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Browsing Father Michael Deering's Sunday Homilies

Nourish the Spirit through life to Life!

Nourish the Spirit through life to Life!
Homily preached March 26, 2023
by Monsignor Michael Deering

 

You’ve probably heard the expression, “It’s a matter of life and death.”

 

It calls forth a sense of urgency ... a situation of ... do something or die.

 

It’s a matter of life and death.”      Well, actually ... it’s way deeper than that!

 

Because you see ... there’s life ... and then there’s Life.

                           there’s death ... and then there’s Death!

 

All 3 of our Scripture Readings today speak of these distinctions.

 

In our First Reading from Ezekiel, God says,

“I will put my spirit in you that you may live.”

 

What a clear reference that is to the life-giving power of God’s Spirit.

 

Yes, we need to have God’s Spirit in us in order to live eternally with Him.

 

Do you realize that?    I wonder ... because you know ...for the longest time I didn’t!

 

Growing up Mom and Dad spoke of Baptism as

the way our souls were washed of the stain of Adam & Eve’s Original Sin.

 

Is that true?       That’s absolutely true.      But there’s more ... much more!

 

God washes our souls of Original Sin so that ..

His Holy Spirit can take up residence in us!

 

That’s the essential part of Baptism ...

that we receive the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit!

 

You see, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating of the forbidden fruit ...

they lost God’s Holy Spirit!   No longer did they have the Spirit of God in them.

 

The consequence of committing a grave sin was that they broke their relationship with God. In Genesis 3 we read, “God banished them from the Garden of Eden.”

 

That’s how we describe Mortal Sin today, it is deadly; it kills the life of the soul.

What kind of life does it kill?    The Divine Life of the soul.

 

Sadly, because of their sinful choice, all of their progeny ... including you and me ... were born into this world with the stain of Original Sin and w/o God’s Holy Spirit!

 

But in God’s merciful love for man, He promised to give man His Holy Spirit again.

 

Through Ezekiel, God says: “I will open your graves and have you rise from them

“I will put my spirit in you that you may live.”

 

Yes, God is speaking about giving us life after death.

 

Jesus describes how this would take place ... and how essential it is to take place

in John 3 where He says,   “Amen, Amen, I say to you, no one can enter

the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.”

 

That makes the day of our Baptism ... The Greatest Day of our Life... where we are “born again” ... not in the natural realm ... but in the supernatural realm.”

 

How many people there are who either don’t know this or don’t believe it!

 

Because you see ... 75% of the people in the world have not been baptized!

So 75% of the people in the world are living without God’s Spirit in them!

 

And even many Christian parents let their kids grow old without being baptized!

 

How sad!  In our Second Reading from Romans, St. Paul clearly says,

“you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.

 

He goes on: “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

      But if the Spirit of Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin ...

the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”

 

And if so, then “the One who raised Jesus from the dead (God the Father) ...

will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.”

 

Can you see the distinction ... that there is life and then there is Life ...

that there is death and then there is Death?

 

The First life is that which we experience here on Earth

the Second Life is that which is experienced in Heaven.

 

The First death is that which we experience here on Earth.

The Second Death is that which is experienced in Hell.

 

It’s recognizing that there are 2 lifes ... and 2 deaths ...

that enables us to more clearly understand our Scripture readings.

 

Otherwise, we would experience the confusion that the Jews had.

 

Back in High School we took Biology ... which is the study of life in the body.

Hopefully we also took Religion ... which is the study of life in the Spirit.

 

The word “Bios” means life ... and the Greek wordZoe” also means life.

    Bios refers to life in the Body ... and Zoe refers to life in the Spirit.

 

Most of the time, Jesus was speaking about Zoe ... life in the Spirit.

 

You see, Jesus is Eternal Life!

 

And His one desire is that all of us ... get to share ... Eternal Life with Him.

 

That’s precisely why He shares Himself with us in the Eucharist

even before we physically die.

 

He wants us to keep our Spirit alive ... which involves staying united with Him.

 

In His great love for us, He wants us to experience the second life ... Eternal Life.

                    He want us to avoid experiencing the second death ... Eternal Death.

 

So as you hear God’s word proclaimed, hear it with new ears .. as when Jesus says:

 

“I am the Bread of Zoe. (the Spirit)

 “I am the Way, the Truth and the Zoe. (Eternal Life)

 I came that they might have Zoe and have it more abundantly (

 “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood,

you have no Zoe in you. (no Spiritual Nourishment)

 

and Jesus’ words to Martha in our Gospel today:

“I am the resurrection and the life;

whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,(eternally united with me) and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. (eternally separated from me)”

               

Jesus asks Martha, “Do you believe this?”     Martha answers, “Yes Lord.

 

What’s your answer?    Do you believe this?     Really?

do you live every day with a holy fear of the Lord and the sentence of Hell?

do you live every day to stay in union with Jesus so as to receive Eternal Life? 

 

The Father has given all power in Heaven and on Earth to Jesus.

He is the Gate to Eternal Life!

Since the Jews had trouble grasping this truth ...

Jesus took the occasion of the death of His friend Lazarus, to perform a miracle

to prove that He has power over life and death!

 

Imagine knowing that someone has been dead and buried for 4 days,

and then hear Jesus calling out to him, saying, “Lazarus, come out!”

 

Imagine how shocking that must have been to see Lazarus walk out of that tomb bound hand and foot ... alive ... and then set free from his burial wrappings!

 

What an incredible and spectacular miracle.

The finality of death overcome by the Giver of all life.

 

What a joy for all to see physical life restored.

Scripture says that it moved many of the Jews to begin to believe in Jesus.

It had to!

That’s the most unbelievable event anyone had ever seen.

This wasn’t just a cure from blindness or deafness or lameness.

This was a total recovery ...  from death ... to life!

 

Jesus is Zoe ... He is Life ... He is Eternal Life.

 

We are blessed to know this.

And in knowing this we should yearn for Jesus more and more every day ...

and strive to be good examples to awaken others to this truth.

 

Oh the joy to play a part in drawing others closer in union with the Lord of Life

 

May God bless your efforts to renew and strengthen your union with Jesus during the Holy Season of LentYour actions during this time are very important ...

 

for it truly is a matter of ... life and death.

 

 a matter of ... Eternal Life ... or ... Eternal Death.

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