Here is the text of the homily I prepared for the celebration of faith with the gathered community this weekend.
Last weekend, I was in Toronto, visiting with my family. My parents are celebrating their 50th anniversary of Marriage later this year, and the Archbishop of Toronto had invited all married couples who are celebrating major anniversaries this year to attend a special Mass last Sunday, the day which was designated in the Archdiocese of Toronto as Marriage Sunday. Saint Paul’s Basilica in downtown Toronto was filled with couples, some of whom are celebrating 25ths, others 40ths, still others 50ths, and a handful of those marking 60th anniversaries and higher. This was a wonderful opportunity for families to celebrate and to give thanks for the gift of Marriage, and for the ongoing example of faith we have witnessed in the lives of our loved ones.
In today’s gospel passage, Jesus teaches his disciples about the importance of commitment, and faithfulness: unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Scribes were highly educated, revered for their knowledge, and looked up to as models within the community. The Pharisees were those who were responsible for the interpretation of the law. In both cases, these were the people who were supposed to help other Jews to apply the Commandments to daily life, but many people knew that there was corruption within the ranks. Although they knew the law, the scribes and Pharisees didn’t always apply it to themselves in the same degree as they did to others. Jesus was challenging his students: the disciples, to aim higher, to go beyond the requirements of the law, to accept a responsibility to be faithful to their commitment to him and to the life he was calling to live.
As I looked out on the sea of faces that were gathered for that celebration last weekend, I began to wonder about the stories that each of these couples could tell. Whether they had been married for relatively short periods of time or for longer ones, it would be naïve to think that every day of their lives was filled with joy, and roses and sunshine. The truth is that Marriage, like any vocation, is hard work. There are days when a husband will look at his wife (and vice versa), and not really like what he or she sees, but each day, a husband and a wife make a choice to be married. Each day, a priest makes a choice to do his best to be an instrument of compassion and healing, each day, committed Christians make choices to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and to strive to imitate him in modeling the love of the Father. In all these cases, we cannot live this commitment without prayer, without divine assistance and without the presence of a supportive community. The prophet Sirach says that if we choose, we can keep the commandments, but Jesus challenges us to go further, to not only observe the law, but to find the reason for our joy in doing so. How do we do that? Certainly not without prayer, without faith, without trust in God, in his son Jesus and in the lived witness of others who have paved the way for us and who model the life of faith and the virtues of forgiveness and love for us.
Saint Paul reminds us that we must speak God’s wisdom. That means that we must first seek to know God's wisdom, a wisdom that cannot be found in the efforts of human beings alone. God's wisdom cannot be found in the counsel of the leaders of our time, but it can be discovered if we strive to look beyond the visible and tangible realities that surround us and if we are constantly listening in prayer for God's guidance. To be truthful, God’s wisdom is often found in human weakness: in the realization that all of us are mortal, that none of us is perfect, that there will be moments, perhaps days and even longer periods of challenge in every life, but that God is always ready to share with us the divine gift of forgiveness, and we too should always be willing to forgive; that God is always willing to heal the wounds that so often divide us, and we too should be willing to bring healing whenever and wherever possible. No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived the gifts that God has prepared for us, but with God's help and through the maternal protection and guidance of the Blessed Virgin, we can discover more deeply the gifts that God has prepared for us, the graces He willingly offers us. May we always remain open to God's wisdom and marvel at His presence in our lives.
Righteousness that exceeds
Last weekend, I was in Toronto, visiting with my family. My parents are celebrating their 50th anniversary of Marriage later this year, and the Archbishop of Toronto had invited all married couples who are celebrating major anniversaries this year to attend a special Mass last Sunday, the day which was designated in the Archdiocese of Toronto as Marriage Sunday. Saint Paul’s Basilica in downtown Toronto was filled with couples, some of whom are celebrating 25ths, others 40ths, still others 50ths, and a handful of those marking 60th anniversaries and higher. This was a wonderful opportunity for families to celebrate and to give thanks for the gift of Marriage, and for the ongoing example of faith we have witnessed in the lives of our loved ones.
In today’s gospel passage, Jesus teaches his disciples about the importance of commitment, and faithfulness: unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Scribes were highly educated, revered for their knowledge, and looked up to as models within the community. The Pharisees were those who were responsible for the interpretation of the law. In both cases, these were the people who were supposed to help other Jews to apply the Commandments to daily life, but many people knew that there was corruption within the ranks. Although they knew the law, the scribes and Pharisees didn’t always apply it to themselves in the same degree as they did to others. Jesus was challenging his students: the disciples, to aim higher, to go beyond the requirements of the law, to accept a responsibility to be faithful to their commitment to him and to the life he was calling to live.
As I looked out on the sea of faces that were gathered for that celebration last weekend, I began to wonder about the stories that each of these couples could tell. Whether they had been married for relatively short periods of time or for longer ones, it would be naïve to think that every day of their lives was filled with joy, and roses and sunshine. The truth is that Marriage, like any vocation, is hard work. There are days when a husband will look at his wife (and vice versa), and not really like what he or she sees, but each day, a husband and a wife make a choice to be married. Each day, a priest makes a choice to do his best to be an instrument of compassion and healing, each day, committed Christians make choices to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and to strive to imitate him in modeling the love of the Father. In all these cases, we cannot live this commitment without prayer, without divine assistance and without the presence of a supportive community. The prophet Sirach says that if we choose, we can keep the commandments, but Jesus challenges us to go further, to not only observe the law, but to find the reason for our joy in doing so. How do we do that? Certainly not without prayer, without faith, without trust in God, in his son Jesus and in the lived witness of others who have paved the way for us and who model the life of faith and the virtues of forgiveness and love for us.
Saint Paul reminds us that we must speak God’s wisdom. That means that we must first seek to know God's wisdom, a wisdom that cannot be found in the efforts of human beings alone. God's wisdom cannot be found in the counsel of the leaders of our time, but it can be discovered if we strive to look beyond the visible and tangible realities that surround us and if we are constantly listening in prayer for God's guidance. To be truthful, God’s wisdom is often found in human weakness: in the realization that all of us are mortal, that none of us is perfect, that there will be moments, perhaps days and even longer periods of challenge in every life, but that God is always ready to share with us the divine gift of forgiveness, and we too should always be willing to forgive; that God is always willing to heal the wounds that so often divide us, and we too should be willing to bring healing whenever and wherever possible. No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived the gifts that God has prepared for us, but with God's help and through the maternal protection and guidance of the Blessed Virgin, we can discover more deeply the gifts that God has prepared for us, the graces He willingly offers us. May we always remain open to God's wisdom and marvel at His presence in our lives.
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