Lent 2 - Truly Awesome

 

Homily for Lent 2

March 5, 2023

Totally Awesome

 

            One of the challenges of working with youth is that the lingo changes so much. Many of you remember when good things were groovy or hip, which then became rad or wicked, and now something that’s good is lit or fire. It can be hard to keep up! This past weekend I was speaking with some teen girls who were telling me about their friendship drama. I said to them, “Oh, do spill the tea!”, which means to share more information. One of the girls just gave me a look and said, “Father, come on. That is so 2018.”

            But one word that has kept its power is the word “awesome”. A really good party is awesome, you can have awesome teachers and an awesome movie and an awesome slice of pizza. It’s almost a throwaway word for anything that is really, really good.

            But think of what the word actually means. It means we are full of awe, wonder, and amazement at this thing. This thing is astonishing and breathtaking. Now, I’ve had really good pizza, but I can’t say I’ve ever been full of wonder or amazement at a slice of pizza.

            In today’s Gospel we see something that is truly awesome: the transfigured glory of Jesus Christ. For His entire time on earth, He had hidden His glory, but now for one brief moment the veil drops and He is seen for Who He truly is. And the disciples’ reaction is so telling – they fall on their faces, trembling and afraid. In the presence of the Creator who sculpted the stars and the mighty mountains, the conqueror of death, the Eternal One, the only proper response is awe.

            As Catholics, our faith is often both-and. Both Scripture and Tradition. Both faith and good works. Both fasting and feasting. And here, in the transfigured glory of Jesus Christ, we see another important both-and…Jesus is both our closest friend and our majestic Lord; He desires an intimate relationship with us, and He obliges us to worship Him as God. It’s a both-and.

            So, as we pursue God, we also recognize that our relationship with Him must be one of adoration as well as love. Let’s get practical about three areas where we can show our awe and reverence before the mighty power of the Lord.

            The first is in regards to His Name. It says in Scripture that “at the Name of Jesus, every knee will bow.” The Name of Jesus has the incredible power to bring nations to their knees. At the Name of Jesus, demons flee. A name isn’t just a word, it’s an entire identity and everything wrapped up in it. Think about the various emotions, thoughts, and memories that arise in your heart when you hear the word, “Mom”. Likewise, to use the Name of God is to invoke Him, praise Him, adore Him.

            So how can we be in awe of His Name? An old tradition, which needs to make a comeback, is to bow our heads whenever anyone says the Names of Jesus or Mary. Also, of course, to make sure that we do not use His Name irreverently. Some people struggle with saying, “Oh my…” and it can become a real habit. It that’s the case, the best way to stop it is to say immediately afterward, out loud, “Blessed be His Name.” Not only will that make up for the harm of using His Name in vain, it is also so embarrassing that we will quickly abandon the habit!

            But what do we do if our friends taking God’s Name in vain? Nobody wants to be “that guy” who tells others to quit it. When I was in high school I asked a priest what he recommended, and he told me to try using humor. So if someone says, “Oh my…” we can respond, “It’s nice to hear that you’re finally praying,” or “Hey, don’t talk about my best friend like that!” It makes people think – and hopefully respect His Name!

            A second way to be in awe of the Lord is to trust Him when things don’t go our way. Recently I was praying fervently for someone’s healing. All of us who were praying were confident that God would grant it. But then they went to the doctor and received bad news. I must admit, it shook my faith a bit, and I questioned why God would allow it. But later that day, I opened my Bible and my eyes fell upon the following passage from Isaiah:  My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, So high are my ways above your ways, And my thoughts above your thoughts. As a creature, I am not blessed with the perspective that God has, as He sees all of human history in one glance. So our role is to trust Him, confident that our lives are in His providential, loving Hands.

            A final way to live out awe in the presence of the Lord is in our relationship with the Eucharist. What appears to be ordinary bread is truly, substantially the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Risen Lord. The same reaction that the Apostles had to the radiant glory of Christ should be our reaction when we approach His True Presence.

            One time, St. Dominic Savio, the schoolboy who became a saint at 15 years old, came to see a Eucharistic procession through the town of Turin, Italy. It had just rained and the streets were muddy, but as the priest holding the Eucharist passed by, Dominic fell to his knees, heedless of the mud. Standing next to him was a devout businessman dressed in his finest suit. He was respectfully praying but didn’t want to get muddy. When Dominic noticed this, he pulled out his handkerchief and laid it on the mud, indicating that the man should kneel on it. The businessman was struck by the boy’s reverence, and quickly knelt in the mud, ashamed that he was more concerned about his clothing than about adoring our Eucharistic Lord.

            So what practical ways should we reverence the Eucharist? An old custom that should return is that whenever we pass a Catholic Church while driving on the road, we make the sign of the Cross and mentally greet our Eucharistic Lord Who is reserved within. Certainly we reverence Him by the way we receive Him – if you are physically able, I do encourage you to fall to your knees to receive Him here on the kneeler, and even on the tongue if you’re comfortable doing that. Certainly the way we act and dress in Church shows our reverence to Him – we recognize that we are not in a social hall or a movie theater, but we are at the very doors of Heaven. That’s not just a pious sentiment – it’s an actual, though invisible, reality. Hence, let all mortal flesh be silent, dressed in our “Sunday best”, and prepared to meet Him.

            And of course most importantly is to make sure our souls are clean for such a wondrous Divine Guest. We must make sure that we have no mortal sin on our soul – mortal sins such as drunkenness, intentionally missing Sunday Mass, or sins of impurity – before we receive the Gift of Gifts. If we do have the misfortune of having such a sin on our soul, we must have that sin washed away in Confession – which is being offered after Mass this weekend! If we could see Him in the Eucharist with our eyes, we would fall down and tremble at such majesty…but we see Him with our faith, and thus bring ourselves, believing, into His Eucharistic presence.

            At the end of our lives, we will see Jesus in His transfigured glory. On that day, we will do as Peter, James and John did – we will fall down on our faces, in awe and wonder. If we have not reverenced Him on earth, we will have reason to fear His mighty justice. But if we have loved and adored Him here, then we have hope that He will stand before us as a merciful Savior and Friend.