Without exception, we are all made in the image and likeness of God.

 

Twenty Seventh Sunday in OT  B  2024

 

On this first weekend of the month of October, we are celebrating respect life weekend.  We are celebrating the dignity of every person God has created.  We are all made in the image and likeness of God.  From the first moment of conception till the day we are placed in the grave, each person’s life is to be respected and is very much deserving of our love.

In the first scripture reading from the Book of Genesis, the Lord God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone.”  God has created us for relationship.  The need for companionship is basic and God-given in each of us.  We become our best selves in loving and sharing and giving with each another.  We are made for each other.  God created us to share life and life in all its abundance.

Simply put, no person was made to be an island, in isolation from community.  Through God’s eyes, humanity is complete in partnership and in love.  We are better together.

In a session with some faith-filled children, I asked them why they thought God said: “It is not good for man to be alone.”  They responded so beautifully and honestly:  One said: “We need friends” …. another “I love my mom and dad and brothers and sisters” …. Another said: “It would be so boring.”  Another said: “Jesus wants us to love one another.” 

Even at a young age, maybe especially at their age, children know they are safe and very much loved in their family.  They know they are their best selves when they are kind, when they have friends, and when they love others.

The need for partnership and companionship and love is best expressed most beautifully in the marriage vows: “I, John, take you, Mary, to be my wife.  I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.  I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”

Marriage is part of God’s loving plan of salvation.

Jesus, the great teacher, goes back to God’s original plan of creation.  God has created us to be in relationship.  When the examiners of Jesus brought up the question of divorce, Jesus turned it into a discussion of the dignity of each person and the fact that human beings are made for loving one another as truly as we are made to love God.

In his interchange with the Pharisees, Jesus went far beyond the question of divorce to teach about the meaning of human relationship in general.   Jesus went beyond the legality of the law.  He called people to discern God’s will as that which promotes life-giving relationships in each and every situation.

Marriage is a school of love and forgiveness.  When two people get married they bring with them to their marriage normal human weaknesses and discover weakness in the other which previously they did not know.    In the sacrament of marriage, it is not just two people coming together in love; the sacrament of marriage unites the couple with Jesus and brings them God’s blessing.

The faithfulness of God to this couple is lived out in the sacrament of marriage.  God is always faithful to us his people.  God is always faithful to the Church.

In the second Scripture reading, the sacred writer says that Jesus was made perfect through suffering.  For us too, our relationship with Jesus is deepened through the sufferings we experience.  The cross, suffering in our life is part of our sharing in the paschal mystery of the Lord.  We are to die to ourselves so that we may live more fully in the life of Christ. 

As we celebrate respect life this weekend, may we respect the life and the dignity of all those who have experienced pain and suffering.  The beauty of our respect life theme is that people most in need – for those who are divorced and those who have experienced brokenness in relationship – are people whom the Lord welcomes and forgives and desires them to be reconciled to the God who desires reconciliation with one and all.

May we be a faith community that is deeply committed to respecting all human life.

I call your attention to our state’s Equal Rights Amendment in which you will be asked to vote up or down on election day.  Our New York State Catholic Conference strongly opposes this amendment and encourage us to vote NO so that this amendment does not pass.

I state two important reasons for opposing this amendment:

·      It would enshrine a fundamental right to abortion on demand in the state constitution.  While it is labeled an Equal Rights Amendment, it certainly does not grant equal rights to the child within the womb of the mother.

 

·      The language of the amendment would bar discrimination based either on age or gender identity or gender expression.  The translation of this is that parents would not have a say in the medical intervention in their minor children on a decision for gender transition.  To me it is unthinkable for parents not to have a say in such a significant decision of a teenager.

 

While I do not think that it is appropriate for me to advocate for a particular candidate from the pulpit, I think it is appropriate to advocate on ethical issues that support the dignity of all human life.  And to advocate against proposals that do not support the dignity of all human life.

 

May God give you peace.