Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz - 02/10/19 Disqualified: Unfit

Episode Date: February 11, 2019

Homily from the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. God is able to make you holy even if He never makes you whole. There are some things in our lives (our decisions, our wounds, our weaknesses) that we wish and pray were gone. God calls you and I in our weakness; He doesn’t necessarily call us out of our weakness. Mass Readings from February 10, 2019: Isaiah 6:1-2, 3-8 Psalms 138:1-5, 7-81 Corinthians 15:1-11 Luke 5:1-11 Download the Homily Study

So last July, I came across the story of this man who had lived, I don't know, 100 plus years ago in China. His name was Ji Tian Cheng. And it was one of those kind of interesting things just reading the story of his life, kind of like last week with Kiara. He had a kind of remarkably average life, but he's a good man. He was a faithful Catholic man who living in China, who became a doctor and a physician. And so he just cared for all the people around. the people around him, just like a normal, good, like, man of God who believed what he preached, what he professed on Sundays. He actually lived it out. It's one of the reasons why he became a doctor

so he could help people. And he did this for a long time, had a wife, had some kids, and then when something happened, he got hurt. And in his, in his pain, other physicians prescribed him some opioids. And what happened to Ji, Tiancheng, is what's happened to so many people. He relatively quickly became addicted to opium. And this man, of course, he didn't want to be. I mean, this is not part of his plan, right? He was a good guy. And here he is now with this, this addict. And he kept going back to confession. He'd used and he'd go back to confession. And finally, after years of this, you know, people didn't back then, they didn't understand that addiction is a disease, right? So they just thought he's a moral, he's as a moral failing. Like, if you really

didn't want to do this, he would just stop, you know. And so the priest at one point, you know, priest or human, he said, listen, gee, I know you, but here's the deal. Until you get clean, you can't come back to confession. Until you're serious about this, because he just, you know, he didn't realize. Until you're serious about this, you can't go to confession. And you can't receive the Eucharist. And I don't know, maybe a lot of us we'd like say, well, forget you church or, you know, forget you priest and do what we wanted. But gee, like, he knows that he knew this whole thing was true. And so he kept showing up. And so, and so He couldn't stay sober, but he could keep showing up, and that's what he did.

For the next 30 years of his life, he was an opium addict, and he died in opium addict. And you see, he's reading his life, you just think, man, if that was just, if only God would just take that away, right? If only this one thing was gone out of his life, what could God have done with a guy like that? But he never did. He died an addict, and he never got sober, but he never stopped. showing up. You know, we're doing the series as the last night of this three-part series,

disqualified. And we talked about how, you know, the first week about how sometimes our past can seem like it's disqualifying us. And last week we talked about, and that wasn't really disqualifying, it's about being unqualified, like if you're unqualified on paper, can you really be part of God's great work in your life? And I was thinking about this all week, that there's a difference between being unqualified and being disqualified. To be unqualified is to not have the requisite skills or talents to accomplish the task. That's unqualified. But to be disqualified is to be made unable or unfit for that certain task or that certain work. To be disqualified is to be made unable, to be made unfit. And sometimes we have to realize this. We look at our own lives.

We realize, wait a second, sometimes my decisions disqualify me. Sometimes, I don't know if you've ever felt like this, but sometimes our decisions are the things. They've made us, my My choices have made me unable or unfit to be part of God's great work. Have ever felt like that? That sometimes your decisions have disqualified you for being part of God's great work? They're like, yeah, I could have done your plan. Like, I could have been part of whatever you had planned. When you fashioned me in my mother's womb, like you had a plan for me.

And that could have been part of that. But I have made myself unable or I've made myself unfit. I have disqualified myself. I don't know if you've ever felt like that where your decisions have disqualified you. I can tell you guys right now I have. I've often felt like, God, I have made myself unfit for your service.

I made myself unable to do what you want me to do. I think if you've ever felt like that, you're not just alone because you have me, but we have this guy named St. Paul. Talk about a guy whose decisions disqualified him. He even says it in the second reading today, 1 Corinthians chapter 15. He says this. He says, he literally says, my decisions has qualified me.

But in other words, he says, I, in the least of the apostles, in fact, he says, I am unfit to be called an apostle. Because why? Because my decisions, he says, I persecuted the Church of God. That disqualifies. If anything disqualifies someone, it should disqualify them to kill Christians. That would disqualify you for making a Christian. that would disqualify you would think that those decisions would disqualify you from being

part of God's great work. And when Paul says this, that I was unfit to be an apostle, he is not exaggerating and he's not telling a lie. He's actually telling the truth. He was disqualified. But the thing is, his decisions disqualified him, but God's decision did something greater. Because Paul doesn't go on to say, you know, I was disqualified and I was unfit to be an apostle, but here's the deal, guys, I tried really hard. I got back in the race, got back on the saddle, and I could do it. You can do it too. He doesn't say that.

Paul says, I was unfit to be an apostles. My decisions disqualified me. But then he goes on to say, but by the grace of God, I am what I am. My decisions has qualified me, but his call qualified me. Not my own work. His mercy stepped into my weakness. His strength stepped into my brokenness. His healing came and met me where I needed him,

and his life gave me new life. This is the craziest thing that, yes, Paul could say, my decisions disqualified me, but his call gave me back hope, gave me back a chance. I just think about what Paul could be saying. This is so powerful. Yes, I made myself unfit.

Yes, my decisions disqualified me, but he did not give up on me. His call qualified me. His sacrifice saved me. that when I was his foe, his love fought for me, that when I made myself as enemy, his grace made me as son. And that grace changed my life.

It saved my life. And that decision wasn't the end. I just think, I just sit back and just, you think about St. Paul, that's amazing. It's so powerful. And I can't relate to it. It's so powerful. And I can't relate.

Because I think a lot of things of St. Paul, and I'm like, yeah, man, your decisions disqualified you, but then Jesus came into your life and like you're changed, and then you were like perfect Paul from then on. Like from then on, you were like super apostle. From then on, you're like, do you struggle? Maybe a little bit. One day he was cranky.

But other than that, we don't have any stories of Paul struggling after that moment where Jesus Christ called him and qualified him and gave him his grace. And I don't know about you. I can't relate to that. In fact, I got an email from a guy last week, two weeks ago. And he said, I love the stories about guys, you know, saints, men and women who had a past and then they encountered Jesus' love. And then they were changed.

But here's the deal. I have a past. I encountered Christ's love, and he claimed me as his, but now I'm struggling and I'm falling on my face every day. He asked me the question, are there any saints who, after they met Jesus, like, kept struggling? I remember sitting there thinking, like, I know they exist. I can't, I couldn't think.

I was like, I know they're there. Because a lot of times when we read about the saints, we're reading their highlight reel. When people read about right about the saints, they're talking about like their best days ever. But are there saints who, they were a mess, they met Jesus, they became saints, but they were still messes. And I was thinking through my rolodex of all the saints and all the saints

and all the saints until I went to the Bible. And in today's gospel, we have the best example of a saint who met Christ and stayed a mess. St. Peter is my new patron. That guy, man. You know, today is Luke chapter 5. We just heard the story. I don't know if you can relate to what Peter says in the boat today.

Here's Peter who has the, no, he's already met Jesus before this moment. But here he meets Jesus and he realizes who Jesus is. He sees the miracle happen of the great load of fish and he knows he's in the presence of someone more. and what does he do? He falls to his knees and says, depart from me, Lord, I'm a sinful man. You've got to get out of here, Jesus. You can't, you don't want to stay in my boat.

Not because I don't want you here because I have a feeling. You don't want me to be near you. You have to go. What happens is Jesus doesn't go. He says, no, I'm calling you. I'm calling you, Peter. And so you can imagine that Peter has some hope, like,

okay, maybe my being a schmuck is over. And maybe my, like, new life as this, like, superhero has just started. But what happens, Matthew chapter 6, Jesus says, who do people say I am? Who do you say I am? And the father reveals to Peter. He's the Messiah. He's the Holy One of God. So Peter says that. And Jesus says, awesome. You didn't just figure that out. My father revealed that to you. Therefore, you are now the new prime minister in the kingdom. I'm the king. You're the new prime minister. You're the Al-Ha-Bain. You're the first

pope, basically. And I imagine Peter at this point, like, okay, yeah, my life is turning around. This is not so bad. I'm the king's closest advisor. I'm the one in charge when he's gone. And the very next thing that happens in Matthew chapter 16 is Jesus then says, yes, and the son of man will go and he'll be tortured and he'll suffer and he'll die and he'll rise again on the third day. And what happens is Peter, the new prime minister, the new like second in command takes the king aside and says, God forbid Lord that this ever happens to you. Why does he do that? Because that's what prime ministers do. Jesus just made him second number two. And so Peter's like, I'll give you my advice.

And in response to Peter giving Jesus his advice, Jesus gives him. the gravest, most serious insult he ever gives in the entire Bible. He talks to the scribes and says, you're a brute of vipers. You're like nass of snakes. Talks to them and says, you're whitewashed tombs. You're like tombs that on the inside are full of dead men's bones. On the outside are painted nice. He calls Peter Satan.

I imagine Peter Bill going like, but I just, what? Jesus, I'm like, I'm just trying to help. I'm just trying to help. Later on, getting to the last supper. and Jesus looks at Peter and he says, Peter, Peter, you're going to run away from me. And Peter's like, no, Lord, I'm going to fight for you.

I would die for you. He says that. Lord, I would fight for you. I'm going to die for you. What happens? Later on that night in the Garden of Gassimini, the guards come in, the soldiers come in, and what does Peter do? He doesn't run away. I don't know if you've ever noticed this. He doesn't run away. He runs and grabs a sword, and he starts swinging around because he's a fisherman.

He's not a swords guy. You know, he starts swinging around and he cuts off someone's ear, and Jesus says, Put that away. Stop fighting. Imagine Peter looking like, but I just, I'm trying to help. Every time after this moment where he says, Jesus, you've got to leave me, depart from him, a sinful man,

and he tries to help every time he falls on his face. I just imagine how frustrating this. And so later on that night, what happens? He's in the courtyard or on this fire. And they say, wait, we know who you are. You're one of Jesus' followers. And on the night of his first Holy Communion, on the night of his ordination,

When he became a priest, Peter looks at three different people and he says, I don't even know who Jesus is. As a story unfolds, we know, Jesus is crucified and he dies, rises from the dead. And Peter decides to go fishing again. I think this is really powerful because Jesus, and Peter goes back to the same lake, maybe even the probably the same boat with Andrew, with James, with John. They're all sitting in the boat there. And what happens? They fish all night and they don't catch anything, which is, you know, just like Peter, maybe you should leave that line of work. But they don't catch anything and then Jesus is on the shore.

He says, hey, you have you caught anything? No, we haven't caught anything. Throw the net over on the right side of the boat so they do this and they catch this huge mess of fish. And John says, that's Jesus. You can imagine in this moment, here's Peter going, I remember that day. When he told us to throw the nets over, we caught this huge mess of fish. And now here we are. He told us to throw the nets over and have this huge mess of fish. And what does Peter do?

He jumps into the water and he swims to shore and onshore, And onshore, Jesus looks at Peter and he asks him this one question. He says, Simon, do you love me more than these? We know what Peter says out loud. He says, you know, I love you. But in that moment, here's what I hear Peter say. After all this, and Jesus looks at Peter and says, do you love me? And knowing all the times he failed, all the times he betrayed,

all the times he denied Jesus. I hear Peter, look at Jesus and say, Jesus, I told you when we first met that you couldn't trust me. That day, Jesus, I told you you had to leave. Jesus, I told you who I was, and you didn't leave. You made me come follow you. If only you had known what I knew, I'm a mess. I told you I was a mess.

And you didn't let me walk away. I imagine at that moment, that's what he said. that Jesus would look at him and say, exactly Peter. Peter, I knew exactly who it was that I called. Peter, I knew whose boat it was that I got into. Peter, I called you in your weakness, not out of your weakness. Peter, I called you in your brokenness. I didn't call you out of your brokenness.

And Peter, I can make you holy even if I don't make you whole. because this is sometimes the myth that we believe. Sometimes we believe that in order to make us holy, Jesus has to make us whole. In order to actually be part of his great project, his great plan, his great work that he wants to accomplish in and through us, that he has to first make us all better, and then he can finally use us.

That he couldn't possibly call us to actually live in weakness, that he couldn't possibly call us to live in broken, instead he couldn't possibly do anything with us until he fixes us and makes us complete again. But the story of Peter is not one of Jesus taking zero and making him a hero. It's the process of Jesus calling this ordinary broken man and then doing something extraordinary with a broken man. And that's actually meant to be your story too and my story as well.

I want to be done. I want the stuff in me that's broken and weak to be gone. I want all this stuff that keeps tripping me up. I want that to be so far away from me. Because I keep thinking, like, Lord, if you just did this, if you took this away, man, what could I do for you? What could I do for your church? How much God could I possibly bless you?

If you just made me whole. But God wants to make me holy, not whole. And he wants to make you holy. He doesn't just want to make you whole. Because God calls you in your brokenness, not out of your brokenness. Which brings me back to Ji Tienchang. I read about J.E. Tiancheng in July because I think July 5th is his feast day. He's a saint.

St. Mark G. Tien Chang. A saint who died as an opium. addict. For the last 30 years of his life, he wasn't able to receive Holy Communion, but he is a saint in the Catholic Church, who prayed every single day. Jesus, take my weakness away. Take my discouragement away. Take my, my, he was an embarrassment to his family. Take my embarrassment away. He was a scandal to the church. Take my scandal away. But in the year 1900, there was the box of rebellion that happened in China. And G and his family were arrested for being Catholics.

It was his son, his two daughters-in-law, and six of his grandkids were carted off. At one point, his grandson looked at his grandfather and said, Grandfather, where are we going? And G. looked at his grandson and says, grandson, we're going home. And for weeks and months leading up to their martyrdom, he was in this prison with all these people who looked down on the opium addict, who thought he could be a saint.

He looked down on this weak man who thought that actually he had something to offer. and on the day of his family's beheading, G begged those who were killing his family that he would go last so that not one of his family members had to die alone. And this man who had spent 30 years of his life in weakness gave his family strength. 30 years of his life in discouragement

gave those martyrs, those heroes, courage. That man who had spent 30 years, years of his life in weakness, discouragement, and shame was able to lift up his family. Be the kind of man they could be proud of and count on. St. Mark G. Tianchang. See, the thing is God can do that for any one of us, and this is the last thing. God doesn't have to take away your weakness in order to give you his holiness. It's another way to say that God doesn't have to take away your brokenness to make you his. That right now, you don't have to say, God, I'm disqualified, my decisions have disqualified me.

They may be unable and unfit to be part of your great work. That's not true. God has called you, and that call qualifies you. In his grace, redeems you, and his present sanctifies you. And even in the midst of your being broken, he can use you. Because God doesn't have to make you whole in order to make you holy. In the midst of your weakness, God can make you his sin. And in the midst of what feels like being disqualified,

God can make you his. And on those days where you say, God, just take away the brokenness and take away the weakness. A greater prayer is, rather than take it away, Lord, give me more. Give me more of your grace

and more of your mercy and more of you. And God will be able to make you holy long before he makes you whole.