17th Sunday of Ordinary Time Homily

It’s up to you to save the world! Let me repeat that, it’s up to you to save the world. Peter Kreeft recounts a Jewish legend that says there must be at least ten righteous people in the world at all times. That is righteous people not self-righteous people. God knows there is no danger the number of self-righteous people in the world dropping below the quota of ten. The legend contends if the number of righteous people slips to only nine then the world will face the punishment inflicted on Sodom. The point of the legend is since no one knows who the ten righteous people are, you might be one of them, and it’s up to you to remain that way and thus protect the world. If you aren’t a righteous person, you better become one because if one of the ten slips up then we are all in for it.

What are the characteristics of a righteous person and how does someone become one? Our faith tells us a righteous person is someone with a deep relationship with God. Like Jesus they put growing and nurturing their friendship with the Father at the center of their lives. It is the most important relationship for them. It surpasses any family bond with a spouse, parent, or child. Growing their connection with God outranks the importance of their career or any position of prominence in the community. God comes before material objects and wealth in the lives of the righteous.

The righteous ones are humble before God. They understand their purpose in life is to serve God. They recognize all they enjoy in life is a gift from God. All their time, talents, and treasure they realize are gifts from God and not theirs to possess. The righteous know all their giftedness has been only lent them by a gracious God and must be returned to God. The righteous live with the understanding God desires only the best for them. God desires them to use their gifts to help others develop and strengthen their own relationship with God. 

A righteous one wants to carry out God’s will on earth by loving their neighbor. The righteous are extravagantly hospitable to others. They are willing to go to the extreme, to share whatever they have with those even more vulnerable than themselves, thus saving all their community. Righteous ones work to build up and not polarize their communities. They think the best and not the worst of their neighbors. They give freely to those in need and don’t expect repayment. They don’t live with a quid pro quo, transactional, or you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours attitude as they deal with others. The righteous don’t keep score with their generosity to the needy. They feel it is all right to be taken advantage of at times.

The righteous are even hospitable to sinners. Rather than shun sinners they offer a welcome to those who act with anything but virtue. They invite themselves into the company of those who stray from God’s will so they can listen to them, hear about the woundedness that might be causing the sinner’s waywardness, so they can help them possibly heal. Those who truly love God are willing to reprove the sinner not so they can feel superior but so the sinner can discover they can have a relationship with a merciful, compassionate, and loving God. 

Wow, there is a lot to being a righteous person! No wonder they are in short supply and the world is in such a precarious condition and we have to be careful to keep their number sufficient for the protection of our existence. 

How do we do that? How do we become a righteous one and how do we encourage others to become righteous? We follow the example of Jesus. As a faithful Jew Jesus would have prayed daily. He would have participated in the synagogue’s daily prayer service. The gospel tells us Jesus also often went off to a deserted place to pray. At the various important crossroads in his life and ministry he spent extended time in prayer with God so he could deepen his relationship with God and receive a better understanding of the Father’s plan for him.

In today’s Gospel Jesus is completing one of those periods of prayer. His disciples come to him and ask how they can deepen their prayer life and develop a relationship with God similar to the one Jesus enjoys with God and in the process become righteous. 

Jesus teaches them the Our Father. Today we hear Luke’s shorter version not the more familiar one from Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus teaches his followers to direct their prayers to God. As Catholics we often ask for the intercession of the Virgin Mary and the saints. It is important to recall the Blessed Mother and the saints are our intermediaries who faithfully take our intentions to the Throne of God the Father. 

Peasants of Jesus’ day couldn’t expect support from their landlords or a government safety net from the Roman Empire. They depended on their extended family and the community. It was their neighbors who would support then in need as today’s parable tells us. Jesus teaches that his disciples could depend on God as they depended on each other.

To become a righteous one Jesus instructed his disciples to pray for forgiveness and to offer it to those who offended them. We have to be aware of our sinfulness not in a scrupulous way where we fear God but so we can ask God’s forgiveness and rejoice in it. 

When we become more aware of our sinfulness we also recognize how frequently we can be tempted to sin. God wants to deliver us from our temptations. God want to strengthen us so God sends us the gifts of the Holy Spirit to guide us away from sin and to strengthen our desire to live in righteousness and a close relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit.

Since prayer is essential for living in righteousness now is the time to assess your prayer life. Is it more than just showing up for Mass on the weekend? Do you only pray when you are desperate and maybe faced with an extreme emergency? Do you not ask God for much because you don’t expect much? 

Setting aside daily time to communicate with God and strengthen our relationship with God is the only way to grow in righteousness. Daily prayer can start with as little as ten minutes a day. Then it grows as we becomes more comfortable. Reflect on your day and find a quiet time and a quiet place to start working on a relationship with God through prayer. Experiment with different types of prayer until you can settle on one that helps your relationship with God to grow. There are so many published and online sources you can tap into to grow your prayer life. I’m sure you can find some that are helpful.

I’d like to encourage you to consider joining one of our Small Faith Sharing Groups. They provide encouragement, support, and accountability to help your relationship with God to grow. Be patient and persistent. Prayer takes time but it will happen. Have the courage to struggle to live in righteousness because the world is depending on your righteousness to save it.