a list. I hope he doesn’t mean we should do all those things at the same time. It’s a great checklist for Christian living. It’s a great checklist for parish life. He ends his list with a tough one: bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. It is a great list of attitudes and actions that should mark the lives of Christians.

But, dear friends, I would like to point out that there is a danger in thinking about a list of actions such as this, a danger of misunderstanding. I think we are always tempted to believe that our value as people, indeed, our value as Christians, lies in what we do, and how well we do it. The Gold Medal winner at the Olympics, the CEO of a huge company, the best-selling country singer, the top box office actor, the priest with the really big cross; these and many other people have risen to the top in one way or another because of what they have done. We ourselves strive to do good, to do our best, at least much of the time. We want to do good in our marriages and family life, good at our jobs, to perform well, to act well. And of course that is good—very good. But there is a danger there as well.

The danger is in thinking that our value lies in what we do, and what we accomplish, and what we achieve, and how well we do that. Because it is not true. We were of infinite value from the moment of our conception because we came into being by God’s command, made in His image and likeness. It is hard for us to imagine, but each one of us came into being as an act of God’s love, and each one of us is intimately and totally loved by God, each of us the same. The Lord’s love for us does not depend on what we do, or how well we do it. He loves us, each and every one, despite the fact that we often neglect Him, or turn away from Him, or are ungrateful and uncaring in return. Yet His love for us does not waver.

And more than that—we who have been baptized have been invited in to the very own divine life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So much more even than just as creatures of God, we become sons and daughters of God, adopted by grace, and fueled by holiness. We have been called to live forever in the presence of the Holy Trinity—to love the Lord forever Who has loved us first. This is the great dignity, the great treasure, the true foundation of our life—or at least it should be. We forget. We become caught up in a life of doing things, both good and bad, and run the risk of forgetting our true worth in the eyes of God. When that happens we are tempted to create our own set of values and decide for ourselves what makes us worth something—what makes us valuable. We run after other goods, and even things that are not good, in order to try and increase what we think is our value. But unless we clearly live according to our genuine, God-given vocation we are in danger of becoming hopelessly lost, and we even risk letting the Lord out of our sight. And it can also often happen that we find it hard to believe that the Lord can love us so completely, because we see ourselves as so weak and flawed and inadequate. How can He love someone like me in my sad state? Yes, it is true—we are meant to work and strive for virtue and holiness and to hate what is evil. This is our vocation. This is how we allow God’s own divine life to enter more deeply into our own lives. And we will be judged by our choices and actions; Scripture is clear on that. But, dear friends, underneath all of that how important it is to remember that God loved you first and does still. And this should give us pause today as we ask ourselves, “Will I love Him back?”

We live in a world that is becoming more and more utilitarian in its values. If you cannot stand up and fight for yourself because you are too young, or too old, or unable to make your case for some other reason, your life is at risk. But if we know the true value of every human life then not only can we speak for those who cannot speak, but we can also share the most good news with those who have not heard it, or have not heeded it—You are loved by God. It is your glory, your hope and the true goal of your life to live in that, and to love Him back.