Lent 4 - March 26, 2017

Homily for Lent 4

March 26, 2017

Seeing Life As God Sees It

 

            One of the first things a college freshman learns in their Introductory of Philosophy class is Plato’s famous “Allegory of the Cave”. Plato tells us to imagine a group of people who had been chained in a cave since birth. They have never seen the outside world, but they see shadows on the wall in front of them – shadows of moving figures, people, animals, objects. Since they don’t know any better, they think that these shadows are the real world.

            Plato then tells us to imagine that someone is released from the cave and allowed to see the world outside – at first, the light hurts his eyes. He sees even less because of how much light there is. But once his eyes begin to adjust, he starts to see things clearly – wonderful things, greater than he’s ever imagined. The free man can then return to his friends in the cave and tell them of the marvelous world outside of their miserable cage.

            This famous allegory is also true in the spiritual life. Jesus criticizes these Pharisees for being blind – yes, they have visual sight, but they do not see the world as it truly is – as God sees it. The blind man, on the other hand, is able to recognize Jesus as God (notice how he worships Him at the end), and therefore has truly seen reality, not just shadows.

            One time when I was running a youth program, there was a young man named Matt who went from someone who didn’t care about God to being a fervent, daily-Rosary-praying Catholic high schooler. One day I took him aside and asked him what made him so on-fire with love for Jesus, and I’ll never forget his reply – he said, “I felt like I was living life half-asleep, and now I’m finally awake.” Once he discovered God and started passionately following Him, the rest of the world made sense and he was able to see, clearly, for the first time.

            As C.S. Lewis put it, "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." It’s because of our faith in Christ and His Church that we see everything else about life clearly. Let me give you three examples of ways in which our faith views things clearly, while the world obscures it.

            First, family life. The world often looks at marriage as a contract – you give me something, I give you something. I’ll give you happiness if you give me happiness, but if you stop giving me happiness, then you’ve broken the contract, and we can walk away, no questions asked. But Christ gives us a different, clearer view of marriage – it is not a contract, but a covenant: a sacred bond between two people, a Sacrament that gives grace, for the dual purposes of helping each other get to Heaven and raising kids to follow Christ. Faith sees kids, not as a burden to be planned out, but as a gift from God to be received with joy and trust. Which view of family life have you been operating under – the world’s view, or Christ’s view?

            Second, work and money. The world tells us that success is measured in dollar signs. We work so that we can make as much money as possible so we can buy nice things for ourselves and take expensive vacations. But Christ gives us a different, clearer view of work and money. He says, through His Church, that work is meant to glorify God by developing our talents. We work to serve our brothers and sisters. Money, then, is not for our pleasure alone but is entrusted to us by God to be used to take care of those less fortunate. Which view of work and money have you been operating under – the world’s view, or Christ’s view?

            Third, life and death. The world tells us that death is the worst thing in the world, and we should avoid it at all costs. Look at all the superhero movies – they all are fighting to keep the world alive, as if death was an unspeakable tragedy! But for Christians, death is not a tragedy but a passageway to a new and more abundant life. Death is not the worst thing – sin is the true tragedy, since sin separates us from God. It’s because of faith that St. Dominic Savio could take as his motto, “Death rather than sin!” It’s because of faith that St. Jose Sanchez del Rio could choose to be martyred rather than spit on a crucifix and live. For Christians, we realize that this life is temporary and that Heaven is far better. So how do you view life and death – through the world’s view, or Christ’s view?

            If we are still viewing things through the world’s view, then we are only seeing shadows and images of the Truth, not the real thing. Once we start to view life through God’s eyes – as it has been taught to us through the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church – then we will truly see clearly as we see the world as it really is!