Homily: Thirtieth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

Thirtieth Wednesday of Ordinary Time (Ephesians: 6:1-9) “How Do Christians Fit In?”

People in the Roman Empire were very suspicious of Christians. They were accused of everything from cannibalism (because they spoke of eating flesh and drinking blood) to treason because they would not worship the Roman Gods.

St. Paul was very aware of this. Paul did not want Christians to stand out because of practices that were considered disruptive to society. Therefore, he writes the way he does in Ephesians. If Christians were causing problems in the daily life of the empire than they could fall victim to a persecution. Paul tried to prevent this from happening.

It must be remembered that Paul expected Jesus’ second coming at any time. He felt that everyone should maintain the status quo. If you were dissatisfied with your station in life that would soon change because Jesus would return, and justice would be served. There would be no more slaves for example. Everyone would be equal when the day of the Lord came.

We can be very dissatisfied with our lot in life and the unfairness of how things happen. We may wonder why God does not do something to help us. We can get very angry at God. We might wonder how God can be so unfair. Most of the time there is no solution to our struggles other than to look forward to the end of time when all things will be set straight.

Many times, when a Christian has misfortune, the stance can be to say, “Well, I guess that is just God’s will and I have to accept it.” Another tactic Christians employ is to deny the pain. Sometimes Christians feel it is inappropriate to complain about life, that somehow this is a lack of faith. The Jews believed that it was therapeutic to utter prayers of lament. Sometimes we just need to get things off our chest. But our hope rests on the fact that our Jesus will come at the end of all time and take all the pain away.

Reflections Questions:

1.    Should St. Paul have condemned slavery in Ephesians? Is it right to be pragmatic in the face of evil?

2.    Is it all right for Christians to blend into society? Should they stand out?

 Dear Parishioners,

           December 3rd in Peoria there will be two men in our parish who will be ordained to the diaconate for the Roman Catholic Church. These two men belong to our parish. Their names are Matt Martel and Mike Maynard. They have prepared for six long years for their ordination. Once a month they have gone to spend a weekend in formation. Their preparation has been spiritual, psychological and intellectual.

          Once they are ordained, they will be functioning in our parish. They will be presiding at liturgies, and they will be visiting the sick and will helping in a variety of other ways around Sacred Heart. I encourage you to pray for these men in these final days before they are ordained. This is a special time. Please pray for Mike Maynard’s family, especially his wife Denise who went through the training with him. This will be an adjustment for their whole household. Life will be different for Matt and Mike’s families from this point forward.

          May Our Lady and all the saints pray for us as we move to the end of October.

          Fr. Mark