Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz - 08/21/22 You, Strive

Episode Date: August 22, 2022

Homily from the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. How are you fighting for Heaven? Jesus makes it very clear that our call is to make our pursuit of Heaven exactly that: a pursuit. He is personal and practical when He tells us that each and every one of us must strive for Heaven. Mass Readings from August 21, 2022: Isaiah 66:18-21 Psalms 117:1, 2Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13 Luke 13:22-30

So one of those things, if you're anything like me, here's one of the, here's one of my many problems. I get like overly interested in things that have nothing to do with me. I don't know if you have this. We're like, you know, you just want to know. You like, right? I would say it like this. My circle of interest vastly outstrips my circle of influence. So like I want to know all about what's going on over here, what's going on in that person's life, what's going on in the world.

And I'm just like, I want to know all these things that have nothing, nothing to do with me. And that's not, I think sometimes it's not a problem. I think sometimes it's good that we have like curious minds. It's good that we have an interest in a lot of things. It's good until it's not, right? It's good until those things that I'm interested in become an excuse to not do the things that I have an influence over. Right?

So, you know, we have people, maybe yourselves, maybe myself, where like I'm so interested in global politics that I neglect to participate in local politics. Or I'm so really, you know, distressed over the state of the family in the world these days. that I don't actually take care of my family in my house these days. Like, I'm so, like, you know, just look at the world. It's going to hell in a handbasket, and I don't pay attention to where my soul is going. Because I don't know about you, but for me,

there's only one person that I actually have control over his life. And sometimes it's not even that good. I don't have no much control. But here's the thing is, like, sometimes my circle of interest that outstrips my circle of influence, I do it for these two reasons. One is because then problems become abstractions, right? Problems are just abstract problems, like what's going on out there, what's going on over there.

And then they become distractions. Because my attention is somewhere other than where it needs to be. I think that happens when we are, again, our circle of interest outstrips our circle of influence. Its life is just abstraction and life is distraction. And I think about this, especially in life today's gospel, because I love how it's even just, how Luke writes this story. Jesus is passing through towns, and he says, someone called out. And doesn't even say who it was. And I think maybe that's because the guy was a little embarrassed afterwards.

Like, oh, shoot, I shouldn't have asked that. You know, that kind of sense where someone called out and asked, Lord, will only a few people be saved? That's a great question. That's a great circle of interest question. Like, okay, Lord, so tell me, like, out there in the world, give me a number. And I love this because that's an abstraction. It's also a distraction.

And Jesus cuts through that abstraction. He cuts the distraction by being really personal and really practical. Because what's he say? His answer is not a number. His answer is, so here's what you need to do. His answer isn't, here's a number. His answer is, this is what you need to do. He says, strive.

And the interesting thing about this is in that original Greek, it's not just, hey, y'all, strive. It's the personal imperative, where it's you strive. The guy wants to know, what about the world out there? And Jesus makes it personal. You and practical. Tells them what to do.

Strive. And this is so important we're going to talk about today. That this is what Jesus is telling all of us as well. When I want to be interested in stuff that does not pertain to me, he gets it really personal and says, here's what you need to do. You and I, you need to strive. And he goes on to say,

because many I tell you will attempt to enter, but will not be strong enough. So we want to talk about this. I want to talk about two truths and two lies. today. When it comes to striving, two truth and two lies. The first truth, first truth is that no one automatically goes to heaven. We need to get this out right away. That the first truth is, when it comes to striving, no one automatically goes to heaven. But I know the temptation, because when I do funerals, the temptation is to basically, whoever it is who has died,

to basically say that they're in heaven right now, basically to declare them a saint. I don't know if you've heard this joke. There's this joke that goes way back. It's about two brothers. They were There were gangsters, gangsters, they were brothers, and one of them died. Tommy, Tommy, the brother, he died. And the other brother, who lived, went to the priest and said, listen, Father, at Tommy's funeral, I need you to say, my brother Tommy was a saint. He says, if you do, I know you got roof problems, I knew you have a boiler problem, I knew you have bills to pay.

If you say that Tommy was a saint at his funeral, I'll pay off all the roof, pay off the boiler, take all of that. So the priest is all, he's torn up, because he knew Tommy. He knew Tommy was not a good guy. And he's like, what do I do? But we need to pay off this debt. we need to fix this roof. So the day comes, and they're at the funeral.

Please gets up after praying and he says, listen, I need to tell you the truth. Tommy was a crook. He was rotten. He was a thief. He stole from people. He destroyed people's lives. He hurt so many people, including many people here in this church.

But compared to his brother, Tommy was a saint. But we have this, right? The temptation is when someone's died, Of course you want to talk good about them. Of course you want to say the things that were great. But here's the thing. We cannot canonize someone.

We have no idea. Why? Because no one automatically goes to heaven. How in the world can I say, oh, this person's clearly in heaven if there's no evidence that they ever actually chose heaven? That's not to make a judgment. It's just to say, that's reality.

I mean, I always think about it like this. I love the Olympics. I love the Olympics. But that does not qualify me to compete in the Olympics. I mean, I think even consider the, Winter Olympics. Winter Olympics has the strangest sports. The luge and curling. So you know what the luge is? The luge is you lie down on a sled. I realize I can't even lie down at the Olympic level. Like I'm not even good enough to do that. I'm not good enough to sweep at the Olympic level.

And if that's true, if I cannot lie down at the Olympic level, if I can't sweep at the Olympic level, what in the world makes me think that, oh yeah, but I'm good enough to go to heaven? no one automatically goes to heaven. At the same time, that's the first truth. At the same time, no one can work their way to heaven. No one can earn heaven. First truth is no one automatically goes to heaven. The second truth is no one ever could ever work their way to heaven.

Heaven is completely an undeserved and unearned and unmerited gift. It is like access to the Father is only because of what Jesus has done for us. We could be the perfect people, as perfect as we possibly could be. and none of that would ever get us to heaven if it wasn't for what Jesus has done for us. So first truth is that no one automatically goes to heaven. The second truth is that no one can work their way to heaven. It's at the same time, it's one thing to be given a gift. It's another thing to use that gift.

Imagine at some point someone gave you a guitar. And that wasn't just like an ordinary old toy guitar. This was like an incredible top of the line guitar. But not only that, they also gave you. you unlimited access to guitar lessons from an incredible guitar lesson teacher. Not only that, but they also said whatever happens, if you have this guitar ever needs repairs, if it ever needs fixing, if ever needs cleaning, completely you have unlimited access to repair shops and to cleaning this guitar. We could have this guitar, free gift. But owning a guitar is not the same thing

as being able to play a guitar. Being given the gift of guitar doesn't mean that I'm even going to show up for lessons. Or you can be like me when I had to practice piano when I was a kid. I would practice piano 20 minutes before my lesson. It did not get very good. Or the piano, the guitar could break. And it's just like, I'll just leave it, leave it broken. Here's a complete free gift that I didn't use. And this is us in the faith too, right? Here we are. Everyone in this church has been given the gift of salvation. Everyone in this church has been given the gift of God himself. If you if you've been baptized, God has made you into his son, he's made you into his daughter. And that is completely unmerited, that's completely undeserved.

None of us could ever do that on our own. And yet, do I live like that? You know, are there any Sundays where I'm like, yeah, never mind? Or is it a situation where, yeah, I'm coming to Mass on Sunday, but like, yeah, the last time I prayed was last Sunday. I'm not practicing in between lessons. Or even, you know, I fall, I fail, and I know. that God has given me, this sacrament of reconciliation,

has given me the ability to go to confession, but I'm like, nah, I'm good. I'll just be broken. It's one thing to be given a gift. It is a completely other thing to use that gift. So you know, no one automatically goes to heaven. No one can earn the way to heaven. And at the same time, we have to choose heaven.

No one, no one in this world could ever earn heaven, yet we have to choose heaven. Those are the first two truths. Then the two lies are this. first lie is discomfort is dangerous what I mean by that is okay if Jesus is saying you have to strive after heaven then I don't want to go nuts

like I don't want to give I don't want to be extreme so I don't be careful of that because discomfort is dangerous that's a lie how many of y'all I've heard of a thing called Exodus 90s I don't hear of heard of a thing called Exodus 90

may have a couple people so what this was a bunch of years ago there were some seminarians and they realized that here we are in the seminary and we're not even being challenged. Here we are in the seminary, and it's kind of even easy to be in the seminary and not strive after the Lord. So they said, how about this?

How about for 90 days, Exodus 90, for 90, for 30 days, for three months, we just kind of dedicate ourselves to striving. How about we just dedicate ourselves to actually kind of being all in? And so they came up with a couple of disciplines that they wanted to apply to themselves. And for 90 days, they would say this. They would say, we're going to take short, cold showers. We're going to get, rackercise at least three times a week.

we're going to get at least seven hours asleep at night. I know this is really extreme, you guys. It's intense. But then it goes on for 90 days we're going to avoid alcohol. For 90 days, we're not going to snack between meals. For 90 days, we're not going to eat sweets or drink soda, that kind of thing. For 90 days, the only time we use our computer is for work,

for school, or for necessary business. For 90 days, we're going to not watch TV or sports or watch movies. And we're going to pray at least 20 minutes a day. So I got this email from a young woman not too long ago and super genuine, she was just inquisitive because her boyfriend was going to start doing this. And she was like, ah, that just seems too extreme.

It seems really, really rigorous. And I was like, okay, because she was super, I mean, again, she was very genuine. She was very, very, just wanted to know. We're like, okay, get at least seven hours of sleep at night. That's very extreme. Very strenuous.

I mean, not snacking between meals. Like, oh, I can't imagine. You know, not drinking alcohol for three, three months. Impossible. Like, all these things, in fact, are how most of the world actually lives. Fasting twice a week, which means one large meal and two small meals. Like, that's still more food than the average human being eats in the course of a day. In fact, that's this description of what these guys would do in Exodus 90 is how most of humanity has lived for all of human history. And yet what's happened? For over tens of thousands of years, human beings

have entered into struggle. That's just life. And so what happens? When we enter into struggle, we adapt. It almost seems like human beings are designed to struggle. It almost seems like that we're created to strive. It almost seems like human beings are built for battle. And yet, for the last hundred years or so, we have tried to eliminate all sense of discomfort so much so that, I mean, man, if it's too hot, make it cold. If it's too cold, make it hot. If I'm hungry, eat something. From thirsty, drink something immediately. And I guess, I'm not saying I don't like that. I like that a lot. But the problem with that is that anything that's uncomfortable, we're skeptical of. See, that's weird. That's not how people live. Why would you choose that? And we'd only choose it

if the way most people live isn't actually giving them life. I don't know what the exact number is, but it's something like 80%, 80 plus percent of Americans are living in debt. 80 plus percent of Americans living in debt, 80 plus percent of Americans living paycheck to paycheck. So if I live just like everyone else, I'm going to live in debt. That's going to be hanging over my head constantly. I don't know if you know of a man named Dave Ramsey.

You know Dave Ramsey's name, at least. So Dave Ramsey, he's one of those people who helps people get out of debt. In fact, if he always talks about how if your spouse really likes Dave Ramsey and you do not, Dave Ramsey's name is a dirty word in your household. So sometimes people, I tell them like our college students at UMD about Dave Ramsey all of the time. Like, father, move on. But here's the thing, is Dave has this idea. The idea is if you're in debt, then you're in crisis mode.

If you're in debt, the line is chasing you down. If you're in debt, that cheetah is racing after you, and you're the gazelle. And if you're the gazelle being chased by a line, you don't just kind of jog away. If you're the gazelle being chased by the cheetah, you don't just kind of like wander. You're in an all-out sprint to save your life. So what Dave says is he says, okay, maybe for the next two years, you're going to have to live with gazelle-like intensity. You live very differently.

Maybe for the next two years, all you and your family are going to eat is rice and beans and beans and rice. That's it. But here's the thing. Is being out of debt worth fighting for? Is being debt-free worth fighting for? Is going to the Olympics worth fighting for?

I think those things are worth fighting for. The big question is, is heaven worth fighting for? Is heaven worth fighting for? Is heaven worth... striving after, it seems like Jesus would say it is. In fact, in the gospel today, the word that Jesus used when he says, you strive is actually a word that has the same root as the word agony.

In fact, when Luke describes Jesus in his passion, that's what he uses. He says he was agonizing in his passion. And Jesus, when it comes to going to heaven, he says, agonize for heaven. So question, do I believe that heaven is worth fighting for? Do I believe heaven is worth agonizing for? if it is, where am I fighting? If it is, how am I fighting?

Look, you're just really practical. Remember, not abstract, not distraction. How have I strived after heaven last week? In the past seven days, have I, have I even a little bit struggled for heaven? Have I agonized for heaven in the last seven days? Or have I given it into comfort and believe the lie that this comfort is dangerous? And at the same time, we eliminate that lie, discomfort is dangerous. We have to also eliminate the next lie.

And the last thing is that harder means holier. This is something, if you get all in, you're like, I can't read your paces right now. I don't know if you're pumped up or not. We don't know each other that well. But I know some people get behind this. Like, yes, we're going to do this. We're going to get after this. I'm going to do all the things on the list.

Because why? Because harder is holier. What I mean by that is sometimes Catholics can get this in their heads. That if there's the thing you want to do and the thing you don't want to do, then God wants you to do the thing you don't want to do. Or we can get this idea like, well, this seems like to be fun. This would be really awful.

Well, God wants me to do the awful thing. And we believe this lie that harder means holier. That's not true. In fact, the whole point, making something difficult, that's not the point. In fact, Jesus talks about the narrow road. The narrow road is not the point. What the narrow road leads to, that's the point.

where does the narrow road lead to it leads to heaven it leads to the lord himself so we don't do something just because it's hard do it because it gets us to him that's why when they say jesus says in the gospel today he says people will be knocking on the door saying let us in and i'll say to you i don't know where you're from what does that mean when jesus says i don't know you i don't know where you're from basically he's saying we don't have a relationship how many of us After we draw our last breath, we'll stand before the Lord and not know who we're looking at. How many of us, as we draw our last breath and our heart beats for the last time, and then we're standing before God himself and we're like, wait, I don't know you.

Because I didn't take the time to strive after knowing him. Because I didn't take the time to fight for the knowledge of who God is, because I didn't take the time to agonize for heaven. Because that's what it's all about, right? All of the fighting, all the struggling, all the striving, all of the agonizing is orienting. towards knowing him. All of it's oriented towards becoming like him. All of it is oriented

towards doing the Father's will. That's why the second reading today to the Hebrews. The author says this, he says, I don't know if he got this. It said, at the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy, but for pain. And I remember hearing that going like, yes, amen, brother. I do not like this comfort. Like, I'm not a fan of this. At the time, it doesn't seem like a cause for joy, but for pain. But he goes on to say, he says, but

later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it. See, the point is not the difficulty. The point is not the pain. The point is the fruit of that difficulty, and the fruit is righteousness. What's righteousness? Righteousness is a technical term. It means right relationship with God. The fruit of that discipline, the fruit of agonizing for the Lord, is now I have a relationship

with him. So we ask this question. Where am I being trained in trust? I think about this Every time you and I take time aside and pray Even if it's only for 10 minutes 20 minutes That's an exercise in trust Because why?

Because I had to put down every other thing That I could possibly be doing I'm just going to spend time with you Lord I'm going to trust that this means something I'm going to trust that this makes a difference That gives us a relationship with him Every time we fall down and fail And we come back to the Lord in humility

that deepens our relationship with him. Every time we come face to face with our weakness where we say like, okay, this week I'm going to do this and we fail to do that for more than one day, it gives us the opportunity to say, okay, God, I'm going to let you love me in my weakness. What happens when we do that

is we have a relationship with him because that's the point of striving. So here's the last thing. This week, I invite everyone here to choose one way to strive for heaven this week. And again, not a whole list of things. I'm going to do all these things.

No, no, not all those things. One. What's one way that you're going to strive for heaven? Because we know, we know these truths. We know that nobody automatically goes to heaven. We also know that you can't earn heaven. But we have to choose heaven. So how are you going to strive?

Especially in our world, in our culture, no one, no one drifts to heaven. You have to fight for it. So here's the question. This week, in what way will you struggle for heaven? This week, how will you strive after God?