Homily for Lent 2 - March 12, 2017

Homily for Lent 2

March 12, 2017

Soldier for Christ

 

            There was once a young man named Martin whose father was a famous soldier in the Roman empire. Growing up, military life is all young Martin knew, so at eighteen years old he joined the military. At the same time he began to be intrigued by Christianity, and finally decided to become a Christian. At the time, the process to become a Christian took several years, and he embarked on the journey with the same enthusiasm he brought to the battlefield.

            When he was 20, he was riding his horse one day when he encountered a poor beggar who was shivering from cold. Moved with pity, he took off his cloak, sliced it in half with his sword, and gave half to the poor man. That night, he had a dream where Christ appeared to him, wearing the half of the cloak he had given to the poor man. When he woke up, his faith was kindled in a deeper way. He went to his commander and told him, “I am a soldier for Christ – I can no longer fight in battle.” (In this, he was the first conscientious objector in history!). He then left the army and began fighting for a different king – fighting for Christ, for souls – as he became a priest and a bishop of Tours, France.

            That idea of being a “soldier for Christ” used to be more common in the Church. Many of you remember that at your confirmation, the Bishop used to give you a gentle slap on the cheek – to make you aware of the need to fight and suffer for Christ.

I was thinking of this image while hearing St. Paul’s words in today’s Second Reading – “Bear your share of hardships for the Gospel.” Soldiers bear all sorts of hardships. They sometimes have to sleep on the battlefield. They risk their lives, facing injury and even death. They are deprived of good food, comfort, and their families. And – if they are good soldiers – they bear all of these difficulties with courage because they remember the reason why they are fighting. Many soldiers would bring pictures of their family and friends with them onto the battlefield, to remind them of why they are enduring such sufferings.

My friends, one must be willing to endure sufferings if you want to follow Jesus Christ. Recently a friend of mine told his parents that he would be joining seminary, since he felt that God was calling him to become a priest. His parents, who don’t have much faith, were so angered by his decision that they fought him and they promised him they would never support his decision. Evan as he carries the burden of his family’s lack of support, he knows that he has to set his face towards the Lord and be unmoved, courageous as a soldier for Christ.

I love playing paintball, which is like being a soldier but with no chance of death! When we play paintball, before the round starts, every team makes a plan – we’re going to go here, run there, cover this building, make a mad dash to their flag. But when the battle actually starts, a lot of times there’s so much craziness and unexpected things happen, and all we can do is keep our goal in mind – reach the flag. If that goal is unshakeable, then we can do courageous things like run into a line of fire, or dive into a trench while being shot at.

In the same way, we all know what we must do to be saints. We must pray, we must practice virtue, we must practice acts of charity. We often make plans to do just that – but then life becomes a chaotic battle! Our day becomes unexpected, we get a flat tire or the kids start getting whiny, there’s an unexpected problem at work or someone picks a fight with us. Only if we keep our eyes on the goal can we press forward in this spiritual battle, and the goal is to be close to Christ, to be holy, to be in Heaven with Him. Focus on this one thing, and you will be a successful soldier for Christ!

Jesus is trying to tell His Apostles the same thing. They have this magnificent vision of Him transfigured in glory – but then He tells them that He will be crucified, rejected, beaten, put to death. Jesus is telling them, “When the battle rages and you are tempted to doubt, to lose faith, to deny Me, to sin – at that time, keep your eyes on Me!”

My friends, if you want to be holy, if you want to be saints, be prepared to do battle. Not a battle of guns, but a battle in the spiritual realm – which is equally as real, and even more deadly, because eternities hang in the balance! But as we fight, as we suffer, as we pray and sacrifice and conquer our temptations through His grace, we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ who has already won the victory!