Blessed

Below is a homily that I wrote for the folks at Calhoun State Prison a few weeks ago.


Blessed


By Michael Leach

How blessed are we? Sometimes we recognize when we are blessed. Like when we sneeze, there is usually someone around to hear it and they respond “bless you”. Sometimes we are blessed and never know as much. There could be some terrible danger lurking around the corner and for whatever reason we go another way. The Israelites were held as slaves by Pharaoh and used for manual labor. This went on for many generations. God blessed them with Moses and allowed them to be led out of slavery, out of captivity into … where? Where were they delivered too? I could just imagine their initial excitement. To be a free people again! Then to wander around the dessert for days on end… weeks on end... years on end. What were they to eat? God will provide and God has provided. They had “Whatchamacallit”. Anybody here remember that candy bar? The whatchamacallit? The manufacturer, the Hershey Company, didn’t quite know what to call it at first. Their marketing department decided on “whatchamacallit” as a marketing scheme. It worked quite well for them. Actually, the Israelites where blessed with something called referred to as, manna from heaven. Manna is described twice in the bible. The book of Exodus 16: 1-36 and Numbers 11:1-9. Exodus says that manna is “a fine, flake-like thing” and shows up like hoarfrost on the ground. Hoarfrost is something that you may be familiar with. It is just patchy dusty frost that shows up on a cold clear night. The book of Numbers says “Manna was like coriander seed and had the appearance of bdellium. When they had gone about and gathered it up, the people would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar, then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves, with a rich creamy taste.” Exodus says that raw manna tastes like wafers that had been made with honey. That doesn’t sound too bad, but it doesn’t sound too good either. Manna literally means “what is this”. I just can’t imagine eating it day in and day out for years on end. The Israelites are starting to wonder if this will ever end. They forget that they were delivered from slavery and they were blessed daily by God.

I imagine none of you wants to be here in this place. But for some of you, you have been delivered from the slavery of addictions. Addictions to drugs or alcohol or whatever else. Some of you have found the Love of God in this place. Some of you take the time to reflect on and study God’s word daily for many hours a day, which can be difficult on the outside. I’m not trying to glorify your position in this institution, I’m just trying to bring up some opportunities that you have because you are here.

In the first reading from Isaiah the point is being made about how God provides. He opened a way in the sea for their departure from Egypt. He provides a way through the dessert always providing with water and nourishment. All of this for a people who he formed for himself. The psalmist proclaims that the Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy. In the midst of our tears the Lord hears us. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing. Saint Paul tells us that nothing of this earth can compare to the good… the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus. I think what is amazing about Saint Paul is that he is continually working on his relationship with Jesus Christ. You would think that they were pretty tight. Jesus knocked him off of his horse and they had a conversation, he had a conversion… Saint Paul was on the right track. Started out on the wrong track but was set straight. And yet he still says that he is working on his salvation. He says “It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I for my part

do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.” Saint Paul says that he can’t be content with what he has done, but with what is to come. It is good… always good to have had a relationship with Jesus. It is more important to continue to work on that relationship. Think of your Christian life as a swim up river. Unless you are making progress by actively swimming upstream, you will be taken back downstream. Just pausing in the river will send you back. One of the seven deadly sins is sloth. I’ve never truly understood sloth until recently. Fr Robert Barron has put out a dvd series called the seven deadly sins and the seven lively virtues. Sloth has to do with boredom or indifference to things of God. It is not the same thing as laziness or being lazy. A person can be full of energy to discuss politics, be a work-o-holic, be full of energy for other topics but still not have an interest in God. It is not the fact of not believing in God, it is being comfortable with where you currently are and no interest in going any further. It is a spiritual laziness. The antedote for sloth is zeal. Pray fervently to God for guidance. Ask God specifically what he wants for you. Ask God to give you direction in your life. Look at some examples from the bible on spiritual direction. When the angel told Mary that she would bear Christ, she first said yes, then broke the news to Joseph and then immediately left to go visit Elizabeth. She had a mission. When Jesus was baptized, He immediately went in to the desert to pray and to fast. Jesus had a mission. You, my brothers in Christ, have a mission. God has a plan for you and your life. Every single solitary person on this planet has a plan although they may not know it yet. You need to ask for the plan and listen for the response. Sometimes God will not tell you directly, He will send other people your way to give you stuff to do. He may need you to comfort someone around you. He may need you to do some job or task. He may want you to fail at whatever you are doing so you can grow in Him.

Now we finally come to the Gospel. Jesus tells us about the woman who was caught in adultery and was to be stoned to death. The Pharisees wanted to test Jesus and see if he would condemn the woman who broke the law, which is punishable by death. Jesus asked the Pharisees to let the one among them who has not sinned cast the first stone. One by one they walked away, for all have sinned. We are all sinners and therefore deserve nothing. But God in his infinite wisdom and mercy and love sent his only begotten Son to us, to become human, to take on all of our sins and to die for them.

So, I say that we are truly blessed. We are blessed by God’s Love for us. We are blessed that God is ever present, ever loyal, ever loving, ever forgiving & everlasting. God is waiting for you. All you have to do is knock and ask.