Homily

If you could be granted one wish, one thing that you really desired, what would you ask for? I know that out of the blue that’s a rather difficult question to answer, but please just think about it for a few seconds. One thing—what would you ask for? (I hope it’s not a pony unless you are 10 years old.)

For me it seems to be an interesting question in that it shows where we are at this moment in time, what our priorities are, where we see ourselves in life. Granted, whatever we thought of, it might be something different if I asked you this afternoon or tomorrow. But tell me this—do you think you might give a different answer to this question after you received Holy Communion today? Is it possible that, having received Christ in the Holy Eucharist, there would be a difference within you that might influence you to choose something different as your greatest desire at this time, and that touches upon how we see the spiritual and the natural aspects of our lives?

What is the true relationship between the graces we receive and the virtues that have been given to us, what is the relationship between those and what I would call our regular, normal selves? Do we see the invisible life of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit moving in our lives? (And please notice that I asked do we “see” what is invisible, because I think that points out some of the difficulty involved when asking such a question.) We received the virtues of faith, hope and love at our baptisms but most of us were tiny tots at the time. How much more of those virtues do we have today than we had back then? There’s no way to measure—not like our age, or weight, or our I.Q. or our blood pressure. And I think, because of that, we may not always think very much about them, even though as Christians, these virtues are the very foundation of our life in Christ. Probably none of you have woken up recently and thought “Wow! I feel a whole lot more faithful today!” Or, “Today is a great day to put more hope in God! I’m going to do that right after breakfast.” Probably not. But yet these three virtues are a part of your lives and mine, or we would not be Christians. How we live, what we choose, how we act, and what we desire can allow these virtues to grow and become stronger, by the grace of God, or we can squeeze them out so that they grow smaller and less important. Actually, if we choose, we can chuck them out altogether. Faith, Hope and Love—these can grow within us when we are open to them and live according to the Gospel. Then they can grow and flourish and guide our lives on the path to holiness.

We think of our physical well-being on a fairly regular basis. We think about it when we’re tired, or hungry, or have aches and pains or when we’re uncomfortable because it’s too hot or too cold. But how often do we think about our spiritual well-being? Do we try to nourish our faith? Do we ever worry that by acting this way we are squeezing against the virtue of love? Do we concern ourselves with how much hope we have in Christ and do we ever ask Him for more?

It’s not surprising that we spend a lot more time thinking and acting on our natural lives, so to speak. But I think we are not helping ourselves in the smallest ways when we do not regularly think about our spiritual lives and how we are living with and using the gifts God has given us. How do we think? “I won’t miss work because I need that paycheck, but I might miss Divine Liturgy because ________?” You fill in the blank. “I talk a fair amount during the day, but I don’t talk much with the Lord because ________?” You fill in the blank. “I spend a lot of time on the internet every week, and the portion of that time I spend trying to grow in faith through the internet is ________?” You fill that in.

It’s true we only have one life, not two lives, but just as we spend a reasonable, or even an unreasonable, amount of time caring for and paying attention to the natural side of our lives, how much time and effort should we put toward the supernatural life we carry within us? Because the one part, dear friends, has an expiration date and a limited shelf-life. But the other is what we will carry into eternity.

I trust and believe that the Holy Spirit will prompt you today to look at paying better attention to His presence and the gifts He wishes to share with us. His only interest is in the health and wholeness of our lives, not at the fringes, but at the very core of who we are as persons. We’ve neglected the gift of our life in Christ, maybe just a very little, but maybe a lot more. Let’s not go on the same way, but on a better way for ourselves, and let’s commit to that this morning, especially by paying attention to our worship here at Liturgy.