Browsing Homilies

3rd Sunday of Lent

Today we read in the Book of Exodus about the 10 commandments. These are laws God requires us to follow that have consequences for those who don’t follow them. There are laws on earth we also need to follow that we are held accountable to. Failure to honor them will result in punishment by being fined or imprisoned. This gives people the incentive to keep laws because they don’t want to suffer the consequences. It makes me wonder why people don’t have a problem following the laws of our government but they do with following God’s laws. I don’t know how many of you ever got pulled over by a police officer for speeding - but it’s not a good feeling. It gets even worse when he hands you a ticket. You have fear as soon as you see blue and red lights and you feel stupid when the officer writes you a ticket, wondering if anyone saw you.  

 

I don’t know why people are afraid when blue and red lights come up from behind them for breaking a speeding law but they aren’t afraid when breaking one of the commandments. I believe the difference is the immediate punishment given for crimes committed against our government and not being immediately punished for crimes committed against God. I think it all comes down to whether or not people believe God is actually going to punish them. Maybe God shouldn’t wait until we die before he punishes us but also send out a car with blue and red lights Maybe if some of us saw a few people pulled over by a God Squad while on earth we’d have a better idea of what our final judgement would be like, especially for those who haven’t made restitution for their sins -which if grievous enough -could send them for eternity into the fires of hell. This is why it’s important to have fear of the Lord.

 

Bishop Hilary from the fourth century addresses how we can best follow Gods laws by first quoting scripture: Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways. He tells us that when scripture speaks about fear of the Lord it doesn’t declare it as a summary of faith. Many things are added to it so we may learn it’s true meaning. He then quotes Solomon in the Book of Proverbs: If you cry out for wisdom and raise your voice for understanding, and if you look for it as you would for silver and search for it as you would for treasure then you will understand fear of the Lord. For having fear of the lord is like a hidden treasure as it opens the door - to the heavenly kingdom.

 

He then talks about the difficult journey we must undertake before we arrive at having fear of the Lord. He tells us that “Fear” is not to be taken literally. “Fear” in the ordinarily sense is the trepidation our weak humanity feels, when it’s afraid of suffering, or of something it doesn’t want to happen.  We are afraid because of a guilty conscience or because we know we have it coming. We are afraid of the rights of someone more powerful or of an attack from one who is a stronger being just as we are afraid of sickness, encountering a wild beast or suffering evil in any form. This kind of fear happens because we are weak! We don’t have to learn about fear, to understand fear of the Lord. Fear brings its own terror with it. “Fear of the Lord” is not about being frightened of God, it’s about loving God.  It has to be learned as we read: Come my children, Listen to me and I will teach you about fear of the Lord.  It does not lie in terror or arise from the fearfulness of our nature but it has to be acquired by obedience to the Commandments by holiness of life by knowledge of the truth. Pay special attention to this, For fear of God consists - wholly in Love and perfect love of God - brings out fear of him - in its perfection Our love for God is entrusted with its own responsibility - to observe his counsels - to obey his laws, - to trust his promises. Listen to what scriptures says:

 

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord and to walk in his ways and to love him and to keep his commandments with your whole heart and your whole soul and your whole mind - that it may be well for you. Bp Hilary also said:The ways of the lord are many - tough he is himself the way. When he speaks of himself, he calls himself - the way and the truth and the life - as he reminds us that – “No one can come to the father - except through me.” We need to search for these ways, and travel along these ways. We can find these ways to eternal life through many teachers. These ways are found in the law, in the prophets, in the gospels, in the writings of the Apostles and in the different good works by which we fulfill the commandments. Blessed are those who - walk in these ways – in fear of the lord – for fear of the lord - brings us into a state of grace.

 

Today’s Gospel addresses another offence against God the desecration of the temple just as people fail to observe his commandments, they fail to honor his house of worship. Jesus becomes angry when he sees how everyone is using his fathers house of prayer as a marketplace. He sees his father’s house as a center of worship - but people are using if for personal gain. Jesus then refers to the temple of his body and that if destroyed he will raise it up in three days but the scribes and pharisees think he is refereeing to the temple of stone but Jesus is referring to his being put to death and that in three days his rising from the dead. We are told the disciples remembered he said this after the resurrection and came to believe the scriptures and the words Jesus had spoken to them. 

 

I think as we continue through the season of lent it’s time for us to think about the temple of our own bodiesWhen we receive Jesus in Holy Communion we become that temple God intended us to beWhenever we commit sin we are destroying that very temple Our lord and savior dwells in.  This is why we need to go to confession, we need to keep the temple of our body holy. This is what is so amazing about Our Blessed Mother’s body being the temple of the Lord. She never had sin within her from the very moment of her conception. She was free of sin because the Son of God - Jesus the Christ would one day be formed in her womb. Now think about the privilege you and I have to become that temple for Jesus every time we receive him in the Eucharist Make sure that we have a holy place for him to enter. God gave us the commandments out of love for us. and in all honesty even if we may not know the commandments as well as we should we know in our hearts when we have hurt God because we know in our hearts when we hurt others. Jesus tells us that whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters you do to me, The commandments were not written for God to control us the commandments were written so we can control ourselves by always doing what is right and what is good and what is just - always finding ourselves in the grace of God.

 

Jesus summarized the commandments for us to love God with all our heart with all our soul and with all our mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Always remember to keep your temple holy and always remember to have a fear of the lord by always being obedient to the Commandments by knowing a holiness of life and by knowing - the truth. Jesus said – I am the way and the truth and the life – whever believes in me – even if he dies will live forever and have eternal life in heaven       

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