The Incarnation is the Good News!

Homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
Given at St. Patrick's Parish in Wareham, MA
By: Rev. Ronnie P. Floyd

One afternoon a little boy was playing outdoors. He used his mother's broom as a horse and had a wonderful time until it was getting dark. At dust he left the broom on the back porch and came inside. His mother was cleaning up the kitchen when she realized that her broom was missing.

She asked the little boy about the broom and he told her where it was. So she asked him to go get it.

The little boy informed his mom that he was afraid of the dark and didn't want to go out to get the broom.

His mother smiled and said 'The Lord is out there too, don't be afraid'.

So the little boy opened the back door a little and said 'Lord if you're out there, hand me the broom'.

This past week I was visiting an 8th grade class, that was talking about the good news, the gospel. And as I heard one student read that the definition of the word Gospel was good news I began to wonder if these students knew what the good news was! What is at the center of our faith after all?

When I read this weeks readings I wondered if the majority of Catholics could answer the same question. What is at the heart of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ?

You see, many people think that at the core of the Gospel there is a moral ethic—rules—do this, don't do that, love however the heart of the Gospel is not a commandment but a historical fact.

First and foremost we believe that God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son so that we may not perish but have eternal life!

The good news is that in the midst of the darkness of the world our loving and all-powerful God is with us not just spiritually, but physically. He shares in our human experience not as a spectator but as a brother, a team-mate, a real partner. And while he might not do our job for us, He never asks us to do anything that He himself was not willing to do!

The reality of the Incarnation, the reality that God loved us so much that He came down from heaven, becoming truly man, while remaining truly God, so that he could show us what it meant to be man and prove to us that holiness is possible, in spite of sin, is at the heart of our faith.

Jesus shows us by his life that man can travel the road of perfection, even in the midst of an imperfect world. Jesus shows us that while we may suffer much in this life it is possible to choose to love, trust, and serve God inspite of all life challenges. Jesus shows us that God is truly with us in our sufferings.

Jesus remains with us today, really present in the Sacraments most particularlly the Eucharist. And from heaven, Jesus intercedes with the Father for us. As Paul says:
we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

The Miracle of Christmas and of Easter, the miracle of our weekly celebration of the Mass is the central mystery of our faith, The miracle that God who owes us nothing and who doesn't need us in any way shape or form so loves us, that He remains interested in us. Interested to the point that He allowed:

His un-containable being to be contained in the body of a tiny baby.
His all-knowing Word to be taught by human parents and contradicted by his enemies
His unchanging perfection to grow and change, experiencing all the states of life, with all their challenges and difficulties.
His Holy name to be attacked by his detracters.
His all powerful strength to be made weak on the road to Calvary and
His undying person to be killed on the cross.

If God loves us so much, an knows us so well how can we do anything without realizing his presence
and asking for His help? Our faith is a great gift, that changes the world we live in. Don't ignore the awesome goodness of the Gospel.