Homily

Of all the people you know, plus all the people you will see today, what percentage of them would you say are very much concerned about your well-being and want only what is best for you? 90%? 43%? .0006% Now reverse the focus: of all the people you know, plus the people you will see today, what percentage of them would you be concerned for, wanting only what is best for them? Now can you possibly imagine what it would be like to step out of your house knowing that everyone else you would run into would care about your welfare and your needs first, and you would do the same for any of them? What if that even happened in your own home with your family today, that everyone thought of your needs first?

Why isn't our world so wonderful that this kind of generous selfless caring for others isn't found all the time, everywhere? Even in our own family life, we don't see this 100% exercise of loving care and concern 100% of the time, do we? The reason why we don’t can be found in a single word: sin. It is sin that divides us, one from another. It is sin against family members and other people, it is sin against our community, our state and our nation, it is sin against the Church, the Body of Christ, and sin within the Church and within our family and community and country that divides us. It is always sin that divides us. That's why we must lock our doors, use passwords, don't talk to strangers, call the police, don't open strange emails, drive defensively, and get patted down in our socks at airports, and maybe get a lawyer.

It is difficult to even imagine a world where people do not sin against each other, because we often accept the reality that is in front of us as though it must be like this, and none of it can ever really change very much. We have times when we are upset, sad, or angry about the divisions we may find in our families or communities, or the divisions that may come up between ourselves and other people. We may work to heal those divisions and do what we can to repair them, but at the same time we expect the world to remain a place where people have to be careful and guard their interests and their safety against those who would wish to harm them. Think of all the angry and bitter words that are thrown out in the public forum today in social media or reported in the news. And in the multitude of all those angry, bitter words there is one word you will never hear: "sin." And, dear friends, that is always what divides us. It's my sin, your sin, their sin — these sins are the crowbars that pry us apart from each other and wound and work against the God-given unity we were meant to live in.

St. Paul writes to us in today's epistle, "to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all humility and meekness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, careful to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, even as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, throughout all, and in us all."

What a strength, what a blessing, what a comfort and a liveliness can be shared when people live in unity; but we cannot live in perfect unity without the grace of God; and we cannot live in perfect unity unless we are ready to struggle to give up our own sins and work with grace, so that as we strengthen our virtues, we repair the damages between ourselves and others, and we give power to the ties that join us together.

We become more open to being united with other people, if our desire is based in the love of Christ, Who has called us together here today as His Body, to receive His Body, to give Him thanks and praise, and then to go forth each of us along our own way but still united in Him. When we are united with Christ we have the power to bring our families closer together and that is in the power of Christ's love. When we are united with Christ we have the power to bring peoples closer together, and that is in the power of Christ's love. Sin tells us always to think of ourselves first like the robbers who beat the man in the parable; like the priest and Levite who passed him by lying in the road. But the grace we can find when we are united with Christ can overpower our selfish inclinations, and like the Samaritan we find ourselves not doing what comes naturally, but more and more relating to life and taking actions that are motivated by supernatural goodness.

It is true that we cannot force other people to live in peace and harmony with us, and with Christ. They have free will to do as they choose. And they certainly will do as they choose! We can’t stop them. Even in our family life we know that those closest to us will not always care for us first, and we will not always care for them first. We are weakened by our sins and sometimes starving for the grace to do what we know we should do. But the Lord calls us to Himself, to prayer, to the sacraments, to an examination our consciences and to asking for pardon, and these things heal the wounds of our own sins as well as the wounds of those who sin against us. They are like the wine and oil poured over our wounds and the effective means to heal our souls.

Within our own selves, we represent and reflect the disunity of the world around us. In our owns hearts we struggle with conflicting desires and goals, between good and bad, between virtue and sin. We are not united within ourselves. But here too it is the love of Christ, if we surrender ourselves to Him, that can make us whole. The more we are whole, the more we relate to all the people in this world according to the mind of Christ. Let us ask Him to continue to heal our own wounds, to pardon our sins, and to help us bind up the wounds of others.