Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
One of the modern saints I've grown to love is Thérèse of Lisieux. She was a young French girl, born at the end of the 19th Century. She was blessed in many ways. She grew up in a family that wasn't super wealthy, but still managed to do quite well for themselves. They were very devout, so there was a lot of room for faith. And she had parents who loved and cared for her.
But there was tragedy in her life too. Thérèse's mother passed away when she was about 4. She found herself called at 15 to join the Carmelite Sisters, one of the strictest orders one can join. And she became very sick in her early 20s, and died at the young age of 23.
Around the time she contracted her illness, Thérèse writes about how she was able to deal with people she disliked, or who annoyed her. She would pray to God for strength and then make an extra effort to smile at them. She found that over time making an extra effort to be kind to those sisters and to see them as fellow daughters in Christ allowed her feelings to slowly turn away from annoyance to love. Apparently she did such a good job, that the sisters who annoyed her the most would say she loved them the most. Otherwise, why would she give that sweet smile?
Thérèse understood something vital. That what is in our hearts is important. It is how we feel and how we react that affects what we do. That what we do needs to be a reflection of those feelings. And that to truly change how we feel, or even to change what lies in our hearts, we have to rely on God to come in and change our hearts.
Our Gospel today is all about what is in the heart. For each commandment Jesus mentions, He says that we have broken these commandments not by what we have or haven't done, but by what is in our hearts. If we become so angry with someone that we wish they were dead, we have sinned. If we look on someone lustfully, we've sinned. If we do not reconcile ourselves to one another, we may find ourselves lost. And if we dare to place ourselves under the burden of swearing an oath to the Lord, well, things maybe difficult for us.
It's not just whether we follow the commandments to the letter that matters. It matters what is in our hearts as we try to follow them.
In other words, what really matters is why we are following the law. Do we want to be rewarded for doing as we should? Or do we want to follow God's path because we love Him and want to be in relationship with Him? What is our true motivation?
But even if we want to follow God with all our heart, we all find at times that it is hard to do so. That we fail to have pure thoughts about one another. That we fail to feel love and compassion to others, even though we know they are loved by God just as we are. At times its hard not to wish harm on those who continue to annoy or even torment us.
What Jesus is asking from us is harder than just following the letter of the law. It gives us a new and higher standard to try to live up to.
But if anyone thinks this is impossible, then they forget the words of Mark, that "with God all things are possible." That it is not ourselves we rely on for salvation, but on God Himself.
Because it is not ourselves we rely on to change our hearts. It is God. Just as Thérèse of Lisieux prayed to God that He might help her be kind and feel love for those who annoyed her or wished her harm, we too are called to let God in to "create in us a new heart" as we will soon recite in Psalm 51 on Ash Wednesday.
As we get ready in the coming months to celebrate a Baptism and our confirmands affirming the Baptismal vows made for them by their parents and godparents, we are reminded of our own Baptisms. Those moments where we, or those who loved us, made solemn vows to turn away from sin and evil and instead turn our hearts towards loving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Because by His blood, we are able to start to make that slow turn back to Him. By His death, we are restored and made new in a life that is free from those things that drive us away from God. By His stripes we are healed. And by our Baptism into His death and resurrection, we are made new.
God is the one who comes into our hearts to turn them around. To restore them. To make them new. And so as we celebrate His manifestation among us this Epiphany, and as we get ready to prepare for his death and resurrection in Lent and Easter, let Him in to your hearts. Let Him in to restore and renew you.
Be like Thérèse of Lisieux. Pray that God will help change your hearts so that you can show the same love for others as He shows to us. For we can do nothing on our own. Jesus makes that clear in His interpretation of the law today. But with God's help, we can slowly change. And we can change for the better.