Sunday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Holiness… Perfection… these are not words we associate with ourselves easily. On the contrary, we are the victims of the common adage, “To err is human….” Many people consider holiness and perfection to be outside the ordinary realm. I was barely seventeen when I joined the seminary. I was sure then that I wanted to try the priesthood, but I was less aware of holiness or how to be holy. And sure enough, we were given numerous books about the lives of the saints to read. They made great reading but these books, but as I read them then, it seemed to me that they included a fair amount of a romanticization of holiness. It seemed to me at that time that holiness was beyond me. These books portrayed holiness as something unreachable for a seventeen year old guy who struggled with bad thoughts, who entertained fantasies, who has trouble getting along with other seminarians, and one who struggled with genuine prayer. It took me a long time to realize that holiness and perfection are not unattainable for even a guy like me.
Before I go any further, let me clarify why we are taking about holiness. Today, is one of those rare Sunday’s, in which, all the three readings carry a common theme. In the first reading, God says to Moses, “Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.” (Lev 19:17-18) Holiness is a command from God. In the second reading the call to holiness comes in a more convincing question, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16) In the gospel reading, Jesus, continuing with the Sermon on the Mount, says to his disciples, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5: 48) In all these passages, holiness or perfection is not presented as an option. It is a condition for discipleship.
But today’s readings also clarify for us the meaning of holiness. Holiness is more than about spending hours and hours in prayer. Holiness is more than about keeping all the commandments. Holiness is more than about trying to be pious. Holiness, at least in today’s scriptures, is about relationships. Holiness is about three relationships: relationship with God, relationship with others and relationship with self. In my three practical implications I would like to explore holiness as the pursuit of relationships the way God intends it.
1) Relationship with God. At least, in my life, it is not uncommon for me to think that my holiness comes from my actions. On a day that my daily prayer has been satisfactory or I did some good to another person, or on a day that I was fully present when I celebrated the Eucharist, I feel that I am holy. Today’s scripture corrects that misconception.The source of holiness is not in us. As God says to the people of Israel, “Be holy, for I am holy!” In other words, holiness comes from the fact that God allows us to participate in God’s being. God is the source of our holiness. Our prayer does not make us holy; The God who we encounter in prayer makes us holy. Our piety does not make us holy; God who is the object of our piety makes us holy. Our being here at the Eucharist does not make us holy; it is the God who we encounter who makes us holy.
2) Relationship with Others. Holiness would be very easy, if there was no one else on the face of the earth. But today’s readings connect holiness to our relationship with others. The intriguing factor is that holiness is not attached to our whimsical relationships with those we love and those we do not. Let me explain. The first reading that we have today is rather fragmented. Out of the twenty odd verses of Chapter 19 that we should be hearing, we hear only four. Many of the commandments that follow God’s command to Israel to be holy, are followed by commandments that center around respect, sincerity, justice, genuine concern and love for others. For example, God says, “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you glean the stray ears of grain; you shall not pick your vineyard bare, nor gather up the grapes that have fallen. These things you shall leave for the poor and the alien.” Or again, “You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another.” And again, "You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor. You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer. You shall not curse the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind…. You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your fellow men justly. You shall not go about spreading slander among your kinsmen; nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor's life is at stake.” (Lev 19:4-16) And then, we continue with today’s readings where God says, "You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow man, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lev 19: 17-18)
Of course, Jesus goes beyond these commandments in the gospel reading when he says, “When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well.” Even more radical is the command, “I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father….” Once again, by suggesting that these are the ways in which we can be children of the heavenly Father, Jesus connects holiness with our relationship with others.
3) Relationship with Self. St. Paul, in today’s second reading gives us another thought provoking insight. In one sense, Paul’s question, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Cor 3:16), only affirms what I said earlier; that our holiness comes from God. On the other hand, Paul is also convincing us of the sanctity of every human person. As disciples, each one of us must be deeply aware about our own sanctity. By our baptism, the Holy Spirit dwells in us. At Every Eucharist, we invite our all holy God into our innermost being. To put Paul’s words differently, we do know that each of us is a temple of God.
Let me conclude by taking you back to where I began this homily. In retrospect, the lives of the saints that I read in the seminary make perfect sense. The Catholic community holds these men and women up high because they were stunning examples of the manner in which we can integrate our relationships the way God intends us to. So holiness is not outside our realm; holiness is not reserved for saints. Each of us is already holy to the extent that we are striving for genuine relationship with God, others and self.
Let us approach our all holy God with awe today. Let us allow God to touch us and make us holy. As we do so, let us be aware of the presence of God within us. And may our own sanctity lead us to share our holiness with others. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph