Homily Twenty-Second Tuesday of Ordinary Time (Cor. 2:10b-16) “God Sees What Goes on in Las Vegas”
Homily Twenty-Second Tuesday of Ordinary Time (Cor. 2:10b-16) “God Sees What Goes on in Las Vegas”
Corinth was a very worldly city. Some would say it was the Las Vegas of its day. We call Las Vegas “sin city” don’t we? Las Vegas also says of itself that “what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. I don’t think I am speaking out of turn then to say that Las Vegas has quite a reputation. I have never been there, so I must base my analysis on its reputation.
I obviously was never in Corinth in the first century either, but the way it is described it sounds like you could satisfy every physical desire there. Food and drink were plentiful. There was a lot of gambling and prostitution as well. And yes, there were theaters with entertainment also.
Many of the people in Corinth felt like their lives weren’t very meaningful. Satisfying the sins of greed and lust and gluttony whenever it was convenient was not uplifting. There were probably a lot of health ramifications as well. If we are going to live a healthy life, we need to have a moral code.
When Paul taught the Corinthians about Christianity, they saw that there was another way of living. Paul writes to them in our first lesson today about an earthly existence versus a spiritual existence. A Christian is called to live a spiritual existence.
A spiritual existence is led by the person who is happy to live ethically. A spiritual person lives a life of charity. Such a person knows that the core desire of a human being is the desire to pursue the things of God which lead us to hope, beauty, and an understanding of agape’ (divine love). Paul reminds the Corinthians of human dignity that comes with being a child of God.
Reflection Questions:
- What do I think the purpose of human life is? What does our society say the purpose of human life is?
- What happens when I forget that I am a child of God? How do I get back on the right track?
Dear Parishioners:
Today we start the month of September. How our lives have changed since mid-March. I am sure our lives are a lot quieter than they have been in the past.
I always have felt like fall is like turning on a light switch. There is an electricity in the air as fall programs start up. We start the sprint to the holidays. I got an invitation to a Christmas part yesterday (Baa Humbug). This year it seems like a lot of the bulbs are burned out. As many people have said, “Maybe God is trying to tell us something.” All the things that we thought are so essential are not all that essential.
The adults among us have a big job this fall. As Paul says in our scripture today, we need to live as spiritual people rejoicing in the small things. Maybe it is the full autumn moon or harvesting our garden or raking our yard. Perhaps we can do things with a greater awareness of the gift of life. If we can find satisfaction in small things, we might help our young people do the same.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark.