October 18, 2020 - Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"The Motives of Our Actions"

Audio Link

We live in days which broadcast a seemingly endless number of social causes to effect --- racial discrimination, job creation, healthcare reform, climate change, immigration --- just to name the top 5 causes identified by today’s Millennials. The entire list is wide-ranging, including another fifteen topics, yet it fails to mention a social cause which appears to be more and more vulnerable with each day --- religious liberty, particularly for Christians.

Could it be that it’s not on the list because many of today’s young adults lack a personal relationship with God? To be fair, might we ask the same question for all age groups of society?

This is not a matter of pointing fingers, it’s a matter of recognizing the truth. In today’s Old Testament reading, we hear God address His servant Jacob who was leading the struggle for the ancient Jewish people --- “I am the Lord and there is no other, there is no God besides me. It is I who arm you, though you know me not . . . . “ God tells Jacob that every battle he and his companions fight, every challenge they take on, is guided and won by the hand of God. God is declaring that He is the ONLY authority and that all righteous causes are won through Him. This is a message intended for many of the warriors of today’s social causes, as well --- just as Jacob needed to hear it nearly three thousand years ago.

In today’s struggle for positive social change, why do we witness so much anger and violence? Could it be that many of us see the struggle as simply our own worthy cause? I wonder --- during the planning, the marching, and in extreme cases, the rioting and destruction, how often does the thought of God ever cross our minds? Theologian Louis of Grenada teaches us, “We must examine the motives of our actions, that we may labor purely for God, since nothing is more subtle than self-love, which insinuates itself into every work.” More simply put, are we seeking societal change to serve God or to satisfy our own egos?

These guiding words raise the question to a matter of humility. Humility is ultimately a matter of recognizing the truth, that God is our loving creator and man is simply His creature. If a person believes that he alone, or with his colleagues, is capable of effecting societal justice without God, his pride has placed his ego ahead of God and his righteous cause. Theologian Father Basil Maturin shares, “At the end of the day of our earthly life, we have to answer to our Maker whether we have been employed about our own work or about His . . .”

In today’s Gospel, in the story of the census tax to Caesar, enemies of Jesus sought to trap our Lord by asking a question which focused on authority --- God versus the emperor. Jesus’ answer highlights the true value of earthly/temporal gifts versus the eternal gift --- in this instance, money versus the soul. Jesus’ perfect answer, “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” --- indicates that God is due the more precious response from man --- the gift of relationship --- of obedience, of service, of love before all other earthly authorities or causes they may claim. So, while it is absolutely clear that Jesus asks His followers to serve the underprivileged through corporal works of mercy --- to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, striving to end oppression of all sorts --- we are to do so by seeking and allowing God’s merciful love to flow through our hearts as an act of worship. This is the greatest personal right that man can hold tight. And, when we do this, the Holy Spirit will lead us to victory in all of our righteous causes.

This week, confirmation hearings were held for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Voices from both sides of the political landscape declare that she is a person who actively lives and celebrates her Catholic faith. To some, this is concerning, to others, this is someone to proud of. These hearings bring us back to my opening remarks on religious liberty. I would like to make a distinction --- religious freedom is the right to worship privately as one desires. Religious liberty is the right to live your life openly, within society, in a manner which is consistent with your faith. If we confess to being true Catholics, we are to offer our lives as living witnesses to the teachings of Jesus Christ wherever we go and with those we meet. If we are obliged to keep our faith to ourselves, if we are to be denied religious liberty, how can we be expected to bring about social justice?

During the days leading to Advent, let us pray that Jesus will share His grace with all those who work for moral reform in the world so we will first seek the glory of God before everything else. May we come to understand that the Source of all good things will help us in our necessary challenges. And, with this knowledge, may we effect a reform which is true rather than one that is purely our own.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.