Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time C.
August 12, 2007. Our Lady of Grace 5:15 and 9:30AM.
Wisdom 18: 6-9. Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-49. Luke 12: 32-48.
On Monday we had the funeral of a four year old. It was a very difficult experience for all
present and for me personally.
Little Sylvie had been born with a defective heart.
There was doubt whether she would survive the birth process. From the very first moments after birth she
endured high powered medical care and a frantic search for an infant heart
donor. After the transplant
Sylvie became a pretty normal little girl up until a few days ago when a rare
kind of rejection appeared from nowhere.
Sylvie died on her fourth birthday.
The first words that her parents said to me when we were planning the
funeral were very moving. They
said, “Sylvie was not expected to live at the beginning of her life. She died very unexpectedly and much too
soon, but in between Sylvie had almost four years of a very normal life. She was almost never sick and she was a very
happy and positive little girl.
She could have spent her short life as an invalid, but she did not. She lived her young life to the full. We are very grateful for the four years we
had with our little girl.”
Jesus said, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,
for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your belongings and give alms.
Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear
out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth
destroy. For where your
treasure is, there also will you heart be.”
I am sure that Sylvie’s family will have many painful
memories in the days ahead.
They may even have bouts of anger and confusion about why their little girl
died. Many normal and expected
feelings will compete for their hearts.
The thoughts and feelings that they hang onto and nurture in their hearts will
have a powerful influence on who they will be as a couple and as a family in
the future. Love for their daughter can lead them to thanksgiving as the
deepest feeling buried under their loss and their pain.
Love for their daughter could lead to anger and bitterness. Jesus advises us to sell our belongings and trust
in him. The hardest belongings
to sell or let go of are the things, good or bad, that we treasure in our
hearts. The kingdom
of God or the dominion of
the Evil One is truly within us.
We may be carrying within us a tremendous burden of
resentment, of anger, pride, or hurt or of self-importance, or a poor self
image or a million other things.
To follow Jesus in true freedom we may need to sell and strip ourselves of the
negative and hurtful things that are occupying our attention and have in fact
become the deepest treasure of our hearts.
It doesn’t really matter if we believe that other people are responsible for
the unhelpful feelings and attitudes we treasure within us. If the things that we hang onto and treasure
in our hearts enslave us, then the problem is ours and the way to freedom is
our responsibility alone. The hell we live in may be one that we have chosen to
live in even when others walk away from us because they know that we are
trapped in our own hearts. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid any longer, little
flock, for you Father is pleased to give you the kingdom… Sell your belongings
and give alms…for where your treasure is there you heart will be.”
When Abraham was an old man, God challenged him to leave his
country and his former life behind and to seek out a new land and a new
identity, with trust in God as the source of his wisdom and his strength. The second reading says, “By faith
Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive
as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was going.” He let go of the past and
embraced the future knowing only that God can be trusted.
Having a child had always been very important to Abraham and Sarah. As a
reward for selling what they had and setting out for an unknown land God gave
them a son, Isaac. Then
God asked for the son back. Even though Abraham was very confused by the
request and deeply troubled in mind and heart he decided to strip himself again
of the fear, the anger and the insecurity that must have filled his heart and
to make the kingdom
of God the treasure of
his heart. When Jesus was
nailed to the Cross he was stripped of his clothing and his earthy power.
The hardest part of his crucifixion was being stripped of his anger, his
resentment and his judgment of those who put him to death as he prayed, “Father
forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” What good
does our faith do if it doesn’t free our hearts?
And so it has been throughout the centuries. We have been surrounded by a vast assembly
of saints who have made faith and trust in God the deepest treasure of their
hearts. Blessed Jean Jugan was
the founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor. She was born while her
father was far from home supporting his family by working on a fishing
ship. Her father died at sea when she was four. Her
family was desperately poor. She worked for meager wages as a
servant and kitchen help. When she discovered a blind and almost
paralyzed widow who could no longer care for herself, Jean Jugan brought her
into her home and gave her her own bed. Soon
two other elderly poor joined her and soon there were thirty. Jean was
joined by three companions in caring for the elderly poor. Today houses
of the Little Sisters of the Poor serve the elderly poor in 31 countries and on
five continents. Jean Jugan could have chosen to treasure her own bitter
childhood in her heart and to have died a bitter old lady herself.
Instead she chose to cherish the kingdom
of God in her heart and
she became the source of immense love in service to the poor. We are
blessed to have a Little Sister of the Poor with us today.