Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 15, 2018
Fr. Albert St. Peter’s, New Iberia
It’s true, I do like challenging people from the pulpit. Not because I like conflict or controversy – I don’t – but because it affects people. It moves them and it, hopefully, invites them to grow, to rise up to the challenge. For the last two weeks, I’ve been pretty blunt and challenging. It’s what the readings called for and what came in prayer.
Well, what about this week? Jesus sends out his Apostles, he gives them a mission. And what is that mission? The same as John the Baptist and Jesus himself. John the Baptist showed up preaching a baptism of repentance. The first words of Jesus are “repent and believe in the Gospel.” The Apostles are no different. They preached repentance. The Good News, the Gospel, always starts with this same thing: repentance.
But that doesn’t have to be a bad word. Consider what else the Apostles do. They drive out demons. They heal sick people. Who doesn’t want to get rid of demons? Who doesn’t like being healed? Well, then, we have to ask ourselves, who doesn’t like repenting of their sins? Ask Amos, the prophet in our first reading. Amaziah wants Amos and his preaching of repentance to go away. But he must follow God.
Obedience to the prophetic call is good. Remember, the Gospel is “good news;” It gives us a better way to understand reality, a better way to understand ourselves. That’s why this Gospel passage associates repentance with healing and exorcism. It’s word association. First, see how sin compares to disease; it is the sickness of the soul. Genuine repentance can bring as much joy as being cure of cancer.
Have you ever met a recovering alcoholic that’s been sober for years? They know sin is a disease, they almost enjoy admitting their faults and relying on Christ. It’s like that with anyone who has overcome an addiction. If it’s not a chemical dependence, what about addiction to television, to our smartphones, or the internet or television? We sit down to catch up with a friend, get some work done, or we even try to sleep and then hours can pass before we realize we’ve never even begun. Does that make us happy? [Does Fortnite and Instagram really make us happy?] Sin and worldliness make us too sick and weak to do what we truly want. And if it’s not that, then think about your worst habit, your biggest fault. Would you not enjoy getting rid of it? Being free?
Yes, sin is like a sickness and all of us need the healing of repentance. But healing is not the only comparison the Gospel makes for us. Demonic possession is real and it is terrible. Like a disease, sin weakens our souls and makes us sick. Like possession, sin also enslaves us. Demonic possession puts you under the power of the evil one. It steals your body and uses it to serve the devil.
A life of sin also serves the devil. It darkens our minds. It makes us susceptible to the Devil’s plan instead of God’s. The devil is the father of lies and he uses lies to make us serve him. You can see it on both side of the political spectrum in groups like pro-abortion activists or white supremacists. Many of them actually think they are working to make the world better, but they serve the devil.
Some of them may well be possessed by a demon, but it always comes back to sin. We should blame ourselves. Our sins make it that much harder for us to see the truth and for others to see the truth. So, not only do we lose time and energy to bad habits, but we can actually lose the right to call ourselves “good people.” Sin enslaves us to evil.
Look to those who have been freed from this slavery. Someone possessed by a demon is glad to be free. So also, someone who serves the devil by a life of sin should be glad to repent and serve God. Abortion was legalized by the Supreme Court case, Roe vs. Wade. Roe was in favor of abortion. Well, that woman changed her mind and opposed all abortion. Once a servant of evil and error, she was freed and zealously served the truth, fighting against the kingdom of darkness she helped to establish. Just as being freed from possession is a relief and a joy, so repenting from a life of serving evil is a relief and a joy. Just like an exorcism, however, the process can really hurt. But is it not worth it?
What, then, does the word “repentance” mean to you? When you hear the word, do you cringe? Do you consider it a challenge? Even so, I hope and I pray that when I preach repentance, people see it for what it is: a gift like healing or exorcism. Truly, it’s even better. Neither possession nor sickness can cause someone to go to hell. But sin can.
Even more than avoiding that horrifying reality, to preach repentance is, at it’s very core, a message of hope. It is proclaiming the reliability of God. It is healing and freedom, a vote of confidence in God, but also in you. Your life is more than news stories, gossip, and video games. You can really be free. I’ve been there, at the brink of despair because nothing I did with my life seemed to matter and because my sins had so dominated my life. I knew the theology, I knew about judgment, heaven, and hell, but I was still a slave. It was not until I really heard the message of repentance that that changed.
Repentance. What is the image it conjures up? A man in anguish, exerting all his willpower to make himelf better? Listen closely, really hear the Gospel. Repentance. It is hope. When we hear this word, we ought to think of hope in the same way that being freed from a demon or healed of a disease brings us hope. Repentance is discovery of a life beyond your sickness and your false ideas. It is the discovery of a God who loves you, not because you stopped sinning, but who loves you precisely so that you can stop.
When you hear the words “repent and believe,” do not hear them as darkness and pain, but as hope. Pray with the psalm “I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD —for he proclaims peace.” Recognize God’s kindness, his loving call when I say it to you. When God says to you, through me his unworthy prophet, “repent and believe,” hear him and say “Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.”