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Rev Mark Davis, Pastor

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Homily for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Sept 3, 2006)

Intro: Jesus clearly condemns adultery, fornication, stealing, murder, greed, blasphemy and arrogance. But Jesus makes it clear that the source of evil is not the deeds done by our hands or words from our lips, but from within.

I)..Jesus tried to get the Pharisees, who focused on external observance, to understand that what is in our hearts is far more important than strictness about religious rituals.

A)    Jesus emphasizes that why we do what we do, and having a heart turned toward God, is what is really important.

B)      The real evil does not come from the hands which commit murder, but from the hatred which lives in the heart of the murderer.

C)    True goodness does not come from observing laws, but from having our hearts so open to God that the love of God flows through us and is poured out on the world.
Proverb: There is a Nigerian Proverb: “It’s the heart that gives; the fingers just let go.”

II) While we are commanded by God to avoid gluttony, drunkenness, and violent destruction, our motive needs to be deeper than a fear of  suffering physical consequences or going to hell.            
    Ultimately what matter is that we have care for our own wellbeing and we care about our neighbors.

·        Why should you care whether some people in Ohio earn only $5.l5 an hour?

·         Why should you care about people suffering in Lebanon or Somalia ?

·        Why should you care if you get drunk 3 or 4 times a month?

Either our hearts will be filled God’s care and love
                        or our hearts will be hard and empty-- closed to the Grace of God.

III) On the other hand, James makes it clear that it is not enough just to say you care,
  Don’t delude yourself into thinking you are a Christian just because you have some warm feelings in your heart and you say some prayers.
  James:  “Be doers of the word and not hearers only; deluding yourself.
Religion that pure before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction.”
Story: Bob McAlister was a man in a hurry. At age 23 as an aide to Senator Strom Thurmond Bob had been in many high level conferences and had met the President. He went on to a career in broadcasting, working 12 hour days to make a name for himself, although it cost him his marriage. He kept climbing ever higher on his career path, until one hot July day with snarled traffic. At first he swore and then he noticed a man in a wheelchair out in the middle of traffic.  Then Bob did something he had never done before. He stopped to help. It turned out that the man was on the way to a Mission to get soup for his sick friends. Bob put the man in his car and spent the day talking with him and taking food to the man’s friends. Bob had written speeches about poverty and he had reported News stories about homeless families, but that day he finally put his words into action. He became a doer of the Word.  He put his faith into action and his life was changed. 

Conclusion:  On the one hand Jesus condemns those Pharisees who followed all the rules, but  did not really care about the people.  Their hearts were puffed up with pride rather than being filled with the love of God.
     James warns against those calling themselves Christians who don’t do anything. They say to the suffering person: “I’ll pray for you” and then they walk away.