Lent 3
March 23, 2025
A Dog’s Life
This
might be a strange thought, but don’t dogs just have the easiest life? They
just lie around all day, eating food, chasing squirrels, never having to worry
about paying bills or mothers-in-law. What a life. But at the same time, it’s
kind of a meaningless life. We need something more than food and sleep and
recreation to give us a reason to get out of bed in the morning. We intuitively
know we were made for something more.
Our
Scriptures today give us two beautiful elements of the nobility of the human
person. In the First Reading, we see God introducing Himself to Moses. Of all
the creatures in the universe, human beings alone can have a relationship
with God. This speaks a great deal about who we are – God finds us worthy of
His friendship. We see this capacity written into the heart of every man and
woman who ever lived – for example, every culture in human history has had some
element of worship. A desire to know and love God is so deeply ingrained in who
we are, and it is evidence of our noble calling.
In my
first assignment in Bethel, it was very popular for parishioners to attend a
Walk-A-Thon for cancer research, where they would walk around the high school
track for 24 hours to raise awareness and money. Every year, the pastor and I
would go to celebrate Mass there, so our parishioners could attend. One year we
got there early and attended a beautiful memorial service they were having –
there were pictures projected on a screen from people who had survived cancer,
and people brought up lit candles to symbolize loved ones lost while music
played and speeches were given. At the end of it, my pastor turned to me and
said, “See? Human beings yearn for ritual, because ritual gives us meaning.”
Deeply written in the human heart is the desire for relationship with God.
But
Christianity takes it one step further. Other religions are man’s search for
God, but Christianity is God’s search for man. It is God who takes the
initiative with Moses, and God who takes on flesh in Jesus Christ. We find, not
only the satisfaction of our heart’s desire, but ultimately our dignity and
nobility in our worship of God. As it is often said, “A man never stands taller
than when he kneels before God.”
We see a
second element of that dignity in the Gospel, as Jesus gives this parable of
the fig tree. In Scripture, the fig tree is always an image of Israel, and the
fruit that God expects is the fruit of holiness. Yes, God expects a Christian’s
life to be one rich in good fruits – good deeds, virtues, souls led to Christ.
But rather than seeing this as the demands of a taskmaster, God expects great
things from us because He has entrusted us with powerful tools – the Holy
Spirit, grace, the Sacraments, our Catholic Faith – and wants to see a return
on His investment! He believes that, with His grace, we are capable of great
holiness – what an honor that He expects so much from us!
One of
my favorite movies is “For Greater Glory”, which we watched in our youth group
this past fall. It tells the true story of the Cristeros – an army of men from
Mexico who rose up against their own government to fight for religious freedom
after the Communist Mexican president began persecuting the Church. The
Cristeros had been led by a rather unsuccessful general named General Vega, who
lost many battles. But at a certain point, the central commanders hired a new
general, General Gorostieta, to lead the rebellion. He began to win battles and
win the fight for religious freedom. But at a particularly poignant scene in
the movie, the successful general calls over General Vega, who is disheartened
and fearful, and says to him, “Tomorrow we go into battle, and it will be very
fierce and dangerous. And I’m entrusting its leadership to you. Can you handle
it?” General Vega is surprised, honored – and rises to the occasion, winning a
resounding victory.
We, too,
are in a vicious battle – a battle for souls, a battle for holiness. But God
honors us by expecting great victories from us. He has already equipped us
through the Sacraments, prayer, grace (as it says in Scripture, “God is able,
through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than
we might ask or imagine”) and now He honors us by expecting holiness, virtue,
and souls led to Christ. As St. Therese of Lisieux said, “The greatest honor
God can do a soul is not give it much; but to ask much of it.”
It’s
easy to live a dog’s life. But a dog will never know the nobility of having a
relationship with God. Other than Lassie, no one expects a dog to do great and
noble deeds, or to pray. But God expects both from us – a relationship with
Him, which He Himself initiated; and good works and holiness, which He Himself
equips. Let us not live like an animal or a thoughtless tree – let us live like
the noble, dignified men and women that we are.
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