A SERMON FOR THE 5TH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER
Most of us used a mirror this
morning. Ladies no doubt spent a bit of
time carefully applying makeup, while the men were busying applying shaving
cream. Even the children probably shot a
glance at themselves in the mirror as they brushed their teeth and combed their
hair. It’s called grooming ourselves and
we do it to make ourselves just a bit easier to look at. It surely can’t be for our own benefit, can
it? After all, most days we hardly ever
see ourselves at all, except for this one visit to the mirror. So hopefully it’s an act of charity towards
our neighbor, those poor people who have to look at us all the day long.
This daily review of our own
face, while benefiting our neighbor no doubt, is unfortunately wasted most days
as far as we ourselves are concerned. So
let’s change that today, by thinking of these visits to the mirror as an
opportunity to take a look at who we really are. What do I see in that reflection? Do I like what I see? Hopefully, we find ourselves looking at an
aspiring saint, trying to rid himself of bad habits and vices, striving to
perfect himself in the ways of God. Or
do I behold my reflection with shame, conscious of all the awful things I’ve
done in my life? Worse yet, maybe I see the self-satisfied face
of someone still deliberately wallowing in uncontrolled appetites that dishonor
God and himself? “Mirror, mirror on the
wall, who is the fairest of them all?”
However we see ourselves, we
should at least not try to fool ourselves into thinking we’re better than we
are. We men must never think we can remove,
along with our facial hair, the shame and embarrassment of what we’ve become? And you ladies, no amount of rouge and
lipstick can cover up the real state of your character and your soul. If we’re honest, we are always going to see,
in that face that looks back at us, someone who is in need of much more than just
physical improvement.
If we really take a good look in
that mirror, we should find many reasons for improving that person we see in
the reflection. For this is, truly, an
opportunity to reflect, in both meanings of that word. We should reflect on who we are and who we really
want to be, and then we should reflect on whether these two things match up. Do our aspirations coincide with the present
reality of our state of soul?
And when we’ve finished “reflecting”,
let’s not just go our way, as St. James says in his Epistle today. Let’s not be like the man who “beholdeth
himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he
was.” Instead, when you review that face
of yours, offer up a prayer to Almighty God, for the graces you need to improve
what’s behind your face. A man’s soul
was never saved by having a nice clean-shaven chin. Nor has any woman managed to make it through
the pearly gates by flashing her mascara-covered eyelids at St. Peter. So let’s concentrate on our salvation alone,
and treat the externals for what they’re worth—at best, an act of charity
towards our neighbor, and if not that, then simple vanity.
There’s a very popular hymn that most
of you probably have heard. Unfortunately,
it has become associated with Billy Graham and his evangelist tent-meetings and
“altar calls”, and that is indeed a pity.
It’s called “Just as I am” and you’ll find a copy in today’s bulletin. It’s worth a second look, as the words convey
a very simple yet profound acknowledgment that God accepts us for who we are,
and not what we look like. The Good Shepherd
will welcome us back into the fold no matter what we’ve done in the past, no
matter what bad habits we’ve managed to accumulate. He’s always there, always ready to wipe away
our tears of sorrow when we turn to him.
No matter how badly we’ve sinned against him, he invites us to save our
souls. So as we turn away from our
reflection in the mirror to face the day, let’s remember that God is listening
to our prayers, and waiting for our answer to his invitation, “Just as I am, O
Lamb of God, I come!”
Let’s remember to say that little prayer as we turn away
from our reflection in the mirror to face the day. Let’s resolve at that point to do whatever’s
necessary. Each of us must get to know
that face in the mirror well enough to acknowledge what those necessary steps
might be. Whether it’s confession, a change of
lifestyle, certain occasions of sin we need to avoid, work to be done conquering
this or that sinful habit—today on Rogation Sunday and throughout Rogationtide,
let’s pray more fervently than ever to God and the holy saints for the
enlightenment to know what we must do and the graces to give us strength to do
it.
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