Our Lives Are Not Our Own

Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
4 August 2013

        Nine years ago, on August 1, 2004, the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, these were the readings of that day. That day, August 1, 2004, was also my last day as Director of Music and Liturgy at Incarnation of the Lord Parish. It was on that day that I would begin to hear the one phrase repeated to me throughout my seminary career: “You’re life’s not going to be your own.” Even now, as a priest, I still receive that reminder.

        And as annoyed with that phrase as I am, it was the one thing that constantly came to mind as I read and reflected on all three of our readings for this weekend. This annoying little phrase came to mind BECAUSE IT’S TRUE! . . . It’s so very true!

        Qoheleth and Jesus point out to us that this life, though given to us by the grace of God, is never really “ours”. Our lives belong to God. Everything else, as Qoheleth reminds us in the First Reading, is vanity. But it’s only vanity if we’re not living for God. And that’s what Jesus is pointing out to us in the Gospel: When we allow our earthly possessions to possess us, then we leave little to no room for God.

        We then turn to Saint Paul’s words in his letter to the Colossians: “Think of what is above, not of what is on the earth. . . . [For] Christ is all and in all.” When we focus our lives on “what is above”, when we focus our lives on God, then the things of this earth are of little consequence. When we live our lives for Christ, and surrender our lives to God, we recognize that we have died with Christ in Baptism, and that life truly “hidden with Christ in God.” Through our participation in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, through our initiation into the life of the Church through Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, our lives are not our own!

        My brothers and sisters, we need to take an honest look at our lives. If we’re living our lives for anything or anyone other than God – for a paycheck, for a car, for a video game, for a cell phone, for the next big movie, for the next event on our schedule, for the good-looking girl or guy across the room – then we’re living our lives in vain. For when we live our lives in vain, we become more open to those sins which disunite our life with God: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. And when we disunite ourselves from God and the graces He gives to us, then our lives are truly not our own, but, rather, we become slaves to sin and death; our lives become entrenched in the lies of the Devil.

        Yes, our lives are never our own, for they are either thinking of what is above, with Christ in Heaven, or they are tied to the things of this earth, which keeps one searching for the next “thing” to fill the desires of one’s heart . . . and that search is done in vain.

        What, then, can we do? First, we cast away all that disunites us from God . . . and that may include coming to the Sacrament of Reconciliation for those sins which are more severe and burdensome in our lives. Second, we make prayer a routine practice in our lives. Third, we seek solace in the support of God, the angels and saints, and the Body of Christ through regular, weekly participation at Mass. Fourth, we allow our hearts to be softened, so that we may unite our hearts to the Sacred Heart of God. Finally, we submit to the will of God in our lives.

        If our lives are truly never ours, but, in all honesty, belong to God – if we truly believe that we belong to God in our daily living, dying and rising, then we need to come to recognize that God only wants what’s best in and for our lives. And, in return, we offer the fullness, the totality of our lives – the good, the bad, and the ugly – back to God.

        Our patron, Saint Teresa of Avila, said it quite well as she reminds us:

 "We can only learn to know ourselves and do what we can - namely, surrender our will and fulfill God's will in us.”

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Enjoy the journey . . .