Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time - August 13, 2017

Homily for August 13, 2017

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Difficult But Good

 

            Let’s break down this parable and see how it applies to us. Peter starts out in a boat that was sinking. Perhaps many of us find parts of our life that are sinking, that aren’t working out well – maybe we struggle with a particular temptation, or we haven’t really developed a prayer life, or we are estranged from a family member, or we just fall into the same pattern of sinful behavior that isn’t healthy and is spiritually destructive. Many of us have parts of our life that just aren’t working. But we’ve gotten used to it, and it’s become somewhat comfortable with it – we hate it, but we’re used to it, and it would take too much to change, just as Peter would not leave the boat without an invitation from the Lord.

            But Jesus wants Peter to draw near to Him, so He invites him to leave the sinking boat and come towards Him. Christ wants us all to experience abundant life – the freedom from sin, deep inner peace, the security of His love – but to experience this life, we must draw closer to Him.

            The problem is the waves. Peter’s fine until he realizes that it would be difficult to draw close to Christ – then he starts to sink, because he took his eyes off of the Lord. If we really want to follow the Lord, we must expect that it will be difficult. It is difficult to put away our smartphones and really develop a prayer life. It is difficult to give up, once and for all, our addiction to food and lust and alcohol. It is difficult to live simply when we are tempted to surround ourselves with self-indulgent luxuries. When we seek to draw closer to the Lord, it will be opposed – by our fallen nature, by Satan, and by the temptations of the world in which we live.

            If we look at the difficulties instead of Christ, we are likely to be overwhelmed. Who can overcome strong temptations? Who can practice fasting, self-control, constant kindness with difficult people? No one can on their own – but if our eyes are on Christ and His grace, we can do all things!

St. Augustine, even after his conversion to Catholicism, still struggled with some of the temptations of his lower nature – particularly lust. One time he prayed, famously, “Lord, give me chastity, but not yet!” His heart was divided – he wanted to follow Jesus, but also wanted to indulge in the pleasures of this world.

            The turning point came when he picked up St. Paul’s letters one day and read, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” From that moment, his soul was flooded with grace. His eyes were now fixed, not on his temptations and sins, but on the Lord. It was hard to be pure – but now it was worth it.

            Many people feel like their life is stuck on hamster-wheel mode – going round and round, but getting nowhere. Is that because we are always willing to take the easy way out, live our lives in our comfort zones? Christ is inviting you to a better life – peace, joy, freedom, love – but to have this better life, we must be willing to do the difficult things: give up sin, love our enemies, practice sacrifice, have a disciplined life of prayer and fasting. These things are only possible if we keep our eyes fixed on Christ – when done for love of Him, we will find it easy to overcome all difficulties in our life of discipleship, until by His grace we become saints!