Jesus’ One Homily
November 29, 2023
Fr. John Riccardo
“Brothers and sisters: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
(1 Cor 1:3-9)
At the start of The Passion of the Christ, we see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, mindful of all that is coming and of who is coming. As He prays, “the ruler of this world” (Jn 12:31) appears. As he did with Eve in that other garden so many years before, he tries to engage in a dialogue with Jesus. Unlike Eve, though, the Lord doesn’t respond (we should be leery of entering into a conversation with the enemy!). As the Lord continues to cry out, “Abba! Father,” the enemy poses this question to Him, “Who is Your Father?”
That question, or better questioning of the Father, was at the very heart of the temptation of our first parents. In fact, I would argue that at the root of every temptation is the accusation that God is not a good Father and He cannot be trusted.
That. Is. A. Lie.
I’ve heard it said before, and repeated often, that every priest has one homily. I’m inclined to believe that. For most of the past 27 years, I have preached more or less a variation of a single theme. Jesus is the only real priest, and I likewise think it might be possible to argue that Jesus also had one homily. What was it? The Father. “I am the way, the truth and the life,” He said. The way where? To the Father. The truth about whom? The Father? Who’s life? The Father’s. Pushing the envelope a bit farther, I might argue that the Lord’s one homily could be worded something like this: “You’re wrong about My Father. You don’t know Him. And I have come to make Him known definitively.”
This scene in The Passion of the Christ, and the Lord’s “one homily” come to mind as we enter into Advent and pray with the passage from St. Paul that is offered to us by the Church this week. Expressions such as “the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ,” make it clear why this passage is chosen as we start this glorious season, as they speak about the Lord’s glorious return to fulfill what He began by His death and resurrection, namely to make all things new (cf. Rev 21:5). However, “God is faithful” is the line that keeps jumping out at me as I pray with these words of Paul.
Most of us have lived through enough broken vows, deceitful campaign promises and empty guarantees of victory from athletes that it’s easy to become jaded, cynical and skeptical of others, and then project that cynicism and skepticism onto God. All of these experiences in our lives become more fuel for the fire that the enemy is constantly trying to sow in our minds: “God is not a good Father. He doesn’t love you. You could and can be happier without Him.”
“No!” Paul says. “God is faithful.” What does that mean? The Greek word is pistos, and means reliable, trustworthy, dependable, sure, proving to be firm. This is God. In other words, unlike our frequent experience of others in this life, even of those closest to us, God does not lie and He can be counted on. Always. If He says something, He means it and He will do it.
“All of the promises of God find their ‘Yes’ in Jesus” (2 Cor 1:20). On the cross, there’s literally nothing left for Jesus to give to convince us of God’s love, His mercy, His kindness, and His power. Every last drop of fluid is wrung out from Him. He, the Creator, has laid down His life for us, creatures made in His image and likeness. He has rescued us from those enemies we could never have defeated on our own: Sin and Death.
“He who sees Me sees the Father,” Jesus tells Philip (Jn 14:9). On the cross, Jesus offers His greatest “homily,” the ultimate word about His Father. “Here is God! See how much He loves You! See how good He is! Who could you possibly trust more than this?”
And yet…we still struggle, if we’re honest, with trusting God. So often things aren’t going the way we want. So often it doesn’t look like He knows what He’s doing. The news coming from across the globe, and especially the news much closer to home, is constantly threatening to shake our faith. Is it any wonder that two of the most popular devotions (The Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Surrender Novena) come from Jesus Himself and have to do with faith? It’s as if the Lord is saying, “I know it’s hard to trust. I know how often you experience let downs, betrayals, unfaithfulness, broken promises. But God is not like that. So declare, over and over, Your trust in Me and pray for the grace to surrender. God is faithful. God knows what He’s doing. He has a plan. It has already begun, both in you and in those you love and care about, and He will bring it to completion.”
I heard a sermon many years ago now, preached at the funeral of the pastor’s wife. It’s still among the most powerful I’ve ever heard. It was simply entitled, “Trust Me.” At one point, the pastor said these words that seem so timely for so many, if not all, of us: “Trust doesn’t involve ‘Yes’ to what we ask. It means, ‘You know best, God.’”
Do we really believe that? Do I? Do you?
In these Advent days that are about to begin, as we turn our attention to the return of the King, let us be mindful that God is the greatest Author of all time, the ultimate Dramatist, the most creative and loving and powerful of all Persons, and He will not leave unfinished what He has started. He is a good Father, and by His extraordinary and amazing grace, we are His beloved and adopted sons and daughters. Jesus is the proof.