33rd Sunday OT
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
OLR, NOLA
Jesus
makes us an ugly promise. We will be betrayed by brothers and
sisters, mothers and fathers. We will be arrested and persecuted;
tried before courts and governors; sent to prison and even executed.
We ask Jesus, “Why, Lord?” He answers, “Because of my name.”
Because you have heard his Word and answered. Because you have
repented and received his mercy. Because you have seen and heard and
because you bear witness. His name – Christ Jesus – causes this
world to recoil in disgust. This world cannot bear to hear the name
of Christ b/c the ruler of this world cannot love or forgive or hope
or trust. Power and the corruption power breeds is the lifeblood of
this world. Christ, who preaches surrender to God and sacrificial
love for others, is deadly poison to those who cannot bear to see
their will thwarted. “The day is coming, [says the Lord], blazing
like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble,
and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them
neither root nor branch.” But before that day comes, those who
claim the name of Christ will be sorely tested. Those who persevere
will pass the test; “not a hair on your head will be destroyed.”
Now,
if all this sounds a bit dreary, a little too much doom and gloom, we
can find some comfort in the fact that these prophecies have been
coming to pass since the Resurrection. That is, Christians have been
persecuted, tortured, and executed all over the world by the world
since the first Easter morning. None of this new. We aren't waiting
for the Last Days to arrive. They're here. And they've been here
since the stone was rolled away from Jesus' empty tomb. Our
fundamentalist Protestant friends see the “Last Days” as a future
event, happening sometime soon, so they spend a great deal of time
looking for biblical clues and matching those clues to world events
in order to find out when the Big Day will happen. The Church has
always known that Christ's resurrection marks the beginning of these
Last Days. So, rather than waste our time with dodgy biblical
timelines, we look to history and find that the Church always
survives when the world decides to try her. The Church survives b/c
her members persist in holding tight to the name of Christ Jesus.
When the world offers power, prestige, and applause, those who
persevere in Christ respond with fidelity, hope, and sacrificial
love. When the world persecutes us, we respond by testifying to
Christ's saving power.
We
could call this testimony a form of bearing witness. By word and deed
in our daily lives we reveal the saving power of Christ to others. We
might also think of our testimony as a form of spiritual warfare. By
word and deed in our daily lives we battle the worldly powers to
expose their emptiness, their hopelessness, and their death-dealing
schemes. Lest we come to think that this spiritual warfare is
conducted between a great army of Good and another of Evil, remember:
the only spiritual battle that matters in the end is the one you
conduct within yourself. This kind of war isn't nearly as sexy and
exciting as going up against the Forces of Evil with nothing but a
rosary and a crucifix, but, alas, Jesus didn't consult any Hollywood
producers before he prophesied how the world would treat his
followers. We will have to be content with battling our own demons
internally, and do all we can to help our brothers and sisters do the
same. And this is where perseverance comes in. It ain't about winning
the war. The war is won. On the cross, Jesus won the war. My battle,
your battle is to persevere in faith, hope, and charity. To hang
tough against every temptation to sin. Against every offer to betray
your supernatural end in Christ.
“You
will be hated by all because of my name but [. . .] By your
perseverance you will secure your lives.” We were warned more than
2,000 years ago. We wear the name of Christ Jesus. We are branded his
and belong to him body and soul. Because of this, the world hates us.
And the world loves nothing more than to watch us hate ourselves. If
it can convince you to forget or compromise or dilute the Truth
Christ died to give you, then it has a victory. Not a cosmic victory.
Just a victory over you. The great servant of Satan, Screwtape, says
that his boss' best weapon against the Christian is “contented
worldliness,” an attitude of self-assured, self-satisfied
preoccupation with the passing stuff of this world. What better way
to tempt you into forgetfulness or compromise than to tempt you into
being fully satisfied with what cannot endure. Anchor your life in
this world, and you will pass when it passes. Remember that you
belong to Christ – body and soul – and when the tests come, and
they will, you will persevere.
Follow HancAquam or Subscribe ----->
