Homily

St. Paul writes to the Corinthians in today's epistle, saying, “When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently. We have become like the world's rubbish, the scum of all, to this very moment.” Paul accepted the harsh treatment that came along with the office of being an apostle and he speaks of being hungry, thirsty, poorly dressed, roughly treated, hard working at labor and having no permanent place to call home. But when he speaks of being ridiculed, persecuted and slandered, he's not speaking just of what has come his way from Gentiles and non-believing Jews. He's also including those fellow Christians who have treated him in this way, and he warns the Corinthians to change their behavior because if they do not he will surely take action when he returns to Corinth.

I was thinking of Paul's virtue and comparing it to mine. I think if I were writing to the Corinthians I would have had to write, “When ridiculed, I ridicule back; when slandered, I slander back; when persecuted, I get a lawyer.” In this section of his letter and following, Paul encourages and even demands that his flock grow up and mature in their behavior and their attitudes towards him, towards one another in the world. He raises a number of problems he has heard about and he demands they be corrected, because although he may be treated like scum, he is, in fact, powered by the grace of God. Earlier in this same letter he wrote that they also should not be living as natural persons, but rather as people who are led by the Spirit; not according to human wisdom, but by the wisdom of God.

It made me reflect on our own society. I think, to a certain degree, we have lost the idea of the importance of becoming morally excellent people, and instead have settled for being "natural people." "We were born this way, we were raised this way, this is the way we choose to be and we have no real desire to become better persons because there is nothing wrong with us the way we are right now." That's a cultural way of seeing life that was hatched in the 1960s and has been growing ever since. A book written in 1969 entitled, "I'm OK, You're OK," was just one example of this type of attitude towards moral behavior. That was written now 50 years ago. Hard to imagine. “I’m OK, You’re OK.” It should have been called, "I'm OK, Who Cares about You?" because when behavior is judged by my own standards, how important can other people really be? (And if you are truly "OK" why do you need to read the book?)

Who is to decide what is right or wrong, better or worse, moral or immoral? The answer today for all too many people is that I am the only judge worthy of making these decisions. There is no absolute code of behavior that I need to guide me, no objective standard that tells me how to live, except the civil law, and even that can always be changed. And it has changed, quite a bit in the last 50 years. If I am the only real judge of my behavior, is it likely I will be hard on myself, or more accepting of whatever it is I wish to do, even if it has, in the past, been considered illegal, immoral, a sin?

Here's what I find so interesting: in the pagan world of Rome and Greece there were plenty of evils. Imagine taking your lunch to the Coliseum to watch people being eaten by wild animals and burned alive for your amusement. But even with all the evils of the pagan world there were still frequent calls from people in government and society for moral excellence, to strive for virtues such as honesty, integrity, self-sacrifice for home and country and the importance of family life. But today, how often do we hear a call from our leaders and people of influence to live according to higher principles and greater virtue? Who is encouraging us to live morally on TV, or in films, or in the music or sports industries? Who among the famous and revered public figures hold up for us a higher standard of behavior and attitudes towards life? And in the public sphere, our institutions have dropped one moral prohibition after another, year after year, heading us all not to greater freedom and moral excellence, but rather to the least common denominator, and the ever-lowering standards of what is acceptable and good. Almost all of the admonitions we hear today in public life are not about rejecting evil, but rather excusing sinful deeds using explanations that try to show that such things are not evil at all. The talk is all about “rights”—and we are supposed to understand that “rights” can never be wrong.

The Church in Corinth wasn't living in a city known for its great morality, and St. Paul was frustrated with them because they were not growing in moral maturity—in fact he even accuses them of accepting sins that even the pagans found repulsive. He calls them big babies. They talk, talk, talk like sophisticated, witty and knowledgeable people, but they often live as children who have no self-control, thinking and acting much as they did before their conversions, thinking and acting much the same as their pagan neighbors. So, how's about us?

Christianity, as I have said before, is not a religion of moral rules. It is a faith in Jesus Christ where we strive to live according to the truth He has revealed to us, where we work to become all the best that we were created to be. It is not easy to give up sinful ways. It is not easy to grow in virtue. We see that when we are trying to raise our children to lead good lives. Parents, you know how much your children struggle to do good and avoid evil. And does that struggle end for our own selves once we become adults? Of course not. Instead of our parents now teaching us right from wrong we, as adults look to Christ our Lord; we, as adults, look to His church for guidance.

So today, I want to encourage you. Every time you turn away from temptation, you build yourself up in maturity and humanity. Every time you hold on to the truth and stand up for it when needed, even in the face of disapproval or ridicule, you build yourself up as a disciple of Christ. Every attempt and effort you make to hold your tongue when it is right to do so, every time when you open your wallet when called for, every time you ask pardon for sins committed, and every time you pardon those who have offended you, every time you struggle against temptation, study the Scriptures, heed the commandments, every time you sacrifice comfort and pleasure in exchange for grace and virtue; every time you avoid evil and reach out for what is good and blessed, you bring the light of Christ more brightly into your life, your home and this world we live in. Every time. It is not easy, but it is absolutely worthwhile. Every time.

Holiness is the fullness of life in Christ. Grace is free but living in it requires effort and strength and dedication. So, let's be clear with ourselves how important it is that we continue to grow in this way of living, and let's be encouraged that all of our efforts will lead us home, to the home we were born to dwell in forever.