HOMILY The Power in Saying Yes Father Larry Richards Moderator, Bread of Life Community Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent Year B Readings:2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-12,14,16 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-28 I have preached on this Gospel, I think, 50 times in this Advent. It keeps coming up again and again and again. But it's a phenomenal Gospel and we will never fully be able to get into it and grasp and find out really what it means. We can only have glimpses into the reality of what one young woman named Mary did by her saying "Yes" to the will of the Father. There are a couple of things that happen here that we have to look at. First, we need to look at the reality that we need to say "Yes" to the will of God; in the midst of that we can't be afraid. Second, when we say "yes," God takes up residence inside our hearts very powerfully, very fully, very completely. Then third, when we say "yes" to God we have to know that nothing is impossible with God. Those are what we need to reflect upon today because I believe that again and again that most Christians just go through the motions of being a Christian, "Yeah, I love this" and "I don't want to go to hell when I die so I believe Jesus, yeah..." Very nice. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about a life transformed by the person of Jesus Christ. We're talking about a person who was one way and now they've come into a relationship with Jesus and their whole life has been changed and everything is seen now through the eyes of Christ and not through their own light. That's what it is to be a Christian. That's what it is we must strive to be every moment of our lives. Let's all go to Luke, Chapter 1. We see very clearly what is happening here. First of all, God always makes the first move, right? A very basic principle in
Christianity. God always makes the first move. He did it when he created us; he did it when he reached out to Abraham; he did it when he reached out to Moses; he did it when he reached out to John; he did it when he reached out to Mary. God always makes the first move. God knows what he's going to do. Sometimes we wonder if God really knows what's happening. He knows what's happening. He even knows, more importantly, what is happening in your life and he has to be in charge of it. Sometimes haven't you looked up at God and said, "God, I really don't think you understand, here." When I was at Hershey last weekend it was one of those times. (Prep Football team lost the state Championship by one point; Father is the chaplain) Before the game I'm in my hotel room and I said Mass for the team that they would -- ahem -- win and I said, "Ok, God, c'mon. You can do this." Of course, he can do this. But I said if it's not your will, it's ok. Then I said, "Make sure, though, God, that nobody gets hurt and they do their best for your greater honor and glory." And then as we're playing, I'm saying good, good, good, then no, no, no, God what are you doing here? Like it's all his fault. But what happened was I was trying to tell God "Listen, God, this is my will and I want to make sure you do it for me, ok?" When we do that, who's in charge? We are. God needs to be God. The next day I had Mass for the kids and the coaches. It was pretty much like having a funeral. Last Sunday was what? Gaudete Sunday. Let us rejoice. So here I am with this funeral of kids and their parents and the coaches, and the coaches were worse off than the kids. I said, "Ok, Lord, you have to help me with this one." I say to them, "Gentleman, this is Gaudete Sunday, let us rejoice. I'm sure some of you aren't rejoicing, but let's get this: You know how you felt last night?" Ooooh, groans. You don't want to feel that way at the end of your life when you stand before God, do you? One second away from having eternal life with God. So you make sure that your life is in the will of God everyday of your life. Second, gentlemen, what you and I have to do according to the readings today is to rejoice always, pray always and in every circumstance give thanks." I said all of us prayed for God's will yesterday, didn't we? And they all shook their heads. God just gave it to us. Are you thanking him for it? Ooooh! Are you thanking God that Jesus Christ died for you? We might not won the game today, but we won the game of eternal life. We're all going to heaven. Focus on that reality, and they go "Ooooh." Slowly as we started to focus on what God has done for us, you could see how these kids started to come alive and how Mass became more inviting and more invigorating because they thought what does this compare to eternity. That's what we have to do when we come to all circumstances in our life. We don't know what tomorrow brings. We don't know what next year brings. We don't know what's going to happen next week with Y2K. Who cares? The only thing
we know is that God is in charge and that he loves me and that he is not going to let anything happen to me apart from his will if I but surrender my life to him. So what you and I have to do first of all is to say as Mary said in verse 38 of Luke 1. If you don't have it underlined, you'd better because this is what it's all about. Luke Chapter 1, verse 38 says, "I am the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me as you say." Now again, that word in Latin is "fiat." Let it be done to me. What does that mean? It's now, oh, ok, your will be done. We're not Muslins that go around and say "What Allah wants Allah gets." That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about "God, it doesn't matter whati want. I will do my best for your glory. May your will be done. That's all I want in my life, God. Whatever you want." Is that where you are with God? Is that the way you and I approach God? God, it doesn't matter what I want. The only thing that matters is what you want. Let it be done to me. Then when he gives it to us, "I didn't like that, Lord, but I thank you because I prayed that your will be done. Isn't it weird -- because we do it all the time and I do it every morning -- your will be done -- and then some little stupid things happens that day and I start screaming at God. That isn't what I meant, and he says, "That's what I meant." Oh? H-m. Everyday we have to be "Yes, God, your will be done." When we do this, just as Mary brought Christ to the world as we said in our prayer today so do we bring Christ to the world. So we bring Christ to our families. But when that happens the first place we bring Christ to is not so much to the world but where do we bring him first? Ourselves. The reality that Christ lives in you and me. Let's focus on that today. Let's go to 1 Corinthians, Chapter 3, verse 16. When persons say yes to God's will in their lives, then God takes up residence inside them. It happened when we were baptized and gave our lives to Jesus Christ. He takes up residence. We say that, but we still don't really believe it. Verse 16: "Are you not aware that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells within you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him for the temple of God is holy and you are that temple." When we have said yes to the will of God, we become the temple of God. We become the place that God dwells. That means I should never be one way in church and another way with my family. I should never be holy in church and another way when I'm working. We need people of integrity because no matter where we are, God is. I've used this example and I tell my kids at Prep "Gentlemen, nobody here would ever go and have sex his girlfriend here in front of the tabernacle or in a church, would you?" Just the questions makes them go crazy. "Father, how could you even say that? Of course I wouldn't." Then don't you do it anywhere else because no matter where you are, you are
the temple of God. That's what we believe. Let's go to Ephesians, Chapter 2, where we can continue with this. Here it says, verse 21: "Through him the whole structure is fitted together and takes shape as a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you are being built into this temple to become a dwelling place for God in the Holy Spirit." You and I become the dwelling place of God. Let's go to another place. 2 Corinthians Chapter 13, verse 5: I have this underlined and underneath I have "the test." So let's see if we can pass the test. St. Paul is asking us today. "Test yourselves to see whether you are living the faith." Here's Paul giving us a test. "Examine yourself. Perhaps you yourself do not realize that Christ Jesus is in you unless you have failed the challenge." So he says, examine yourself, look at yourself, can you pass the test? Do you believe that Jesus Christ lives inside you. It happens when we say yes. We must be holy people, not good people. Everybody is a good person because we're created in the image and likeness of God. We must be holy people as Mary was. I was home because I had a wedding this past weekend, and I was watching EWTN and it had three things of mercy. They had Sister Faustina, Father Maximilian Kolby and Pope John Paul II. The thing I was most impressed with was that every one of them the only thing they wanted was the will of Jesus Christ in their lives. That's all they wanted. As I looked at that I thought how far I am from that. I want it in my mind, but they did in reality. They lived Jesus Christ's will in their lives. They knew Christ was within them. So must we. We must become so transformed that our will and God's will will be one and that we are living witnesses of the will of God. We know that no matter where I am, there is God. I ask the kids, where is God. He's everywhere, Father. He's here within us and you and I have to act like that no matter where we are. Christ is here and I live that. When you and I start believing that Christ lives within us, then we can go to John's Gospel chapter 14, and this will correspond with Luke and this will be the way we end this today. Verse 12. I have it underlined and I have on the side his promise. "I solemnly assure you the person who has faith in me will do the works that I do and far greater than me. " Jesus said that we'll be able to do what Jesus did and he said we would be able to do even far greater than he did. Look at someone like Padre Pio for that who could bi-locate. Never was it recorded in the Bible that Jesus did that. He could have, but it's not recorded in the Scriptures. Padre Pio did things even beyond Christ because Jesus was
living within him. We will do even greater things than Jesus did because when we say yes to God's will, Jesus Christ takes up residence inside us; we become the incarnation of God to the world we live in today, to our family and our friends and then we have to go back to Luke's Gospel which says "Nothing is impossible for God." Lots are impossible for us, gentlemen and ladies, make that clear, but nothing is impossible for God. Today Mary is our example to say yes to the will of God in our lives and to reach out for it. When we say yes, God takes up residence inside us and becomes present to us no matter where we are and becomes present to the world. When we have that we have to know that we are not weak people... (Last few sentences not recorded). Get it? Got it? Good! May each of you know his love today and forever. Amen.