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October 8, 2017This past week, while praying over the readings for Sunday, and waiting for the Lord to inspire me with a good homily—I’ve been waiting for the entire 5 years of my priesthood for that to happen, by the way—I woke up one morning to about 5 or 6 news alerts on my phone that began “At least two dead, dozens injured in Las Vegas shooting,” then the next one read, “At least 20 dead, 100 injured as shots rain down on Jason Aldean concert in Las Vegas.” There were probably about 8 alerts on my phone, and each one of them increased in the number of dead and the number of wounded…it was surreal. The last one read, “58 dead, 515 wounded - Mayor of Las Vegas, Governor expected to speak.” I was in shock that something so terrible could happen, that something so awful could be done by one human being to another. All I could think was “this is EVIL.” The thought of this event still shakes me to the core…
And then, as if the evil that we commit with one another wasn’t enough, this Hurricane Nate has formed and is heading our way. This storm, as with any hurricane, brings with it uncertainty and fear of what could happen, especially for those of us who live in Orleans Parish with the possible flooding due to the pumps.
And in the midst of all of this, all I kept focusing on in the readings was “Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all,” Have no anxiety? Have no anxiety?? How can I not have anxiety? Oftentimes the world seems like it is going to hell in a hand basket, and people are becoming more and more depraved and society is pushing God to the curb more and more. Have no anxiety? We’ve got people with guns massacring others and killing each other daily in some areas of New Orleans, we’ve got natural disasters one after another which are robbing people of property and life, and not to mention each of us has our own personal issues to deal with at home. Have no anxiety? Lord, I think it’s a little late for that. Anxiety is not a choice anymore in today’s world—the question is how much anxiety will I have? Everyone has anxiety—some people just deal with it and live with it, others drink to cope with it, and still others take medication or something else to ease their anxiety—-we are a people saturated with anxiety.
But as I stand here before you, I’m reminded that there is more to St. Paul’s directive than just “Have no anxiety…” He goes on to say, “but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Yes, we are a people of anxiety BUT our anxiety should lead us to prayer and petition before the Lord. Why do you think there is so much evil in the world in the first place? Because we are not doing our part to fill the world with goodness, with holiness, with love. Evil has the foothold that it has because of us, my brothers and sisters. “But father, that’s not fair, I pray.” I’m not accusing anyone of not praying, but I am suggesting that we can all pray more, and not merely pray, but allow our prayers to move us to action in the world. It’s one thing to pray for peace, it’s another thing to pray for peace and then to go out and actively work for peace. Our prayers need to be given flesh by our actions. I can pray to I am blue in the face for an end to violence in the world, but if I am being violent toward others by my actions, by my thoughts, or by my words, then my prayers become empty.
If we truly wish to experience the peace of God that surpasses all understanding then we have to actively sow the seeds of the Gospel in all that we say and in all that we do, because if we are not sowing good seed, then we are sowing bad seed, and evil continues to perpetuate.
In our Gospel, those tenants killed and murdered and committed evil acts against the servants of the Master because they wanted to have the vineyard to themselves, they were selfish and greedy. But why did not one of them think to ask themselves, “Why don’t we just ask the landowner to give us an ample portion of the fruits?” Nowhere in the Gospel does it say that the landowner was greedy or unfair, in fact, the landowner is very trusting to leave the vineyard to these tenants in the first place. Perhaps if they had just asked for what they wanted, they wouldn’t have had to kill to get it.
That’s how the Lord is with us… He desires that we not be selfish or greedy with what we have been given, that is our inheritance from Baptism. He desires that we have generous hearts to go out and labor in the vineyard and to work for peace and justice and charity in the world. And he desires that when we have needs that we turn to him and simply ask for what we need with sincere and contrite hearts. And the God of peace will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus with that peace that surpasses all understanding. You might be thinking to yourselves, “How can simply praying take away my anxiety and give me peace? That’s inconceivable.” Exactly! That is inconceivable, it’s BEYOND all understanding, but that’s the very power and love of God. When we truly come to know God, then it may be inconceivable, but not unbelievable.
My brothers and sisters, in the midst of everything that is going on in the world, things beyond our control globally, things terrifying nationally, and even things unsettling locally and personally, let us turn to God with hearts of gratitude for the gifts he has given us and let us pray with the trust of little children, knowing full well that he will hear us. Then once we have offered our prayers, let us go out and labor to sow good seeds of love and peace and justice in the world in order to counteract the evil in it. And there no better place to collect these seeds of love and peace then in the very Eucharist itself. Come to the altar this day, receive from the Lord his very body and blood, those vessels of goodness and holiness that bring us so much strength in our time of weakness…receive his love to go out and share that love with the world. Have no anxiety at all but have peace in Christ.