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Homily for the Fifth Sunday Of Lent
(Mar 25, 2007)
William Barry and Liz
Carmichael both talk about Christians maturing
from a child to an adult relationship
with God. This parallels how when I grew up I came to have a more
adult relationship with my parents. I still showed them respect, but I
no longer looked to them to carry me in their arms or to solve my
problems. My parents gave me the freedom to decide what to do with my
life. They treated me as a peer
In
the 12th century reflecting on the scripture: God is love, Abbot
Aelred wrote: “Shall I say God
is friendship?” It
seems strange at first, but as we mature in Christ, I think God wants us
to think of him not only as our Father, but also as our
Friend. While God is present and active in the world, we
don’t expect God to come down and solve all our problems. But
he does come to walk with us on the journey. God does not
intervene to stop our wars, but he does come to help us have a change of
heart.
As we mature in Christ, our
images of God will continue to evolve. How we see God will have a
great impact on how we see ourselves. In some ways I will always be a
child of God, who needs my Father to save me. But as a friend of Jesus,
I am also called to help make this a better world.
The woman taken in adultery lived in a time when religion
authorities tended to see God more as a lawgiver and judge. Rightfully
this woman needed to see herself as a sinner deserving of punishment,
though we can certainly ask why was her partner in crime not also being
punished?
What
a shock it must have been for her, when the very presence of God showed
up first to force all present to face their own sins. But Jesus then
goes on to show her the God’s face of mercy.
I will not condemn you, but don’t do this sin anymore.
He is a God of mercy, but he still demands justice. Both!
Mercy and Justice.
Father and Friend. Truth
and Love.
As
a sinner I realize that I must one day stand before the Judgment
seat of Christ.
And as a beloved friend of Jesus I realize that I am called to
bring the mercy of God to those who have lost hope.
To get the full truth I
need to see myself reflected
in the eyes of Jesus. This woman had seen herself in the eyes of
more than one man, but it was not until she saw
the way Jesus looked at her , that she truly knew who she was.
Story: Hans Christian
Andersen has a story about how Satan once made a mirror that shrank
the reflection of everything good and enlarged the bad and ugly. The
mirror shattered into millions of fragments which blew into the eyes of
earth dwellers, who from then on could see only a distorted view of
life. But God sent one who reflected the true image of God in its
fullness. Wherever he went people saw things once again in their true
perspective. They began to see God’s love, compassion and grace
beaming back at them through their fear, pain & isolation. But while
attracted to him, we could not bear so much truth and beauty, so we
shattered the true image of God, which also broke into millions of
pieces. Now, wherever a fragment lodges in human eyes, that person will
catch a glimpse of God.
I know that there is a fragment of Satan’s mirror in my eye,
which distorts my image of myself and everything around me, including my
image of God.
But when I see
things reflected in Jesus, I find hope. I need to see myself as Jesus
sees me. I need to see what Jesus sees. I know Jesus sees me as a
sinner, since he sees the truth. But he also sees me as a friend of God,
because Jesus looks at me with the eyes of love.
When I face God as the lawgiver, I must confess that I am a
failure. But when I look into the eyes of Christ, I see God as my Father
and I see myself as a child of God.
Do
you think of God more as your Father or your friend? …….Or both?
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