February 26, 2017 - Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Do Your Job"

Audio Clip

Like many of you, on February 5th, at about 11 pm., I was taking in the celebration of the most amazing comeback in Super Bowl history.  And, as I said to those who were watching with me, I get a kick out of seeing grown men act like little boys.  Where else in life do we find "bromances" as freely displayed as in sports. Shedding tears, we heard players and coaches sharing that beside the birth of their children, that this was the greatest moment of their lives.  I guess it ranks ahead of their wedding days which I'm sure their wives loved to hear. All of this joy and satisfaction for the athletes, coaches, team management and millions of fans by following a well-known, three-word mantra --- "Do Your Job!"

For any organization or group of people to consistently experience success, they need to trust in the qualities of those in charge.  For those of us who have paid close attention to the NFL, we've heard for years the consensus opinion that Bill Belichick is the best coach in the business and may be the best coach of all-time.  This is important to recognize because athletes who are willing to put their health and welfare on the line every day, need to be fully committed to the mission of winning championships. They need to have complete trust in the coach's game plan for their own good and for the good of the team.  When you've won five Super Bowls in fifteen years, players have the proof they need to trust his judgment.

In today's scripture passage from 1 Corinthians, St. Paul shares that the foundation of a happy life is for us to trust in God's divine mercy.  With the day-to-day challenges we face, and the events we witness from time-to-time, it's not always easy for us to trust God. What God asks of us is that we do our best to develop a level of trust that allows Him to do His work in us.  But, how do we learn to trust. What experiences can we draw upon that help us trust in God's providence? We learn to trust a little bit more each day by taking the time to contemplate the love that is required for a Father to give up His son, without reservation, to be tortured, so that we may avoid being condemned to eternal misery.   We learn to trust a little bit more each day by taking the time to contemplate the love that is required for our brother, our friend, to agree to be mocked, ridiculed, whipped and crucified in order for our sins to be forgiven and for us to live with Him in heaven forever. Proof is right in front of our eyes every time we walk into this church and set our eyes on this cross.  Do we fully appreciate that this agony really happened for each of us, or do we look up there and simply see a piece of decorative furniture? We participate in the proof during every mass when we celebrate Jesus' sacrifice and share in His precious body and blood. Never has anyone paid such a heavy price to prove that others, you and I matter!

The greater our trust in Jesus, the easier it will be for us to accomplish the second part of our plan.  Matthew's Gospel shares Jesus' instruction to us that we are to "seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness." --- and "not to worry about our lives, what we will eat or drink . . . or what we will wear."  This is pretty incredible --- two thousand years ago seems pretty similar to today, doesn't it? Are we serving the right food for guests with the proper wine, or do I need a new wardrobe from the latest hot designer?  Wouldn't it be great if we joined the right country club, or drove the nicest car or if we lived in "that" part of town! Are we really missing out on something that matters? When our days on earth have passed and we are in the presence of God, will any of that matter?  Our faith tells us that Jesus won't ask us who are favorite designer was, or what kind of car we drove to which country club. Jesus will embrace us and kiss us. And as we stand before God awaiting judgment and we are accused by the Evil One of wanton selfishness and guilt, St. Paul tells us today that our Savior will shower us with "praise from God" and He will "manifest the motives of our hearts," to our Father.  And, because we did our job the best that we could to trust in His love, because we did our best to overcome temptation and live a life of virtue, of generosity and kindness, Jesus will present His own infinite merits for our salvation. And then, the real celebration will begin!