Homily for Lent 2 - March 1, 2015

Lent 2

March 1, 2015

Seven Characteristics of Disciples

 

            The core of our faith is our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We are blessed as Catholics to have a very rich faith, history, tradition…we have the saints, and 2,000 years of church history, the Popes, beautiful churches and works of art, music, sacramentals…and all of this is beautiful, but it’s not the core of our faith. The heart of it is that personal friendship, that daily walk with Christ. You see, having a relationship with Jesus means that we intentionally try to love Him and serve Him every day with all of our lives. So let’s look today at the seven characteristics of someone who has a relationship with Christ.

            First, someone with a real relationship with Jesus knows that they’re a sinner. It drives me crazy when someone will tell me, “Oh, I don’t need to go to confession, I haven’t done anything that bad.” Do you only go to the doctor when you’re dying? No, hopefully you go for an annual physical when you’re healthy too, because the doctor can help you to live a healthier life and identify any problems that are brewing. People with a real relationship with Jesus go to confession regularly, because they recognize that even little venial sins can lead to mortal sins if we don’t correct those faults as soon as we notice them. Being in a relationship with Jesus means that we want to be holy, not just good people, because Jesus was holy and we want to be like Him.

            Second, a person in a relationship with Jesus lives a life of worship. What is worship? The first reading is a good example of worship, but a lot of people misunderstand it. God knows all along that He is going to prevent Abraham from murdering his son – our God is not bloodthirsty or cruel. But He wanted to see if Abraham was willing to give his most precious gift back to God. Abraham passes the test – he is willing to give his son, who is more precious than his own life, back to God…and God blesses that offering by giving him back his son, and then adding many blessings to Abraham.

            Worship means that our entire lives are directed to Him and His glory; we don’t hold anything back. Part of that means being engaged at Mass – I look out on any given Sunday in any church in America and I see large portions of Catholics who are massively disengaged with the Mass. They don’t listen to the readings, they never say the responses, they don’t sing, they leave right after Communion…this is not a life of worship! Worship is giving of ourselves to God – it involves giving Him our attention at Mass, giving Him our time in daily prayer, giving Him our plans when we’re deciding what we should do, giving Him our recreation when we are deciding what to watch on TV or who to hang out with. Someone with a real relationship with Jesus lives a life of worship.

            This ties right into the third characteristic of someone who lives out a relationship with Jesus – they are never satisfied with the minimum! A lot of people live their faith like, “What’s the least I can do and still make it to Heaven?” That’s like a husband saying, “What’s the least I can do and not make my wife leave me?” That would be a sorry relationship, wouldn’t it? Certainly it wouldn’t be one of love. Love wants to do the maximum, and this should be especially true if we are in love with God!

            The fourth is that someone who has a real loving relationship with Jesus wants to grow in their faith. I was assigned with a priest one time and as we sat down to dinner for the first time I asked if he would lead the blessing. He responded, tongue-in-cheek, “I blessed all the food I was ever going to eat back in 1983. I don’t need to repeat that blessing.” We had a good laugh over that, but that’s how some people view their faith! “I learned everything I needed to know when I was younger, that’s it.” That’s like a husband saying to his wife on their honeymoon, “Well, now that we’re finally married and we’re done dating, I know everything about you.” Oh, good sir, you have just begun to know your wife – and as we become adults, I hope we realize that we have just begun to get to know the Lord! A real disciple has a hunger to learn!

            Because their hearts have been set ablaze with love for God because of their life of worship and their hunger to learn about Jesus, those who are true disciples also want to go out and tell others about Jesus! We do that all the time with things we love – when I first got to Stamford, everyone was excited to tell me about their favorite Stamford restaurant – Peliccis or Colony Pizza…or my favorite, Dinosaur Barbecue. They wanted to share what they loved. Same with Jesus – if we love Him, we want to share Him!

            Of course, this personal relationship is not a private relationship, so the sixth characteristic is that someone with a personal relationship with Jesus also loves the Church. They want to be active in their Church, worshipping Christ at Mass and being involved in their parish. You see, if we love Jesus, we also need to love what Jesus loves, and Jesus loved the Church enough to die for her! A personal relationship with Jesus doesn’t mean that I can just go out to the woods or stay in my room and talk to Jesus – no, it means that I approach Jesus in and through the Church. When a person says, “I love God, but I don’t go to Church,” I say, “What God do you love, then? I love the God Who set up His Church as the best way to approach Him!” So a personal relationship with Jesus should lead us to love the Church and be active in our local parish.

            Finally, a person who loves Jesus wants to give back in service. Look at what Peter says in the Gospel – he is so overwhelmed by the glory of God that he can think of nothing else to say except, “Lord, let me set up three tents for you!” Now, it is my prayer that you are so moved by God’s powerful and passionate love for you that you can’t help but say, “Father, let me help with the St. Mary’s Family Fair!” But really, those who love Jesus, see Jesus in their brothers and sisters. Disciples want to demonstrate their love for God in concrete acts of service to the church, to the poor, and to their families and neighbors.

             My friends, I realize that if you take these words seriously, they are challenging, because they challenge us to recommit ourselves to living a personal relationship with Jesus. It’s not enough to come to church; it’s not enough to get your sacraments and you’re all set, because church attendance and getting Sacraments doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a living relationship with Christ. In a moment I will sit down and I just ask us to reflect on this – looking at the six characteristics of someone who has a real love for Jesus Christ, do WE really have that kind of deep relationship with Jesus?