Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent - March 4, 2018

Homily for Lent 3

March 4, 2018

Worth Fighting For

            The 2003 Kevin Costner movie “Open Range” has a great scene that is one of my all-time favorites. The movie is a classic 1880s Western with good guys and bad guys, and the bad guys have taken control of the town, filling it with corruption and evil. A couple of cowboys find themselves in the saloon, talking with some of the locals.

            One local business owner says, “It really is a shame, what this town has come to.”

            The crusty, trail-hardened cowboy responds, “You could do something about it, you know.”

            The businessman throws up his hands in frustration. “What can we do? We’re businessmen and shopkeepers. What can we do about the evil in this town?”

            To which the cowboy shoots back, “You’re men, ain’t ya?”

            Drop the mic!

            You’re men, ain’t ya? Get off your duff, stop feeling sorry for your town, and fight back! There are some things in life worth fighting for!

            Christians often have a very skewed view of Jesus. We see Him as a nice, friendly guy, someone who hugs kids and does an occasional miracle now and then. Basically Mr. Rogers with a beard. But today’s Gospel shows His fierce side – He grows furious at these imposters, these cheaters and thieves who are stealing from the people of God!

            There are some things in life worth fighting for, some things worth getting angry about. Our modern culture extols tolerance as the highest virtue – but Jesus makes it clear that we must never tolerate sin, injustice, hypocrisy. Tolerance is actually not a virtue at all – we must love sinners, yes – we must be patient with others weaknesses, yes – but we must never make peace with sin in our life or in others’ lives.

            You see, we live in a world at war. We have an enemy, Satan, who hates us, tempts us, wants to interrupt our friendship with God, and ultimately tries to make us eternally miserable in Hell. We can ignore this spiritual battle, but it doesn’t go away. We must stand and fight it. It’s a battle that wages internally, in our own souls, and externally, in our modern culture that is so toxic.

            How do we fight it? Let’s start with the internal war, the battle for our own soul. We fight with the three weapons our Church gives us during Lent – with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The Evil One will tempt us to make pleasure our god – so we practice fasting, denying ourselves a chocolate bar so that immoderate pleasures have no power over us. The Evil One tempts us to desire money and worldly goods – so we practice almsgiving, to empty ourselves of our attachment to material things. The Evil One tempts us by telling us that we don’t need God, that we can live our lives according to our own desires – so we pray, recognizing God as King of our lives, and offer Him our obedience.

            The battle against evil in the world must also be fought. There is a wonderful story of St. Louis de Montfort, a French priest who traveled the countryside in the 1700s preaching and leading many souls to Christ through Mary. In one particular town, he began preaching in the church which was next door to a loud and raucous tavern. Some of the drunk patrons began to stand outside the church, loudly insulting the priest and the Catholic faith. The people were amazed at how calmly St. Louis continued to preach – he didn’t seem the least bit flustered by the noisy scoffers. When the sermon had finished, he collected his notes and headed straight out the door, where he proceeded to soundly beat up the drunk men with his fists.

            The very next day he was giving another sermon in the same church, and those formerly-drunk men – now humbled by the beating – were in attendance! As he continued to preach, yet another drunk man stumbled in, cursing and blaspheming loudly. St. Louis stopped his sermon and approached the man. The crowd expected another fight, but much to their surprise, Fr. Louis knelt down before the man and begged forgiveness for any way in which he offended the drunkard. The drunk man was so stunned that he ran out of the church and converted.

            So for St. Louis de Montfort, knowing how to win souls to Christ was a matter of different tactics for different souls. And as we try to fight for our families, our children, our friends, and our culture, I suggest three tactics to combat evil.

            To fight against evil, sometimes we must speak up about it. If we see our boss cutting corners and cheating customers at work, we cannot remain silent! We must speak up, even if it costs us something. Sometimes, fighting against evil means a campaign of prayer and fasting. If your son or daughter has left the Church, then we must pray and fast for their return, knowing that God’s grace alone can change their hearts! Sometimes, fighting against evil means living a life as a radical witness. In a culture that says that love is a feeling and marriage is only for fun, living out a faithful and faith-filled Catholic marriage through good times and bad, through sacrifice and kindness, is a powerful way to fight against a toxic culture. All of these things might be abrasive and controversial to others – no one likes it if you live your faith out-loud, if you invite your fallen-away children back to Mass, if you speak up against evil happening in your community. But as Jesus shows us, tolerance is not a virtue – we have a duty to fight against evil, both in our own lives and in our world.

            This Lent, fight the good fight, with Christ as your leader and we as His faithful soldiers. Fight to bring God’s grace to your soul, to your family, to your country. There ARE some things in this world worth fighting for.