Homily for the First Sunday of Lent
(Scriptures for today's Mass)
Audio for homily
This Lent, our
parish “take home token” is, again, a little pocket Cross
engraved with the scripture verse from St. Paul:
“Clothe yourself in heartfelt mercy.”
Clearly an echo of the Year of Mercy Pope Francis called us to observe.
“Clothe yourself in heartfelt mercy.”
We can look at that verse in two ways:
1) that we seek to be clothed in the mercy of God
and
2) that we clothe ourselves in mercy to share with those around us.
Let’s begin with looking at the word mercy.
For starters, here are the dictionary’s synonyms for the word mercy:
benevolence
blessing
charity
clemency
compassion
forgiveness
generosity
goodwill
grace
leniency
pity
sympathy
tolerance
favor
forbearance
gentleness
humanity
kindness
mildness
tenderness
relief
pardon
Certainly, all of those are descriptive of God’s heartfelt mercy.
One need only look to the Crucifix to know that the Lord’s mercy
flows from his heart.
Now, I'd like to clothe myself in the Lord’s mercy
but I know that to do so,
I will first need to name how and when and where and why
I need his mercy:
In other words, I'll need to name my weaknesses, my faults,
my wrongdoing and my sins.
And that’s the hard part for us, isn’t it.
We all want the mercy,
we all want the pardon, we all want the forgiveness
but we’re not quick to acknowledge and confess
the reasons we need these things.
We know we’re not saints but we’re slow to call ourselves sinners.
We know we’re not perfect,
but it’s often so hard for us to admit our mistakes.
We know we need to make some changes,
but it’s not easy for us to begin to change.
On the other hand, we’re pretty good, some of us even expert,
at noticing our neighbor's faults and flaws
even when we’re blind to our own.
We find it easy to identify him, or her or them – as sinners
-- but not so much ourselves.
Lent is a time to look at ourselves honestly
and take a personal inventory
to see ourselves as God sees us, to stand in the light of God’s truth,
to see our own faults and weaknesses,
to see how we’ve failed God,
how we’ve failed our neighbor,
and how we’ve failed ourselves.
Lent’s a time to discover our need for mercy
and confess what needs pardoning,
that God might clothe us in his heartfelt mercy
and free us from our sins.
And one way to work on this is
to “clothe ourselves in heartfelt mercy” in that second sense.
To clothe ourselves in heartfelt mercy
in the way we live with those around us.
Remember those synonyms for mercy?
And how well they fit God?
How well do they fit us?
Are you and I clothed in:
engraved with the scripture verse from St. Paul:
“Clothe yourself in heartfelt mercy.”
Clearly an echo of the Year of Mercy Pope Francis called us to observe.
“Clothe yourself in heartfelt mercy.”
We can look at that verse in two ways:
1) that we seek to be clothed in the mercy of God
and
2) that we clothe ourselves in mercy to share with those around us.
Let’s begin with looking at the word mercy.
For starters, here are the dictionary’s synonyms for the word mercy:
benevolence
blessing
charity
clemency
compassion
forgiveness
generosity
goodwill
grace
leniency
pity
sympathy
tolerance
favor
forbearance
gentleness
humanity
kindness
mildness
tenderness
relief
pardon
Certainly, all of those are descriptive of God’s heartfelt mercy.
One need only look to the Crucifix to know that the Lord’s mercy
flows from his heart.
Now, I'd like to clothe myself in the Lord’s mercy
but I know that to do so,
I will first need to name how and when and where and why
I need his mercy:
In other words, I'll need to name my weaknesses, my faults,
my wrongdoing and my sins.
And that’s the hard part for us, isn’t it.
We all want the mercy,
we all want the pardon, we all want the forgiveness
but we’re not quick to acknowledge and confess
the reasons we need these things.
We know we’re not saints but we’re slow to call ourselves sinners.
We know we’re not perfect,
but it’s often so hard for us to admit our mistakes.
We know we need to make some changes,
but it’s not easy for us to begin to change.
On the other hand, we’re pretty good, some of us even expert,
at noticing our neighbor's faults and flaws
even when we’re blind to our own.
We find it easy to identify him, or her or them – as sinners
-- but not so much ourselves.
Lent is a time to look at ourselves honestly
and take a personal inventory
to see ourselves as God sees us, to stand in the light of God’s truth,
to see our own faults and weaknesses,
to see how we’ve failed God,
how we’ve failed our neighbor,
and how we’ve failed ourselves.
Lent’s a time to discover our need for mercy
and confess what needs pardoning,
that God might clothe us in his heartfelt mercy
and free us from our sins.
And one way to work on this is
to “clothe ourselves in heartfelt mercy” in that second sense.
To clothe ourselves in heartfelt mercy
in the way we live with those around us.
Remember those synonyms for mercy?
And how well they fit God?
How well do they fit us?
Are you and I clothed in:
benevolence
blessing
charity
clemency
compassion
forgiveness
generosity
goodwill
grace
leniency
pity
sympathy
tolerance
favor
forbearance
gentleness
humanity
kindness
mildness
tenderness
relief
pardon
Are we clothed in these garments?
Is this how we’re dressed?
Or is my heart clothed in "garments" that would better be removed?
Thinking of that list of synonyms,
what clothing do I need to add to my heart's wardrobe?
How, this Lent, might I put away any garb
that masks and burdens my heart
and, instead, clothe myself in mercy?
And, who needs the gift of my heartfelt mercy?
People in our families, right in our own homes…
Folks I work with, interact with day to day…
Classmates at school, on my team, in my circle of friends…
People in my neighborhood, people in our parish…
Everywhere we look there are others
waiting for us to show them - the mercy God shows us.
Perhaps, this Lent, I need to take an honest look, an inventory
of the outfits that costume my heart and my life
and ask God for the grace to put away what I shouldn't put on
and to clothe my heart, instead, in garments of mercy,
of grace, and of human kindness...
In today’s gospel Jesus reminds us that we don’t live on bread alone,
rather, we live on gift of God’s mercy.
And he reminds us that we are to worship only our God
and to serve him first, above all,
for he is the God whose mercy saves us.
And Jesus reminds us not to test God and presume upon his mercy
but rather to acknowledge and confess
how and when and where and why
we stand so much in need of his merciful love.
In the shadow of the mercy that flows from his crucified heart
we stand at the Table where he shares with us
the gift of his merciful love
in the Bread and Cup of the Eucharist.
May what we receive here today help us, each one of us,
to clothe ourselves in heartfelt mercy.
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