Homily Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time “What Do I Owe You”
Homily Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time “What Do I Owe You”
Charity is the word that is used when we refer to Christian Love. Charity is a very misunderstood word. We often think that Charity is an action that goes above and beyond our normal ethical conduct. We do nice things for other people because we are generous. But that is not the way St. Paul explains charity.
The text we read in the second lesson today from the Letter to the Romans follows a passage where St. Paul writes about taxes. In the Roman world there were all kinds of taxes. First, there was a ground tax. Farmers had to give the government one tenth of all the grain they raised. And they had to pay one fifth of all the wine they produced. Next there was an income tax where each person owed one percent of all their income to the emperor. Also, there was a poll tax which was a set amount of tax every individual had to pay, no matter who they were. The Romans imposed customs, import and export taxes and taxes for using roads and bridges. Paul told the early Christians to pay their taxes because they owed something for the services they received.
The verses we read today follow Paul’s exhortation to pay taxes. Paul turns to private debts. He says, “Owe no one anything.” Now this seems logical to us, but some of the Christians who Paul was writing to felt like others should forgive their debts simply because it would be the kind thing to do. Paul says that the loving thing to do is for the debtor to pay what they owe. We should have the attitude that we owe everyone a debt. And that debt is the debt that revolves around loving our neighbor. How would we treat others if we thought we were indebted to everyone?
If we look at sin of lust, we might say if we loved as Christians are supposed to love, fornication would be unthinkable. Quite often we hear that two people who engage in sexual intercourse outside of marriage and it is said that they are overcome by their love, so passion takes over. The two people, it is said, love each other too much to be able to control themselves. But couples who have a mature love have a sense of respect and restraint. Such people attempt to express their love in morally acceptable ways. People who are really in love try to act ethically because they do not want to risk spiritually hurting the person they love. Lovers owe each other that.
If we look at the sin of lying, we could say that deceiving people so that we might look good in the eyes of another is a sign of selfishness. Lying to people, denigrating others, so that we might build our reputation up, is a sign pride such deceit is a type of verbal violence. We can kill another’s reputation. A person who loves others speaks the truth, even if that means the truth may not reflect well on the person talking. We owe it to each other, to tell the truth.
If we look at the sin of avarice, we could say that if we engage in relationships, always looking at how they might profit us, then our greed has become the driving force in our life. Love says that I do not look for a profit all the time. I am not concerned with making as much money off my neighbor as I can, but I only want what I need. I also hope that my neighbor will have what is fair to them. I owe them that.
We have a lot of opportunities right now to show that we love our neighbor. We have been used to living in a world where we are disconnected from others. A few months ago, for example, we could go to the grocery store not thinking much about it. We could buy what we needed. We could pull items off the self, take them to the computer, scan the items, pay the bill, walk out of the store without ever interacting with another person.
Today, we must remember to put on our mask. We sanitize our hands when we leave our car. We must try to stay six feet away from other people. We walk down the aisles one way. We could say that we do all these things to protect ourselves, which is kind of an ego centered belief. Perhaps that is why some people say, I shouldn’t have to do these things because if I want to jeopardize my health that’s my business.
But how does a Christian look at all this? A Christian looks at the various protocols and says I owe it to my neighbor to try and protect them. It’s a debt I need to pay. When we seek to follow health department guidelines, we are trying to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Love is the motivation we should have whenever we make any ethical decision. St. Augustine said it well, “Love God and do what you like.” If a person’s whole motivation in life, is to love as Jesus did, if they act on that motivation such a person need not commit any other commandment to memory. We are simply paying off the debt we owe our neighbor as followers of Jesus Christ.
Reflection Questions:
- How do I view charity? Does charity involve going above and beyond my Christian duty?
- Do I feel like I owe any debts to others? Is St. Paul right to say that I owe a debt to everyone I meet?
Dear Parishioners,
Next Sunday we will be asking people to contribute to the Annual Diocesan Appeal. The ADA was postponed from April until now because of the pandemic. This annual collection supports the various ministries of the diocese. The monies offset the salaries for diocesan personnel and the funds also pay for the Diaconate Program. I shared last week that we have two men who are training to be deacons in our parish.
Our goal has gone down from last year by about $20,000. We need to collect about $121,000. The diocese dropped every parish’s goal because of the pandemic. This is still a large amount but need everyone to help. Whatever monies we are short must be made up out of parish funds. Last year we had to pay $30,000.
I would point out that from this point forward we will be having the ADA in September. The diocese does not want to have to fund drives in the same year.
This week you should receive a letter with a pledge card in it. Please send the card back to our office or drop it in the collection the next time you are in church.
Please help us out. We would like to maintain the financial strength of the parish during these hard times.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you.
Fr. Mark