Bishop Glen John Provost
Bishop of Lake Charles
Homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

"For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns." Wisdom 9:15

Rainer Maria Rilke, a well-known Austrian poet over one hundred years ago, told the story of an encounter he had in Paris. He was living in the neighborhood of what is called the Latin Quarter, and every evening he would pass an older lady singing in the street with a hat at her feet. On his last night in Paris, he decided to give her something creative. So when he passed by and listened to her song, he placed a rose in her hat, at which point she picked it up, smelt its fragrance, thanked him, and walked off. There would be no more singing. She had what she wanted. He felt as though he had given her something greater than money. It was then Cardinal Ratzinger who related this story in one of his books. He considered it a lesson that the most important things in life are not tangible. The rose would wilt and fade, but the old chanteuse would remember always that a stranger loved her singing. The rose was merely a symbol.

"For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns" (Wisdom 9:15). So says the Book of Wisdom. The lesson of the Sacred Scriptures, repeated by our Lord Jesus, is that material things pass away, and we should strive always for the things that endure. As a matter of fact, Jesus teaches a radical rejection of those material things.

In the Gospel of today, Jesus concludes, "Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33). Jesus is teaching us that there is a cost to discipleship with Him. Knowing that we are human, Jesus must exaggerate his language to make His point. He does so in the opening words, "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26). Jesus knows that if he does not over emphasize his point - hate is a strong word, then a potential disciple will not realize fully what it is he or she must give up. The disciple must be ready to carry his cross. He must be like the builder of a tower who calculates the cost or a king at war who must determine whether he can really win the battle. Jesus is saying that there are more important things in life than possessions, things for which no price is too great. Like the old lady singing on the street corner, we can stop singing because there is something greater here. The rose is merely a passing symbol of a gift no money can buy.

I was amused not long ago when somewhere in a store I encountered a mother with her children. The mother was occupied with the unenviable task of entertaining her children for the afternoon. She turned to them at some point and said, "Well, kids, are we happy yet?" If she had not added that little word "yet", the question would have been innocent enough. However, "yet" made it sound as though happiness was the result of definite calculations within time that were expected to yield results at a given moment. In my humble opinion, the question was much too self-conscious.

The question actually underscored a dilemma we humans face. Most look upon happiness as an end in itself, an emotion prompted by certain stimuli. We think that things cause it, but happiness is really a state of mind. When I look at my own life, happiness has never been the result of calculated measures to achieve it. Happiness is anything but self-conscious. Frankly, it has generally come as a surprise but always as a result of actions that were fulfilling.

Jesus, I think, knew this. He would not have lived and taught as He did, if He did not. Jesus knew that man could never be happy unless his life was oriented to God. God had created man with a deep desire for fulfillment in God. That desire is imprinted on the heart of each of us. To connect with this desire of the heart, possessions are useless, because possessions lie outside of us. It is into the heart that we must look. Otherwise, we can stand on the street corner in the rain singing our hearts out for money. One day, however, a rose is dropped in our hat, and we come to know something more valuable. Pray God, we recognize it.