Aug. 26, 2012: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time B
A few days ago I had a couple in my office for marriage preparation. They are young, hopeful, and excited about what is going to happen six months later in the church. We reviewed the words of the vows that they will say solemnly in front of their family and friends. I read the words, “I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health...” As I read the words, I asked myself, ‘I wonder what it means to be true to another person in good times and in bad.’ A couple of hours earlier, I was in Baton Rouge at a hospice, holding the hand of a woman who was dying of cancer. She was in much better shape than when I saw her in the hospital the prior week. At the hospital, she was unconscious and had a rattling sound in her breathing. It seemed as though she was going to pass right then. Her husband said to me then with tears in his eyes, “Father, she’s all I got!” She could not receive the Eucharist, so I asked her husband to take the Eucharist for her. But few days later at the hospice, she recognized me and spoke to me as her husband stood next to us. I even asked if I could take a photo of them holding their hands together.
What does it mean to be true to another person through good times and in bad? For that young couple in my office, they came to the office believing that their love, fidelity, and loyalty were already strong enough for any challenges they will face. Those of you who have been married for many years, didn’t you also have that same bold confidence on your wedding day? The disciples in the Gospel who followed Jesus thus far had the same bold attitude; their boldness came from witnessing Jesus performing the miracles of healing the blind, raising the dead, and multiplying bread for thousands of people. They believed that this man could do anything and nothing could shake their confidence in him...until Jesus told them about eating his flesh and drinking his blood in order to have eternal life. It may have been confusing, if not disgusting, in their mind for what Jesus was asking of them. Many said, “"This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew what was on their heart he said to them, "Does this shock you?” As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.
It is easy to promise love, fidelity, and loyalty when things are going well. How hard it is to keep loving, keep believing, and remain faithful when we witness failures in others-- when they fail to keep promises, fail to be loyal, fail to be faithful. So Jesus turns to ask us, just as he did with the few remaining disciples, "Do you also want to leave?" Really, he is asking us, “How true is your promise to me to be loyal and faithful, even in bad times, in sickness, and in confusing times?” The great temptation in us is to leave our God given duties and our mission in the time of testing. This is why Jesus has to feed us with his very own flesh and blood--infusing in us his very own True Love, True Loyalty, and True Faithfulness--for we are so weak. He knew all of his disciples’ weaknesses, especially of Judas who betrayed him. But Jesus remained faithful even to Judas to the end. Each time we receive His Body and Blood, Jesus demonstrates to us that “I will be with you, even when you are tempted to hate me, to disregard me, to abandon me. I will not leave you.” With Jesus at our side, we learn how to be true to another person in sickness, in bad times, and in confusing times. This virtue of fidelity is developed intentionally; I have to choose to be faithful. Every temptation to be unfaithful is an opportunity to build character. Being purposely faithful to one’s promises enables fidelity to be ingrained, a part of one’s makeup.
Only a year and a half ago, the lady lying on the hospice bed was working across from the office next to mine. I remember speaking to her husband then, when they just found out the severity of the illness. He said then, “I don’t know why God is doing this to us. She’s all I got. We’re going to beat this cancer.” I remember giving both of them the Eucharist after anointing her. After 104 weekly chemo treatments, the cancer in her body was shrinking. However, her body no longer could withstand chemo. She told a friend of hers recently, “I’m ready to go Home.” The husband recounted this with tears in his eyes. Over the couple of years of her battle with cancer, he has learned the true meaning of “I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health...” As Jesus reminds us in the Eucharist that He will be true to us in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, let us ask Him during Communion to give us the grace to do the same for Him and for our loved ones.
