Joel
2:1 – 2, 12 – 17
Psalm
103:8 - 14
II
Corinthians 5:20b – 6:10
Matthew
6:1 – 6, 16 - 21
This
is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Wednesday,
February 22, 2023, by Fr. Gene Tucker.
“BRINGING NOTHING, BUT POSSESSING EVERYTHING”
(Homily text: Joel 2:1 – 2, 12 – 17)
“We brought nothing into this world,
and we cannot take anything out of this world.” (I Timothy 6:7)
St. Paul’s words, which we read in his
first letter to his disciple, Timothy, summarize our situation and condition
before God.
Paul affirms that we come into this
world, helpless and dependent upon others. We come empty-handed, in other
words. We have nothing to offer but ourselves and the prospect of a fruitful
life.
And yet, our arrival is usually the
source of joy to those who assisted God in bringing us into this world, and who
will care for us, raise us, and see us grow into maturity. (At least that’s the
ideal situation…I am well aware that it isn’t always this way.)
At baptism, by which we are brought
into the world of faith, we also come empty-handed, possessing nothing to offer
but ourselves and the prospect that we will grow into the full measure of faith
that God has in store for us.
The coming of this holy season of Lent
might remind us of our helplessness and our lack of a suitable offering to make
to God. Our wayward ways make us less-than-acceptable to the holy God. Our inconsistent
walk with God makes us unreliable companions on the way of faith.
And yet, if we recognize these truths
about ourselves, and come to the ugly truth that we come to God empty-handed,
then we stand an excellent chance of possessing everything, everything of the
great store of God’s goodness, God’s love, His generosity and grace.
For the truth of God is that God’s
essential nature is to love. God’s essential nature is also to want to be in
relationship with each one of us. God’s desire for us is so great that He is
willing to take us into a love relationship in whatever condition we come,
offering only ourselves, freed of any pretense. But, of course, the fruits of
such an intense, one-on-one relationship with God the Father through God the
Son will be seen in the changes that will take place in our nature and in our
behavior. The truth of God also carries with it the guarantee that such a
genuine relationship will result in changes in us. God never leaves us where He
finds us, it is said.
The call of Lent resounds like the call
of the ancient prophet Joel, who bids God’s people to come to repentance with
the call of the trumpet, a call to alarm, a call to set aside any and
everything to enter into a time of self-examination and amendment of life.
Do we really and genuinely have a
personal, ongoing and lively faith relationship with the Lord? That question
might guide us through this season of Lent.
AMEN.
