Homily for Ordinary Time 27 - October 2, 2022

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 27

October 2, 2022

The Incarnational Aspect of Faith

 

            Once when leading a bible study for middle schoolers, we were discussing a part of John’s Gospel where Jesus says, “It is the Spirit Who gives life; the flesh is of no avail.” I asked the kids what they thought it meant. One boy raised his hand and said, “I think it means that it doesn’t matter what you do with your body, as long as you believe in Jesus in your heart.” The boy next to him turned to him, incredulous, and said, “So it doesn’t matter if I punch you in the face?”

            We all had a good laugh, but it made an important point – what we do with our bodies matters. It is in and through our bodies that we do good works or commit sin; it is in and through our bodies that we grow in virtue or descend into vice.

            Our faith is essentially incarnational. God took flesh and was born in a human body, and this sanctified and elevated all of our bodies too. We believe that, as Christians, our bodies are “temples of the Holy Spirit” and thus we should glorify God in every aspect of our physical flesh. St. Paul even urges us to “make our bodies a living sacrifice” – that is, to offer our aches and pains, our recreation and our labor, to the Father as a sacrifice. God doesn’t need sacrifices of goats and calves; rather, He wants us to become a living sacrifice in the flesh. At the end of time, our bodies will rise again in a glorified form, to join in the reward of Heaven or the punishment of Hell.

            The Sacraments show us most clearly the connection between body and soul. Every Sacrament has a physical element – water for baptism, bread and wine which become the Body and Blood of Christ, the oil of chrism on our foreheads for Confirmation. Today’s second reading recounts how Paul ordained Timothy a priest – it was through the “laying on of hands” – it wasn’t just a prayer, but a physical action that sanctified him and actually changed his soul so that he became a priest.

            Even outside of the Sacraments, we have a very tangible faith, filled with things we can see and touch. We call these things sacramentals – objects that remind us of the invisible love of God. Crucifixes, Rosaries, holy water, statues, images, stained-glass windows, scapulars – all of these very physical items are reminders of God’s presence and what He has done for us. We need them in our lives and in our homes. After all, if something is out-of-sight it is often out-of-mind, so we constantly need reminders of who God is, who we are, and what we believe.

            Thus, we come to the Gospel – and we hear the Apostles cry out, “Lord, increase our faith!” Perhaps that’s the cry of your soul, too, if your faith is wavering or unsure. There are many ways to increase our faith (reading and studying the Word of God, more time for daily prayer, reading the Lives of the Saints, coming to the Sacraments more frequently) but one easy way is to fill our lives with concrete reminders of God’s endless presence and love. For too many people, we go Sunday to Sunday without thinking of God in-between…because we have nothing to remind us of Him. But if we have a crucifix in our living room, we remember His presence every time we look at it. If we wear a cross around our neck or a Miraculous Medal (a medal dedicated to Our Lady), then getting dressed in the morning is a reminder that He is with us always. If we carry a Rosary in our pocket, we are reminded to pray every time we reach for our cell phone or car keys. All of a sudden God becomes a part of our daily lives, because we have included physical sacramentals in our daily life. Our soul is shaped by what we put into our five senses.

            You may notice that we have some new furniture in our church – kneelers up front here. Starting this weekend, we have the opportunity to kneel to receive Holy Communion. Kneeling is completely optional – you are still welcome to stand for Communion – but for those who wish, this is a concrete, physical way of showing that we believe that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. The Church as a whole – and certainly here at St. Jude’s – is in need of a Eucharistic revival, where we truly believe with our whole hearts and souls that this is not just a sign or symbol but is truly the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. What better way to strengthen our faith in His Real Presence than to receive Him on our knees, recognizing that it is God Himself that we receive into our bodies. Our physical bodies should express our personal faith in His Real Presence.

            A non-Catholic was once asking a Catholic what he believed about the Eucharist. The Catholic responded that he believed it was truly Jesus Christ Himself – not a sign or symbol, but God hidden under the form of bread. The non-Catholic responded, “If I believed that God physically dwelt in my church, I would crawl into the church on my knees!” A poignant reminder that if we believe He is here, then our physical posture will reflect that reality.

            So, I encourage us, if our knees are good and healthy, to consider receiving Him kneeling. We can receive Him on the tongue, which is the ancient traditional way (another sign of reverence for such an incredible gift), or on the hand. Our faith is expressed through bodily actions, and the most fitting response to the true presence of God is to fall down on our knees and worship Him.