6th Sunday Homily--The heart makes us human

Our degree of hospitality shows our degree of humanness.

I am a “bit” of a SciFi geek, Star Wars and Star Trek.  Star Trek of course has the famous character of Spock, the coldly logical half Vulcan who had the internal conflict with his other human half, the emotional part.  Star Trek throughout all its other shows generally maintained that type of character, one who wrestles with what it means to be human.

Clearly, we as Catholics have our belief in what it means to be human, as revealed in Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ Salvation means to be those human persons we were created to be.

Easier said than done.

I think many, if not all of us, we wrestle with being human; and often it seems a conflict between logic and the heart.

Look at Leviticus and the “law” regarding Lepers.  It makes logical sense, doesn’t it?  Given the lack of sanitation and lack of knowledge about diseases, someone who has a skin disorder, in order to prevent it from spreading to the rest of the community, would need to be quarantined.  

We still do this today.  I myself put out a memo with this flu season, reminding people that if they are sick, they don’t have to come to mass.  “Stay at home, stay away from us “healthy” persons!”

Logically, it make sense.  

Trouble is that it can be cold too. “Okay, you with the flu, stay home.  Anddddddd….. We will forget about you until get well and are with us again.”

Logic really forms the basis of laws, both civil and ecclesial.  The logic philosophical system creates the foundation of our Catholic Theology (mostly).  

Yet Logic unfortunately can be used to keep people away and keep people out.

Logically, kind of makes sense, that if you don’t think, act or believe like the rest of us, you can’t be a part of us.

Logic taken to extremes kills; the unborn, criminals, the sick and dying; and suicides.

Jesus comes and utterly upends the reality of logic and balances it with the heart.

Jesus reminds us that the Person in front of us always trumps the need for cold logic.

Jesus tells us that Love is first and foremost:  Love is human.

Look what he did to this Leper.  He healed him; removed what kept him from being a full member of the community.

He did not see a skin disease, but a man, a person; who deserves to be treated with goodness, with dignity.

Jesus chose to do what was good.

God does not act logically.

It was not logical for the Son of God to give of himself and be born as a human child.

It was not logical for Jesus to teach, preach and heal as he did.

It was not logical for Jesus to willingly die on the cross (though to the Romans and the Jewish leaders it was logical that he had to be executed).

It was certainly not logical for Jesus to be raised…

And yet, here we are.

And it is not logical to believe that God the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit transforms bread and wine into the very body and blood of the Son of God.

And yet, here we are.

It is the heart, the love, that makes life worth living.

Love makes see beyond, so have hope, to have possibilities and opportunities.

Now I am not talking emotions; because reacting to emotions is not necessarily always a good thing.

The Heart, Love, is the conscious choice, to act for the good of another.

It involves the mind too, but sees beyond to the good.

Hospitality is Good.

Hospitality is welcoming in people, fellow humans, with their wounds, with their past mistakes, with their needs.  

Hospitality reveals the value of our hearts, the freedom of our hearts.

I remember when I was a young unemployed geologist, and I gravitated to Our Lady of Wisdom back in 1990.  They welcomed me.  They invited me to be a part of their community, daily mass, coffee and donuts, dinners.  By gosh, don’t you know that is where that calling to be a priest got re-awakened.

Helping people experience the healing of Grace, to know that they have a place, is the heart of the Church, the heart of our diocese, the heart of each and every parish and needs to be at the heart of each and every Catholic.

Our hearts that impel us to speak up for the unborn, the immigrant, the sick and dying.

Our hearts that opens those doors and welcomes all who search.

The heart that goes to those struggling with addictions & walks with them.

Our hearts say “help those who need to be helped: listen to them.”

It is the heart that takes the risk to see the person in front of us; not defined by politics, nation of birth, not defined by past mistakes or whatever.

Logic makes sense; but it is Love that makes life, makes us human.