Homily

Two blind men are following Jesus, crying out after Him, "Son of David, have pity on us!" A remarkable thing, because they had to ask for help from someone else to be able to follow after Jesus, because don't forget, they were blind. And it was a remarkable thing that they called Him "Son of David," a title fit only for a messiah. This, along with their answer to Jesus when He asked if they believed that He could cure them, was a sign of great faith. They saw something more in Jesus despite the fact that they were physically blind. The Pharisees saw the same Jesus as these two did after their cure, but they came to a very different conclusion. They claimed that He was an agent of Satan, doing the work of Satan. Why? Because he cast out a demon that had made another man mute.

The faith of the blind men gave them something more. It gave them the ability to see the truth beyond what some other people saw. It gave them the power to understand a truth that was beyond the limits of this physical world, beyond the mortal limits of human intelligence and comprehension. They came to believe in a truth that could not be found or discovered by any person on their own, but a truth that could only be accepted or rejected when it was revealed to them. Their faith in Jesus gave them more, made them more, offered more, promised more than what they ever could have hoped for on their own in this earthly life. The cure of their blindness was nothing in comparison to that. It was simply an indicator of the goodness their faith had brought them to. Being able to see Jesus was a great thing. Believing in Jesus and following after Him was an eternally radical and life-changing choice.

Because of their faith in Jesus, they had more than the Pharisees. Because of our faith we have more than other people who do not believe. I know that doesn't sound very democratic does it, to think that we have more than other people? The general cultural opinion would never recognize that we have more because of our faith in Jesus. The general cultural opinion would be that we simply made one choice out of many possible faiths. We shouldn't think that our faith is any better than the belief of Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Wiccans, Voodoo-people, Buddhists, Jainists, Santerians, Baha'i or Jehovah's Witnesses, and shouldn’t even think that our faith gives us anything more than what atheists and agnostics don't have. The cultural idea is that all beliefs and unbeliefs are of equal validity and importance, and none should be considered superior to any other—that's the American way. And, increasingly, slowly but surely, many are coming to think that no faith is actually the best kind of religion, because faith tends to get in the way of personal freedom and who wants that?

Now surely, we recognize the freedom of all Americans to worship or not worship, to believe or not to believe as each person chooses. But that does not mean, of course, that all religious creeds are equal to each other. It simply means that all are to be treated equally under the law. And it is our Christian duty to respect the sincere religious beliefs of other people. At the same time this does not mean it makes no difference what people believe, as long as they believe it sincerely. I certainly believe receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion is infinitely superior to sacrificing a chicken in some backyard in Haiti or Miami. I certainly believe that trying to live according to the Beatitudes is vastly superior to following the impersonal demands of the god of Mohamed. I would never want to find my faith so weak so that any appearance of someone else's religious belief would cause me "emotional distress" as some atheists have claimed in court. Dear friends, we have more. We have faith in Jesus Christ. That does not mean we are necessarily better than other people in our conduct, because having access to more does not guarantee living better. We must use what we have. Having more does not mean we should not respect the rights of others to believe or not believe according to their consciences. Yet, because we do have more, in our faith in Christ, there is more that we must do.

It is important for us to understand that we have more. Because if we believe, in a certain way, that all religious beliefs are kind of good, and kind of equal, then there are consequences to that way of thinking. If that's true, then maybe it’s not so important to try and follow Christ, because lots of other people don’t believe in Him, and they can be good people too. And if all religious beliefs are kind of good, why should I ever make any effort to share my faith in Christ, and not only my faith in Christ but my faith in Christ as a Catholic believer?

It is also wrong to think that if most other people never do or say anything to show any evidence of faith in their lives, then maybe I should do the same. Sometimes people fear others will judge them because of their faith. That way of thinking always presumes their judgment will be bad! I recall those infamous words I have heard people say so many, many times over the years: “I’m not very religious…” Because that would be bad, no? People thinking you’re very religious. And the other phrase, a favorite of politicians: “I’m Catholic, but….” And in every instance what should follow the “but” is “but not really Catholic.” Yet, instead, something else always follows that “but.” They get a pass. Nobody should really expect them to live according to what they say they believe, should they?

The inherent danger in "kind of believing" that all religions are "kind of equal" is that it is simply not true. A second danger is that we won’t feel any need to share Christ with other people. “You got your beliefs and I got mine.” But we have more. We should want to share more with those who have less. Sometimes it will mean sharing that faith in our words. Other times by our actions.

That might mean making the sign of the cross in a restaurant or letting someone get in the line ahead of you. That might mean speaking up for the rights of the unborn and praying for a bad driver rather than cursing at them. That mean acting honestly when other people are watching, and also acting honestly when no one else is around to see it, because, in truth, Christ is always with us. It’s living with more because we live in Christ.

The two blind men became great evangelists throughout the whole area, spreading the news about Jesus and their belief in Him. Let us not be blind to every opportunity to share our Catholic faith whenever it is possible. Thanks be to God…we have more! Let’s share it! Let’s live it!