Homily

The paralyzed man had a destination in mind. He knew exactly where he wanted to go and he had been hoping, and no doubt praying, that he could get there for many, many 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 were stirred up, and time after time, he saw someone else get there before him.

I am headed for the airport right after Liturgy today. Almost all of you have traveled on a plane to go somewhere. None of you ever went to buy a ticket for a flight and when you were asked where you wanted to fly to, you thought or you said, "I don't know where I want to go." Quite the opposite. Every airport is packed full of people who are absolutely certain about where they want to go. And they would like to get there as quickly and easily as possible.

Imagine being in an airport and there are no signs or instructions of any kind. No signs to tell you how to get to Terminal 2, or Gate A-5, or to baggage claim. No signs even for the restroom. That airport would be one chaotic mess of people searching in frustration for the places they needed to be. It's extremely important to have a destination in mind if you are traveling, but you also need the instructions that will tell you how to get there.

The same is true in life. First, we need to have a destination in mind. Where do I want to end up in my life? Because the journey I am now on will certainly come to an end one day, and when it does, where do I want to be? What difference might it make in our lives if we woke up every day and said, "I want to go to heaven, and today I am one day closer to a final destination. Lord, help me to be closer to You today and guide me home."

It seems clear to me that there are plenty of people today who truly ignore thinking about the endpoint of their lives. They are ignorant. And say "ignore" and "ignorant" because those words come from the same Latin root work, meaning "not to know." They do not know where they will end up. They either choose not to think about it or they truly do not care. In some ways this is understandable. If you think about the destination of your life, you also need to think about what you need to do to get to where you want to end up. What are the steps you need to take? What are the directions you need to follow to end up in a good place? I understand why people may choose to live in ignorance. They want to think their deaths are so far off in the future that they don't need to think about it now.

If I want to go to Denver, when I get on a plane, bus or train, I trust that the pilot, the driver or the engineer knows how to get me there safely, because they have the knowledge needed to do so. Makes sense.

But when it comes to directing my own life toward a good destination, how is it that I can think I don't need anyone to help guide me along the way? That is what I call the "Adam and Eve Factor" what almost all of us show from time to time. We see it most clearly in children when they "I can do it myself." It's a weakness that pretends to be strength, and it's a temptation all lifelong. We struggle sometimes in believing that anyone can show us better what we can do for ourselves—even Christ the Lord. Yes, yes, we believe in Him but like the father whose boy was in danger we must also say, "Lord, help my lack of faith."

So much of the anger, turmoil, accusations, hatred, mistrust, violence, broken homes and lives that we see in our society today is, I truly believe, because so many people have no idea where they are heading and they reject any direction from outside of themselves because they think it will limit their freedom and keep them from doing what they want to do today.

The paralytic knew where he wanted to go, but had no idea how he would ever get there until Jesus came by. Then his course was changed. Now Jesus Himself is his destination. The same must be true for us. Jesus must be our destination, our end, our goal. He is the One Who should be the endpoint of our lives in this world and the real point of our lives every day until our end.

How do we get there? He gave us a Church as a guide and means to help us reach our final goal. The Church is like all those signs in the airport, guiding us to where we need to be, giving us the information to get where we want to go. But more than that, the Church also provides us with the nourishment we need for the journey, it helps lighten our luggage from the sin that weighs us down, it puts us in the fine company of other travelers who want to go to the same place we do and who can help us along the route, even as we may help them as well. Our fare has already been paid. If we just follow the guides we have been given to the best of our ability we are sure to get home, even if our flight is not today.

It's not just about the ending, of course. Those who live by 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 in Him. It is not a life free from pain, sorrow or hardships, because our Lord suffered these Himself. But 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 never could have imagined took place. He Who-Is-All-Good came to him and changed his life forever. He is ready to come to us today in a more intimate way than the paralyzed man could receive him. Let Him be our destination today.