Deacon Bruce Maltzen's Homily for May 9, 2010 6th SUNDAY in EASTER, CYCLE C
Being Mother’s Day – I need to tell you a story that both exemplifies the Gospel words, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our dwelling with them.” And the story lets us hear of the qualities of motherhood.
This woman was married early in life to a man of some means and influence. The man was not a Christian and though he said he believed in God, his religion was no more than a name. He had a violent temper and was not what we’d call an example of chastity and charity. The woman was a devote Christian and gave generously to the poor and spent generous amounts of time in prayer for her children and her husband. These habits annoyed her husband, but also made him hold her in reverence as he saw something in her that he wished he could be.
By her sweetness and patience she gathered other women around her who suffered as she did and taught them how to follow Christ more closely.
She had 3 children, a boy and two girls. Her husband refused to have the children baptized. The boy grew up to lead a lazy, wayward life. The woman continued to pray for all her children and her husband, but especially for her son. Eventually, her husband, seeing his wife’s peace and steadfastness in faith, became a Christian. Her son traveled away for his studies and fell into group where he began to commit grievous sins.
Later he joined a group who went so far as to present heresy as the true faith. When he came home from his studies abroad, he continued to profess these heresies at home. She made him leave the home, as she would not accept that at her table. Later, in prayer, she felt that she was supposed to call him back to her. After seventeen years of adulthood in continual resistance to her requests and prayers, the son finally yielded and was baptized. Her steadfastness in faith and prayer led him to write a book about his life, faith and conversion which is revered in the church today. She is St. Monica and her son is St. Augustine. The book he wrote is “Confessions”
She is a true example of being a Christian mother on this day when we extol all mothers.
--------------------
Now back to our gospel. An important concept in Christianity is the fact this world is not our home. Yes, we were born here, and we live out our natural lives here in this world, and we pay property taxes here—usually a sure sign that this is home. But the real us, our minds and souls and spirits rather than our physical flesh and bones, will not rest until we are with our Almighty Creator in Heaven for all eternity.
We are just passing through this world, strangers in a strange land. So Christians who understand this concept accept the fact we will never be able to experience perfect peace and serenity as long as we are in this fallen world. There is simply too much pain and suffering and despair and death.
Now, in the Gospel reading, Jesus tells the disciples and us
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”
By this he states that the peace He gives us is radically different than our concepts of peace. What we consider peace and what God considers peace are two different things. For us, peace means not to have conflict, to not be at war, or to not have conflict or arguments with neighbors or family. But Christ called us into conflict with the world. He told us that He came to divide. He sends us into conflict. Still, God gives us peace. A different peace, this is a peace within each of us, a peace that only comes through union with Him. That peace would be a lack of fear about the future, a quietness of heart that is based upon a deep relationship with God.
We are not to be troubled. We are not to be afraid. How many times did Pope John Paul say that to us, “Do not be afraid”. Rather we are called to embrace the Lord and His Way. Then the Father and Son will love us, come to us and make their dwelling with us.
But we are afraid. We are afraid that if we abandon our pre-conceived notions of happiness we will be left with nothing. So we work like dogs not merely to provide for our families, but to purchase happiness. Isn’t that the message of our materialistic society? Happiness can be bought. Or can it? It takes a huge step to trust God to bring us happiness.
Life here on earth certainly is not pure torture, with every waking moment filled with despair and pain. It’s just that we all long for perfect peace and serenity, a feeling that everything, both in our personal lives and in our community, is safe and in harmony. A situation where there is no strife, no stress, and no worries—and never will be again. That is PERFECT peace. Deep down we all want it, and deep down we all know that whatever peace we do experience in this world will be either very fleeting or artificially induced. (Why do you think alcohol manufacturers are so wealthy and drug dealing is so lucrative? People crave comfort and serenity, even if it’s extremely temporary.)
The fact is we CAN experience peace and serenity in this world. Mind you, it won’t be the perfect and everlasting peace that awaits us in Heaven. Instead it will be a sample, a small taste of the wonderful peace and comfort and joy that we will experience forever. And the peace we can have in this world is a lot more real than the artificially induced type—plus you won’t have a hangover the next morning.
The important point is that this peace comes only from Jesus. He calls it “my peace,” and says “I leave (it) with you.” If we don’t look to Him for this peace, we’re not going to find it. And it makes sense if you think about it. Our hearts crave that perfect peace found only in Heaven. It only stands to reason that the One who came from Heaven is the only One who can give us a foretaste of that type of peace here on earth.
Finally, we must note that Jesus clearly says that His peace is “not as the world gives.” And before we continue, let’s be clear about the definition of “the world.” When speaking of “world” or “worldly,” Jesus means the secular value system that is focused on short-term physical pleasure, power, and prestige. It is a view that ignores the eternal truths of Heaven and mankind’s spiritual dimension—our need for a relationship with our Creator. In short, the values of the “world” are selfish and shallow and unfulfilling and therefore – even if we get to experience the world’s peace, we will never see it as such.
The world offers many enticements, all of which promise to provide peace and comfort and happiness. But it’s all a lie. These promises couldn’t be more false if they came via unsolicited email from a supposedly former high-ranking finance minister in the Nigerian government who wants to transfer several million dollars into your account to hold, if you’d only send him your account number and social security number. Just think of some of the worldly things people chase after today:
We look for comfort in food. Instead we get obesity and poor health.
We look for fulfillment in casual sex. Instead we get disease, shattered emotions, destroyed families, and oftentimes death.
We look for security in money. Instead we get worry, exhaustion, and the all-too-common paranoia that comes with trying to hold on to the wealth we have.
We look for prestige in being beautiful. Instead we become obsessed with appearances and depressed that the aging process cannot be stopped.
The peace that Jesus gives can be ours—IF we realize it is based on His view of reality, not the false view promoted by “the world.” And it’s not a complicated formula. We simply need to stop focusing on ourselves for a change and, instead, focus on Christ and bask in the love He offers us, we will have peace.
A great Christian paradox is that we will never be happy if we are focused on happiness; we will never be at peace if all we think about is finding peace. You see, happiness and peace are by-products of being in a proper relationship with the Lord.
We must deny ourselves—stop being so self-centered all the time and stop comparing ourselves to others so often. If we look upward to Jesus, rather than inward to ourselves, and focus on Him, we will have peace and serenity. It won’t be the overwhelming PERFECT peace and serenity that await us in Heaven, but it will be a whole lot better than the false promises of this world.
Your brother in Christ,
Deacon Bruce
