Homily – Rev. James L. Nadeau, Pastor - October 31st, 2021
October28,2021
Homily – Rev. James L. Nadeau, Pastor - October 31st, 2021
Let me share with you the story of an AIDS patient from when I was a hospital volunteer.
At age eighteen, he told his parents he was questioning his identity. They said, “Move out.”
Nine years later, he is dying of AIDS. For nine years, he attended different support groups and he’d had no contact with his family. Despite their separation, he wanted to see his family and tell them how much he loved them. He had six weeks to live. So, he wrote them a letter and received a reply. However, he waited for me to visit before opening it. When he opens the envelope, a note and a check fall out. Recognizing his father’s handwriting, he sees that the check is written for $150.00 with “Legal Fees” written in the memo section. The note had three words: "Change your name."
And Jesus said, “First, love the Lord your God and second, love your neighbor as yourself.”
You see, the Christian life is not our own. As believers, we have to have wider horizons. That is why we have in the first reading and the Gospel, the repetition of “all.”
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
“And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
These repetitions underscore the consuming nature of the Christian vocation. It is not about our human/ego drama.
We are called to transition into the Divine Drama (God’s plan). Our will and our lives are to be ingredients into the higher Divine will. This is not just a feeling but something deeper. Jesus stresses in the Gospel, the intellectual effort that God’s people must make to uncover personal biases and convictions that run counter to divine commands.
all the commandments, all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength, all your understanding, all burnt offerings and sacrifices
“There is no other commandment greater than these.”