The following homily, based upon Luke 13:1-9, was delivered by Fr. RJ on March 7, 2010.  (if you wish instead to listen to the homily, click here):

During the past decade or so, we have been brought face to face with human suffering over and over again. Sometimes it has been the direct result of human hatred and cruelty, such as the genocide in the Sudan, or the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Sometimes it has been the seemingly more random forces of nature, such as tsunamis, hurricanes, or earthquakes. In both cases, people begin to ask questions about why these things happened, and why certain people are victims, while others are untouched. There is never any lack of people who are ready to explain why these things have happened. Invariably, someone says that God is punishing a group of people. They say things like, "It happened to a predominately Islamic region, so God is taking it out on them. The United States has turned away from its foundation, so God is using hurricanes and terrorists to get our attention. A government made a treaty with the devil, and the people are being punished." The message is that they deserved what they got.

The other side of this of this line of thought, of course, is that if we are doing well, if our lives are going along smoothly, then we must be good people. If we are prospering, it must be a sign that God is pleased with us. If our relationships are going well, our children are doing the right things, and our jobs and retirements look secure, it is because we deserve what we are getting. We need not think much about what is happening to the rest of the world because we have earned God’s favor through our goodness, or through our faith, or through our righteousness. Good things are happening because we deserve them.

When things are going well, this all sounds very good, because it means that I am in control of my destiny. I can avert any potential cataclysm in my life by continuing to be a basically good person and earning God’s favor. While it may sound good, the doctrine of Karma is not part of the Christian Gospel. Karma and grace present us with two very different views of God. If we believe that punishment falls on those who have done evil, and prosperity comes to those who have done good, we fail to recognize God’s grace.

All of this was the pattern of thinking that Jesus faced when certain people came to Him with the story of certain Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. We do not know exactly why Pilate had these men killed in this way. Some people say they were part of an insurrection. Ephrem the Syrian, writing in the Fourth Century, assumed that these Galileans were part of the group that was at Herod’s party when John the Baptist was beheaded. The details may be lost, but those who told Jesus about it suggested that the Galileans were getting what they deserved. Jesus said, "Do you think you are better than they were? You’re not." Then He reminded them of a tragedy that everyone had heard about. Again, we are not sure of the exact circumstances of the event, but a tower fell and killed eighteen people. Jesus asked, "Do you think they did anything worse than you have done? They didn’t." On one hand, we have something like the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and on the other hand, we have something like an earthquake, and Jesus said that neither of these was a case of people simply getting what they deserved. These events were not a sign of divine retribution.

Then Jesus goes on tell the people how they need to respond to these events. Jesus says, "Repent, or you will perish as they did." It’s easy to imagine the murmuring of the crowd when Jesus said this. "What do you mean, repent? There is nothing wrong with us." It is important to understand what Jesus meant when He spoke of repentance. Repentance was not just turning away from particular acts of disobedience to the law. It is not a bitter pill to be swallowed only when we have done something wrong. It is the sweet fruit of the recognition that all that we are is dependent on the continuing grace of God who loves us. Repentance is a reorientation of the human heart. It is turning away from the notion that we can save ourselves, that we can bring God’s Kingdom through our own efforts. It is turning to Jesus as our savior. Repentance will not save us from the effects of every disaster, but it will put is in touch with the source of life to sustain us in the midst of atrocities and disasters. Repentance will lead us to hope in Jesus Christ who will keep us from despair.

When everything is going well for us, we are in much more danger than when it feels like towers are collapsing on top of us. When things are going well, when our stock and bond portfolios are outperforming the rest of the market, and our children are doing well in school or have good jobs and strong families, and we are in good health, that’s when we are likely to feel like we can handle our lives. These are the times when we feel like we have everything under control, and that we don’t need much help from God. When do people usually start praying? It’s usually when a tsunami is towering over them. It’s when the bank notices come because the mortgage payments are a few months behind. It’s when the doctor leaves a message on the answering machine that he would like to discuss our last blood test. Why were there so many more people in churches across the United States on September 16, 2001 than were in attendance at worship on September 9? When things are going smoothly, we think that we are in control, and that we have no need of God. We don’t want to bother Him. We want to give Him time to help people with real problems. We trust our stuff, or we trust our family, or we trust ourselves to sustain us. In other words, we cast idols in our own image and put them in the place of God. That is the heart of sin and we are all guilty.

The message of the Gospel of Christ is that we cannot save ourselves, nor do we have to save ourselves. We are not in control of our lives, and the effects of a fallen creation do not discriminate between the Christians, or the Jews, or the Buddhists, or the Muslims, or the Hindus, or the Atheists. The effects of sin and evil will destroy all of us if we depend on our own strength. The only difference between us is that we face disasters and atrocities with the hope of the redemptive work or Jesus Christ. The only salvation we can find comes through him. He alone lived a life perfectly pleasing to God, and took upon himself the full weight of the collapsing tower of sin. If we do not turn to Him for salvation, when the tower falls on us, we will perish. If we will turn to him, then even when the tower does fall, we will not be lost because He will hold us secure in His love.

If you are in a point in life where you feel like you have everything under control, where you feel like you really don’t need God’s help to get through the next few hours, repent. You are in as much need of God’s grace as the man taking his last breath. If you could not create yourself, how can you believe that you can sustain yourself? Pray that God will open your eyes to see your dependence on him. Pray that God will reveal His love in the work and person of Jesus Christ. If things are going well, pray as you would if the towers are falling around you. Turn to God through Christ and say, "I am in desperate need of your grace in my life today." If you feel like the towers are falling on top of you, take heart. It is not Karma. God has not singled you out. If you will allow Him to, Jesus will go through this with you, and bring you out safely to the other side. In either case, repent. Turn to Jesus to sustain you, and to give you all that you need. May we all remember that we depend on God’s love and grace. May we all turn to Jesus to lead us through the next moment of our lives, and then the moment after that, and the moment after that.

A selection of Father RJ's homilies are archived on this site.  To read them, click here.