Deacon Steve's homily - God is love

4th SundayOrdinary Time – C

God is love

Good morning!

One of the ministries of charity that many deacons have is a jail ministry.

Deacons Ron Reimer, Ron Pirau, and myself have visited lot’s of men and women in the Johnson County jail in Franklin.

During our visits we read and reflect on scripture and we pray together.

Many of the men and women who come are Catholic while many are not.

There always seem to be questions from the non-Catholics about the Catholic Church.

I find myself at times being a Catholic apologist, explaining our faith, and why we believe and act the way we do.

Some of them even question the existence of God and the meaning of life.

They ask me, “What is life all about?  We are born, we live and we die and that’s the end, isn’t it?”

Some say, “there’s no God, no afterlife, therefore why should I care about how I live?”

I tell them that is not what God has revealed over the years.

God revealed himself throughout the ages and shared his plan for all of us.

I tell them that we Catholics believe that there is everlasting life and that God’s plan is for all of us to live forever in His kingdom.

How we live here will determine whether or not we have a place in God’s heavenly kingdom.

That’s our goal, I say; to live forever in the presence of God the almighty.

Then I ask them, “What can be better than that?”    <pause>

I have also noticed that many of the men and women who are behind bars experience isolation. 

They are desperate for affection, desperate for love.

As I reflected on today’s readings I thought about the men and women at the jail and what many of them long for.

I also thought about all of us, and how each of us longs for the same thing - LOVE.

I ask “why is it that we need to love and to be loved?”

The answer, my friends, lies in our basic Catholic beliefs.

It’s because of the way are made, the way we are wired so to speak.

We know from the book of Genesis that God created us in His own image and likeness.

He breathed His spirit into the human body to give it life.

Our immortal soul, God’s spirit breathed into each of us, longs to be loved because God is love.

Pope Benedict XVI felt that our world was in desperate need of this message when he began his very first encyclical with these words from John’s First letter; “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16)

In today’s second reading from Corinthians, which is also a favorite scripture passage for weddings, Paul describes love in a beautiful, poetic way.

He says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous. Love never fails.”

Since we believe that God is love, let’s change these to, “God is patient, God is kind. God is not jealous. God is not pompous. God never fails.”     <pause>

My friends, God loves each of us and wants us to feel his love every day.

God never gave up on humanity, and because He loves all people He revealed himself throughout the ages.

We read in John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”

Because God loved us so much, He himself came among us, fully human, fully divine to show us the way toward eternal life.

Jesus Christ walked among us to tell us of God’s love for us.

In today’s Gospel, we read about Jesus’ rejection by the people of Nazareth. 

I am sure that must have been difficult for Jesus to be rejected by his own, but he didn’t give up.

He pressed on and proclaimed the Kingdom of God wherever he went.

He used parables to explain to the people who God is and what God’s plan is for all of us.

God’s plan is for all of us to experience His love both on earth and in the heavenly kingdom.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that when asked what is the greatest of the commandments Jesus responded:

“LOVE God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul.  And, LOVE your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus founded his Church and instituted the sacraments to lead all people towards the kingdom of God’s love.  

The Catechism says this: the Church "is the visible plan of God's love for humanity."

By being part of the Church and living out Jesus’ commandments to love God and neighbor we can live in right relationship with God.

We can then feel the joy and peace that can only come from God.

Saint Augustine wrote in his famous work Confessions, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." 

In other words, Augustine could not experience inner peace and joy by ignoring God and following the ways of the world.  Believe me, he tried to do so. 

If you know anything about Augustine, you know that he was a lost soul for many years.

He searched for love, peace, and joy in the ways of the world and by living an immoral life.

Augustine was truly conflicted.

He finally discovered that love, peace, and joy were not to be found in that lifestyle.

With the intercession of his mother, St. Monica, he repented, was baptized and began to follow the teachings of Jesus and his Church.

Augustine finally found what he had been searching for:  true love, true peace, true joy, and true rest. 

No longer was he conflicted.   <pause>

This week, let’s reflect on these readings and remember that God is pure love.

Let’s remember that God loves each of us more than we can imagine.

Regardless of our situation, we can feel that love each and every day as we journey toward God’s heavenly kingdom.

All we have to say is ‘Yes’ to God by following Jesus and the Church - the visible plan of God's love for humanity.

It is there, my friends, where we will find the joy, peace, and love that each and every one of us desires.

God bless you all!