June 12, 2005: Living in the Grace of God

+THE ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

A couple of years ago, while I was pastor at St. Stephen’s in Streator, I finished giving instructions to a man long married to a Catholic—and finally the exciting day came that he was to be baptized. His wife’s family was so thrilled that he was about to turn Catholic. They came out en masse to witness the ceremony, including a number of children. One of the kids present was a 3-year-old niece—the daughter of the man’s wife’s sister and her husband. She had never seen a baptism before, so naturally she was quite intrigued by the font, the candles and all the goings-on—especially the business of pouring water on her uncle’s head.

All through the ceremony, the little girl kept poking her parents and asking questions. “Why is the priest dumping water on him, Daddy? Why, Daddy, why?” Her parents tried to hush her and answer her questions briefly and quietly, but she just wouldn’t be satisfied. So I’m told, the next day, her parents tried to explain things to her in a way a 3-year-old could understand. They talked to her about sin and told her that when Jesus touches people’s hearts and they then decide to live for Him and do good, they want everyone to know. They also explained that water symbolized Jesus’ washing people from sin… and when they come out clean, then they’ll try to be good. The little girl said, “Why didn’t the priest just spank him?”

Actually, I find it pretty amazing that even a small child intuitively understands that sin deserves some kind of punishment! I hope her parents keep teaching her so she can really appreciate what we heard in the second reading today in the Letter to the Romans: that Jesus took the spanking for us. I’m sure she’d see how happy we should be that instead of getting a beating, her uncle just had a little water sprinkled on his head!

There in a nutshell is the story of grace. The famous hymn says it’s amazing—and truly it is. Grace is the life of God that He freely gives us to draw us closer to Himself. We don’t deserve it, and we can’t earn it—but the Lord offers it to us out of pure love.

If you ever put a drop of food coloring or ink or some other dye in a bowl of water, you see how the color will spread through the water and gently tint it. In the same way, God’s grace permeates our spirit—our soul—and adds a tinge of the divine to our life. And the more grace we accept, the more pronounced the evidence of God’s presence within us becomes.

So what does this grace do? Very simply, it permits us to share in God’s perfections. He is all-loving; so the more grace we have, the more loving we become. He is all-wise; so the more grace we have, the wiser we become. He is all-holy and all-good; and so the holier and better we become.

God, of course, holds these perfections in an infinite way. We are creatures and finite—which means that we will never reach God’s level of perfection; but it also means that we can continue to grow more and more in divine life… not just during our earthly life, but also in heaven for all eternity!

The grace we receive—and we get it through the Sacraments, our prayer and devotional life, and our good works—can help us to do incredible things. The grace-filled apostles were sent out in the Gospel today to cure the sick, raise the dead, heal lepers and expel demons. Later on, all but one of them went to their death as martyrs to witness to Christ’s truth. No one can die for God without grace. Likewise, grace makes us powerful and effective instruments and witnesses of God.

Back in November, around Thanksgiving time, we celebrated the feast day of the Vietnamese martyrs. I am always very moved to read the accounts of the ferocious torture and persecution that these pious Christian people underwent. One of the martyrs wrote a line that haunted me; in fact, I went to look it up so I could get his words just right. He said, “In the midst of these torments, which usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone—Christ is with me.”

There you have a perfect explanation of grace. No matter what’s going on to you or around you, grace gives you strength, peace and even joy—because to have grace means to have Jesus Christ in you and with you.

God has always protected His people and promised them His grace. We even get a foretaste of it in the story of the Exodus. The Lord tells Moses to remind the people of Israel that he bore them up on eagle wings. Did you ever stop to consider what that means?

A mother eagle has a very special caring and loving instinct. When she realizes that it’s time for one of her young eaglets to learn to fly, here’s what she does: she snatches the baby eagle out of the nest and flies up as high as she can go. Then she drops the fledgling, and he falls fast. The little bird has never flown in his life. The ground is approaching quickly, his heart is ready to burst, and he knows there’s no way he’s going to survive.

But the mother eagle is watching. At the last moment, she swoops down and catches the baby. What relief for the little bird. But, oh no… once again, the mother flies up as high as she can go and drops him again. She continues to do this until the fledgling starts flapping and learns to fly!

The Lord bore the children of Israel on eagle wings. When they didn’t have any water, He swooped down and provided water for them. When they came to the Red Sea, He provided for them. When they didn’t have any food, He swooped down again and gave them manna—so they could learn to fly in His providence and love.

And His grace keeps working like that for us even now. Do we see it? Do we appreciate it? Do we seek it and long for it?

You might reflect back over your own life and see how many times you’ve started to free-fall… and how God swooped in to save you or provide for you. What a great way to count your blessings—literally! The point is, you are safe in God’s protective love—so don’t be afraid to spread your wings.

May our all-loving and all-powerful God continue to watch over you and fill you with His grace.


Today’s Readings:
Exodus 19: 2–6
Psalm 100
Romans 5: 6–11
Matthew 9: 36–10: 8

Homily Archive:
http://sj-cullom.blogspot.com