Homily: Tenth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

Tenth Wednesday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 5:17-19) “What is Key?”

Jesus’ words are a puzzle to us. What does he mean that he has not come to change the law but to fulfill it. We often see arguments in the church revolve around what has happened in the past and what is going on in the present. Often people argue about whether things were better in the past or whether things are better now.

Winston Churchill once uttered a great line. After the British defeat at Dunkirk during WWII many were looking for someone to blame. Churchill was trying to draw everyone together. He said, “If we are constantly arguing about the past and the present, we will not have a future.” The British did rise out of defeat to successfully defend their homeland.

Jesus argued along the same lines, when he spoke of whether he had come to change religious law. He did ignore some of the rules when it came to how people were to act in a religious context. The scribes and Pharisees and others were caught up in the minutiae of religion like how people were to cleanse themselves and use utensils at meals. Jesus maintained that this was distracting people from the essence of the law.

What was the essence of the law? We could say that two things mattered. One was reverence. The first three commandments of the law had to do with reverence for God. We are to respect the Sabbath, how we use God’s name and everything that is of God. The second thing that we must do is show respect for our neighbor. If we show respect and reverence, we are doing what we should do in life.

St. Augustine put it well when he said, “Love God and do what you like.” If we lose sight of this, then we have lost our way. People today can get caught up in how we genuflect, how careful we are in our fasting, whether we are paying enough attention at Mass and a host of other things but forget how much charity we are showing towards others. We need to be concerned about the core principles of our Christian life.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Do religious people worry too much about what is unimportant? Can I think of an example?

2.   What is it that divides our church? Is it an argument about the past and the present?

Dear Parishioners,

          I went to visit Sr. Kathleen Mullin on Monday. She has settled in her new home in Dubuque at the Mt. Carmel motherhouse. I last visited Mt. Carmel 40 years ago and there has been extensive remodeling and building. The facility has been modernized. Sister Kathleen lives in an apartment on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi. It is good that she has a nice place to live in retirement. She spoke of her love for our parish. It is hard for her to make this transition, but she is adjusting. Please pray for her.

          Remember that Vacation Bible School is coming soon. If you have not got your children’s reservation in, please do so as soon as possible. It is hard to plan if we do not have accurate numbers.

          May Our Lady pray for us today.

          Fr. Mark