Homily

The paralyzed man had a destination in mind. He knew exactly where he wanted to go and he had been wanting to get there for probably 38 years. The only trouble was that he didn’t know how to get there. He didn’t know how to get to the pool when the waters stirred, and time after time he saw someone else make it, while he remained stuck right where he was. The only thing that ever changed for him was his age.

Almost all of you have been on an airplane to travel somewhere at least once in your life. And I have no doubt that you had a destination in mind when you traveled. Very few people go to the ticket counter and then, when asked where they want to go tell the agent, “I don’t know where I want to go.” Every airport is packed full of people who are fixated on their desired destinations. They absolutely know where they want to go and they would like to get there as quickly and easily as possible.

Now imagine going into the airport and there are no signs, no instructions of any kind, no signs to show how to get to Terminal #2, or to Gate C-25, or where the baggage claim is located. No signs that show where your airline ticket counter is, or which gate is which, or where you can catch the Metro, or even where the restrooms are. The airport would be one chaotic mess of masses of people searching in frustration, trying to go through all the steps you need to go through in order to get to where they want to go. It’s extremely important to have a destination in mind, but to get where you want to be you also need help to know what you must do in order to get there. Without all those thousands of signs everywhere in an airport telling you and helping you with everything you need to know, airports would be centers of extraordinary chaos and confusion and few people would ever get to their desired destination.

The same thing is true in life. First of all, we need to have a destination in mind. Where is my life going? Where do I want to end up, because this journey I am on now will certainly come to an end one day, and when it does, where do I want to be? How different our lives might be if we woke up every morning and said, “I want to go to heaven and today I am one day closer, I hope! Lord, help me to stay close to you this day.” It seems to me plenty of people today are totally dedicated to ignoring this end-point of life, their final destination. They are ignorant. And I say that because “ignore” and “ignorant” come from the same root word—to “not know”. They do not know where they will end up. And either they do not care, or they choose not to think about it. Understandable in some ways—if you think about the destination you want to get to then you also need to think about what you need to do now so that you can arrive at the place you want to be later? What are the steps you need to take, and the directions you need to follow to end up in a good place? And I understand why people choose to live this way. They want to believe their deaths are so far in the future that they need not be concerned about it right now, plus if they do think about what they need to do in order to get there (to a good place) it might mess up their plans for what they want to do today. If I want to go to Denver, when I get on the plane, the bus, or the train I trust that the pilot, the driver or the engineer knows how to get me there, because my knowledge is limited. But when it comes to directing my very life towards a good ending, how is it that I believe I don’t need anyone else to guide me along the way? That’s the Adam and Eve factor in all of us, most loudly proclaimed by young children when they scream, “I can do it myself.” But it’s an attitude we are tempted to carry with us our whole life long, although more quietly, as we struggle to believe that anyone can show us better than we can do for ourselves—even Christ our Lord. Yes, yes, we do believe, but like the father whose child was in danger we must also say “Lord, help my lack of faith.”

All the turmoil, the anger, the accusations, the hatred, the mistrust, the violence, the broken homes and the lack of hope that we find in our society today is, I truly believe, because so many people have no idea where their lives are headed and reject any direction that they think will limit their freedom to do what they want to do.

The paralytic man knew where he wanted to go but did not know how he would ever get there, until Jesus came by. Then he no longer needed that other destination for Jesus Himself took that place. And just the same for us, Jesus must be our destination, or end, our goal—He is the one Who should be the endpoint of our lives in this world, and the point of our lives every day until then. How do we get there? How do we end up in Him? He gave us His Church as a guide to show us and help us reach our final goal. The Church is like all those signs in the airport, guiding us to where we need to go and giving us all the information we need to get there. But even more than that the Church also provides us with the nourishment we need for the journey, it helps us lighten our luggage from sin which weighs us down, it puts us in the company of other travelers who are going the same direction and who can help us along the route, even as we can help them. Our fare has been paid already. If we just follow the guides we have been given to the best of our ability we are guaranteed to get home, even if, as we leave this world, our flight is delayed for a while, we still will make it home.

But it’s not just about the ending. Those who live by the grace and the truth of Christ’s Church live in the grace of the richness of life the Lord has provided for all who live united to Him. It is not a life free from pain, or sorrow or hardships, because our Lord suffered these Himself. No, it is a life that is sustained by Christ’s love, even in the midst of trials and temptations.

The paralyzed man waited 38 years to get to where something good could happen to him. Then something he could never have imagined took place. He Who is all-good came to him and changed his life in a miraculous way. He is also ready to come to us today even more closely than the paralyzed man was able to receive Him. All we need do is ask Him.