Homily by:
Father Paul Weinberger
Saint William the Confessor Catholic Church
Greenville, Texas
March 9, 2008
And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how He loved him.”
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen
If you get time later on, maybe after taking a nap on this glorious day when we lose an hour of sleep, get out the Bible and look up this passage and read the continuation of St. John’s Gospel, where you will find out that not only had many of the Jews, who had come to Mary and had seen what Jesus had done began to believe in Him, but there were many, who also began to plot to kill Him and Lazarus. What? People don’t have anything better to do than to kill those who have just been raised from the dead?
Remember this passage the next time someone within earshot proclaims that nobody can be bad. How can you stand there and see someone raised from the dead and plot to kill the one who raised him as well as the one raised from the dead and not be in league with the devil? We can send a man to the moon and split the atom but somehow modern man believes we cannot sin. I have no idea where this comes from, although I know it doesn’t come from God, but it is proliferated, it is spoken of so frequently and we absorb it through our friends and contacts in the world.
“ME sin? Well, that is impossible!”
This beautiful Gospel is one we should cherish and return to again and again because in this we can see the friendship of Christ. This Gospel will help us to leave behind our second grade understanding of sin. I have nothing against second grade but to be an adult and to have a second grade appreciation for sin is very detrimental to us.
“Oh Father, it is just a bunch of rules; that is all sin is.”
No, sin is about losing the friendship of Christ. Lazarus, Martha and Mary we are told at the beginning of this Gospel, are friends of Christ. St. Martha understands this and tells Jesus that the one He loves is ill. We hear that Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus and we see His concern in what is possible the shortest sentence in the Bible.
And Jesus Wept”
We see that the friendship of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus is very dear to Christ and so we should treasure our friendship with Christ as well but we don’t and if we did we wouldn’t sin. If His friendship was so important to us we would prize it above every person, place, or thing, every appetite, desire or thought. So this Gospel today is very helpful because next Sunday is Palm Sunday, which in a weeks time Christ was welcomed in a triumphal way into Jerusalem by the vast crowds and many of whom by the end of the week would be yelling, “Crucify Him!” How similar we are to them and how much reward we are paid when we meditate on this Gospel today here at the end of this penitential season of Lent.
About 500 year ago an Apostle lived in Rome. I know, the Apostles lived at the time of Christ but St. Philip Neri is often called an Apostle of Rome. Every morning he would wake up and he would address a very heartfelt prayer to God.
We see on the cover of the bulletin the betrayal of Christ by one of His closest friends. There is Judas, who was selling Christ for thirty pieces of silver. Personally he was against selling Jesus but he understood that they wanted to kill Him so he really couldn’t oppose them. Does that sound familiar? We have been hearing that from politicians in our country for too long. There are parishioners in this parish that have been here over 50 years and remember having to stay in Church when everyone else went home because the clan had not left Greenville. Fortunately everyone did not say,Lord, watch out for Philip today lest he betray you again.
“Personally I am against the Clan but what can you do?”
No, fortunately thoughtful Christians no longer respect the Clan. This business about not doing something although one is opposed to something does not carry over to the rest of life. Then again… to betray Christ in small ways leads to betraying Christ in a big way.
St. John’s Gospel describes the Last Supper and Judas leaves the Last Supper early and describes that he goes out from the Light of Christ into the darkness…that he prefers the darkness to the Light of Christ. This is what happens when you and I choose to sin and sin still has degrees. The church still teaches that there are venial sins and there are mortal sins and that mortal sin kills the life of grace in the soul, which we enjoy after Baptism, yet we think of this so seldom. How sad!
The death of Lazarus was the physical death of Lazarus; it was not sickness unto death. He did not die outside the friendship of Christ; he died in the state of grace. Yet, Christ’s love for Martha, Mary, Lazarus, and their friends is so intense that Jesus wept. Now think of sin. Leave second grade behind and think of sin in a mature way that St. john’s Gospel presents it today according to the friendship of Christ, and think of how mortal sin intensely hurts the Heart of Christ and then we are on to something that will spur us on to live a very different way the rest of our lives. As I mentioned, Father Hardon says that you and I can make up for having betrayed Christ in the past through sin, especially mortal sin, by loving Him today and in the future more generously, more patiently and lovingly than we have ever done in the past. The betrayal of Judas is something we should meditate over because our heart is affected by sin. The world is so attractive and yet what can be preferred to the friendship of Christ?
When Jesus sees that Lazarus has died and is so moved that He weeps, we begin to see how our sin causes Christ great pain. Isn’t this the passion of the Christ? Of course it is. The sin that we commit, the harm and hurt that is caused to our friend can be seen most especially by parents. Every good parent wants or desires a close relationship with their children and when that connection is not there is causes great pain. If we think about it, parents have experienced to a certain degree what Jesus experiences when you and I sin.
Look at page nine of your bulletin. There is a schedule for 40 HOURS of Confessions for Holy Week. This looks like a lot but when parents work 168 hours a week, 40 hours looks like a light week. There are 40 hours of Confessions offered during Holy Week so that we can respond to the graces God wishes to impart to us.
This Gospel today is preparing us for the resurrection of Christ. What was the first thing that Jesus did on the evening of Easter Sunday? He appeared in His risen and glorified body to Our Lady and the Apostles in the Upper Room and He gave us the Sacrament of Confession. He breathed on them and said,
Receive the Holy Spirit; the sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven.
Yet, so many refuse to believe in the Sacrament of Confession but if they did believe in it they would have recourse to it frequently as the popes, saints, and many holy men and women have done down through the centuries. The first thing Jesus gives us after resurrecting from the dead is Confession and we want something else. And we call ourselves friends of Christ?
“Oh, good to see You after your suffering, death, and resurrection but do you have something else in there?”
If you line up for Confession here at St. William’s there is a table that is always there and on it is an Examination of Conscience, which has been assembled by the Fathers of Mercy. They are celebrating their 200th Anniversary this year and they are famous for the missions that they give. This Examination of Conscience is also excellent because it contains prayers before Confession to examine the conscience with the help of the Holy Spirit and to do it this way is to make a good examination of conscience. Doing it by myself? Forget it! I mean we all have the ability to lie to ourselves? What? Me over weight? [Laughter] We all can lie to ourselves and do it regularly throughout the day. Calling on the Holy Spirit and asking Him to help us examine the conscience is something, which repays great benefits. There is even a prayer after Confession. To receive the Sacrament of Confession regularly throughout life is to be prepared for those last twenty-four hours, which will be spent on this earth. Nothing will fortify you like the Sacraments, especially Communion and Confession during those last twenty-four hours. But, it also ensures that we are in constant contact with our dearest friend.
Does this sound familiar? People today are so fascinated with their friends who, like them share the original sin of Adam and Eve, which is passed down through human generations. We are fascinated with the prospect of talking to others and cultivating their friendships when the friendship of Christ goes a begging. No, this is the friendship par excellence and one that should be placed above all others. To prefer the friendship of “someone” to the friendship of Christ is to be living in mortal sin and the light is not in you. Jesus wept, but Jesus weeps copious tears when we turn our backs on Him and like Judas betray Him especially when we commit mortal sin.
And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how He loved him.”
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen