Homily for September 28, 2025

 

As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Church

Jonah 3:1-10, 1 Corinthians 10-14-17, Matthew 24:32-44

In the Epistle to the Corinthians read this morning we are warned about worshiping idols. And immediately in the words preceding this warning, Paul preaches that God is faithful and will not let us be tested beyond our strength. But in the testing God will also provide the way out of it as well as the strength to bear whatever trials come our way, including the temptation to make idols we cling to.
          Jesus used the fig tree leafing out to indicate that summer was coming. For us at this time of year, the tree leaves turning colors indicate that winter is coming. Jesus assured us that we know how to interpret these signs.  Are we equally aware of how to interpret this warning about trials to come?  As Jonah warned the people of Nineveh and they changed, are we willing to see what needs changing in our attitudes as we journey through life?  Do any of our attitudes involve idols we are inadvertently worshiping?

          I believe that deep within our hearts is an impulse to worship. This same impulse causes us to “follow” Christ.  This is an impulse that lifts our whole self into a personal act of gratitude and wonder.  It is a response to realizing that our life is a gift. It is a gift to realize that we are united to the rest of humanity. We are one with all of Creation.

What better reminder of this Unity than when we receive Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist!  This worship of ours is not confined to being in church, but is or can become active from the moment we awaken in the morning until we turn off the light to sleep at night.

Besides our inclination to worship and follow Christ, we have a tendency to hold on to what we learned about God as a youth. We need to bring knowledge to virtue so that our spirituality does not become bad theology.   Idols come in all shapes and sizes, and are difficult to recognize.  A commitment to knowledge can provide us with the tools we need to make judgements that are true and kind, compassionate and just.

It is easy for subtle idols to creep into our lives, but we have been warned. We can help ourselves by remembering that we are one with all of Creation and by giving thanks to God for all our many blessings—and even our challenges.

Remembering that we are one with all Creation as Patriarch Bartholomew said recently when speaking at Fordham is a *level of consciousness from which we can take action and inspire others to rise to an appreciation of, and a gratitude for, the material world and the beings who dwell in it. It calls us to take action, to become engaged with the world and its inhabitants – not for the sake of self-gain. Rather, in imitation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we extend ourselves for the sake of others, and in doing so, we find meaning for our own lives. *

Christ is in our midst.

 

Sermon 211 September 21, 2025: IS 49:13-18, 22, 23; Gal 2:15-20; Mk 8: 34-9:1 "Follow me"

As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church 

 

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

 

       The two most important words in this gospel passage are "follow me." Thursday at matins this week a passage from Richard Rohr's Yes and caused me to think about this gospel passage in a different and unexpected way. Rohr said, we often find it easier to worship Christ than to imitate him.

       The gospels have many scenes where individuals say they want to follow Christ. When he tells them what they have to do to achieve their goal, they often hesitate. Nowhere in the gospels does he say "worship me." He does tell us that the most important commandments are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and your neighbor as yourself. This is what Jesus models for us in his life. How are we to do this? How do we imitate Jesus? In today's passage Christ says if you want to follow me you must deny yourself and take up your cross. That is a tall order.

       The first task, to deny yourself, is the foundation for what follows. I looked up that passage in several different translations and found many ways to say this. Deny yourself [EOB, NRSV, NIV], forget yourself [NCSB], give up all right to yourself [JBP], say no to yourself [CEB], renounce yourself [NJB], turn from your selfish ways [NLT] and Peterson's The Message: "anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am." So, if we're going to let someone else lead, if we are going to put our faith in someone else's leadership, we have to let go of our need to be the leader, to be in control, to be first, to be always right. St. Paul says this to the Galatians: "The life that I am now living, subject to the limitation of human nature, I am living in faith, faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." [2:20]. Who loved me and gave himself for me! The other is the focus. Jesus defined "deny yourself" by the way he lived and how he treated others.

       The second task Christ gives us is to "take up your cross." He doesn't ask us to take up his cross. He already has done for us what he set out to do, according to God's plan. How we make that part of our life, is by taking up our cross, our life, and living it as God has intended for us. In doing so, we do not escape trials and self sacrifice any more than Jesus did. We live life in the here and now. As Jesus tells us, tomorrow will take care of itself. And the ultimate tomorrow is in God's hands.

       When Jesus says to follow him, he is not saying to worship him. However, to worship and praise the God who gives life to us and to all creation is not a bad thing. It is necessary to keep our minds and hearts always appreciating the reality that our life is created and sustained by a higher power. This awareness must be linked to the "liturgy after the liturgy," a phrase and concept coined by Archbishop Anastasios of Albania in the mid 20th century. We make our work, home and daily tasks an ongoing offering to God. The church does the same by extending its service and solidarity beyond the church building into the world and especially to the marginalized and needy. The two modes of worship, if you will, are one woven fabric. In doing these things we imitate Jesus, we follow him, as he leads us to our salvation. And as God says through the prophet Isaiah: Those who hope in me will not be disappointed."

 

Glory be to Jesus Christ!