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The Nature of Glory (See previous chapter in this series) (See next chapter in this series... forthcoming)
Homily
The Nature of Glory
At today’s homily, I am going to need your help. Your help, because I have a number of difficult things to accomplish. First, I have to embark on a theme, that of self-emptying, a Christ-like quality, the obtaining of which I am yet far from. Second, I need to welcome to our parish home those guests who have come from afar to participate in a German Mass, enjoy a hearty Oktoberfest meal, relish the beautiful voices of the Choral concert, tour the Church, and so forth. Third, I have speak to you in my error-ridden German! And so, for the first, on self-emptying, I entrust myself to your prayers. For the second, the hearty welcome, I entrust myself to your gracious kindness. For the third, I only have the Westfalien to blame, as they were the ones among whom I resided while I studied German. For now then, here in the middle of the Mass, taking in the beauty of the Gothic building and the magnificent floor and ceiling, wood and glass, saints and angels, let us turn to the Word of God with great interior silence, and meditate on the message of today’s scripture readings. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[1] So says the Lord. He is, in fact, the “Son of Man.” This mysterious title, “Son of Man,” “bar (’e) nāšā’, ” or “oJ uJio;~ tou` ajnqrwvpou,” was not first said in the Gospel of Mark, it goes way back to the book of Daniel, a mysterious image about the coming Messiah. Jesus is the servant Messiah, who humbly declares to be the Son of Man rather than the Son of God, while he was in fact both. Jesus deserved all the glory of all the angels and saints in heaven, but he forfeited all that to take our mortal flesh upon himself, to persuade us to embrace our salvation, by faith and the renunciation of our sins. St. Gregory of Nazianz wrote in 380 on the Incarnation, stating the following which goes to today’s point: “[When men by their sins] were in greater need of help, greater help was given them… To his own image [the Word, the Son of God] came, and took on flesh for the sake of flesh… purifying like by Like… He came forth as God with that which He had assumed, one from two opposites, flesh and spirit, of which the one was deifying, the other deified.”[2] All of this is the great self-emptying of God. St. Paul describes Jesus, as he “who, being in very form God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very form of a servant.”[3] This self-emptying creates a paradox, that he who is the glorious “High Priest,” is also one who can “sympathize”[4] with us sinners. The reality of this paradox is the truth which saves the repentant soul from his sin, and sets the example for all Christians to follow. And more recently, the Second Vatican Council proclaimed this teaching, part of the unchanging faith of the Church, by saying, “Christ entered this world to give witness to the truth, to rescue and not to damn, to serve and not to be served.”[5] History has seen great examples of those who have followed Jesus in his self emptying. There are many who shed their blood for Christ, the martyrs, to whom Jesus refers in today’s Gospel reading, equating their martyrdom to the saving waters of Baptism.[6] St. Francis of Assisi renounced all his family wealth to live as a beggar, to empty himself. Millions of monks, nuns, hermits, and religious have lived completely self-sacrificial lives for the love of souls. I can say even in this parish, I have seen a multitude of selfless acts, even in the preparation of today’s festivities, the donation of time and funds and effort and work, never with as much thanks as each deserves. All this selflessness is Christ-like. For the Lord teaches us to love until we simply forget about ourselves, until we love God the Holy Trinity above all things and our neighbor as ourselves.
Let us this week, then, until next Sunday at least – yet hopefully our whole
lives long! – strive to empty ourselves out of love for God and neighbor; God
first, then neighbor second. Let us renounce temptations to have things my way,
to push around family members or co-workers or classmates, to immediately
satisfy the first demands of our passions. Rather, let us be like Jesus Christ,
and empty ourselves, uniting our self-sacrifice to his salvific self-sacrifice,
with the aid of his most holy and powerful grace. Let us be considerate with
others, say nothing negative but only what is constructive, to praise our
neighbor instead of criticizing him, to go out of our way to pursue another
person’s goals instead of our own. This we can only do with the help of the
Lord, to whom we entrust our souls. Amen. |