5th Sunday of Ordinary Time (2024)

St. Paul was probably the greatest preacher the Christian Church has known. On his several missionary journeys, he brought the Gospel to areas throughout the eastern Mediterranean world. Paul was the first apostle to reach out to the gentile world and expand the boundaries of the Gospel. In today’s second reading, Paul tells the Corinthians he felt compelled to preach. Paul feels specifically chosen by God to proclaim the good news. Paul admits God didn’t choose him because he was particularly righteous. After all, Paul persecuted the early Church. Paul acknowledges that he isn’t the most skilled at rhetorical techniques. Yet, Paul claims that to be true to himself and God’s call, he must faithfully preach the Good News of Jesus. 

Paul says that in his preaching, he tried to be all things to all people. He felt compelled to preach not only to his fellow Jews but to anyone who would listen and be open to being faithful to God. To share the Gospel, Paul was willing to not conform to the old Hebrew way but follow a new way that allowed as many people as possible to embrace Jesus. While openly sharing with all people, Paul didn’t compromise Jesus’ message. He wouldn’t give up the truth.

Paul suffered greatly preaching the Gospel. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he faced beatings and imprisonment for preaching Jesus’ message. In one of his letters, Paul recounts the hardships he faced. They included the physical suffering and being shipwrecked while on his journeys. Ultimately, he was put to death in Rome because of his faithful preaching.

Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be dangerous business in any generation. A good preacher must be willing to tackle the crucial issues of their day. As the expression says, “They must be willing to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Many priests and ministers can shy away from preaching boldly for many reasons. We can fear pushback. Occasionally, I’ve had parishioners walk out of church or confront me after Mass because they didn’t like the topic I preached on. At times, homilists can wonder if addressing a hot topic of the day is appropriate in the liturgical setting of Mass. They can wonder if they are the right people to address specific issues.

Regardless, if the Church isn’t willing to confront critical moral issues, how can people of faith develop an informed understanding of the challenges of our day? If we do not confront serious issues today, the situation will only become more confusing for future generations. Last week, I told you Deacon Art and I would preach a series of three homilies with the theme, “The Way Forward.” We will be addressing the topic of relationships, dating, intimacy, love, and sexuality.

We can all agree that we live in a highly sexualized society. Media such as television, the internet, and movies have a disproportional focus on sexual content. Those who try to live or promote a chaste lifestyle face ridicule. Many have become obsessed with unencumbered, consequence-free pleasure.

On the other hand, our culture still loves romance and the “and they lived happily ever after” story ending. We must look no further than the extraordinary attention paid to the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelse romance to see that truth. Our culture still longs for examples of committed relationships.

Last week, I pointed out we can start sorting out what the faithful approach to sexuality is by turning to the authority of Jesus’ teaching on the subject. Jesus is an authority on sexuality because He is the authority on life. The Gospel of John tells us Jesus is an authority on life because He is the author of life. In John 1:3, at the beginning of his gospel, John wrote:

“…through Him all things were made.”

John proclaims Jesus Christ the Son was present and co-creator with the Father at the beginning of creation. Therefore, He is a co-author of Life and can speak with authority about all aspects of it.

Jesus’ message is full of challenges. Jesus challenges us on so many aspects of life, not because he wants something from us but because Jesus wants something for us. Jesus wants us to live life to its fullest with joy and satisfaction. God made sexuality part of a divine design for life, and he made everything for good.

According to God’s design, our sexuality has two purposes. In Genesis 1:27, God commands our first parents to go forth and multiply. God was thrilled with God’s creation and wants couples to be able to share that same delight in being creators of life themselves.

The second reason God created sexuality was to help couples strengthen their relationship. God envisioned sexuality as a physical expression of a couple’s unity and permanence. God meant sexuality to be the adhesive that binds a man and woman together as husband and wife. In Genesis 1:24 we hear:

“For this reason, a man will leave his mother and father

and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”

Sexuality is strongest when reserved for marriage. Outside such a committed relationship, its practice often leads to hurt, especially for young people. “Safe sex” is a contradiction. While science can prevent the physical consequences of sexuality, it can’t prevent it from wounding souls. Permanence and stability are hardwired into our psyche. Our bodies generate a hormone called oxytocin, often called the bonding hormone, because it tells our brain to bond with and love this person when we find a relationship we want to commit to. So, regardless of what we try to say to ourselves, every intimate encounter has a lasting effect on us.

Jesus took so many of the teachings of His Jewish faith to a higher standard. In the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus reminds His listeners of the lesson in the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” Then, He takes it further. He said:

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully

has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.”

Jesus spoke hyperbolically here but wanted to make the point that anything standing in the way of your intimacy with your spouse or future spouse, God wants you to cut out of your life. It was a revolutionary teaching then as it is today. Jesus stresses purity, which paves the way to intimacy in relationships between spouses and influences all our relationships, especially our relationship with God.

Today’s gospel passage from Mark illustrates that point. Last week, we heard how the people of Capernaum were overwhelmed by Jesus’ authoritative preaching and ability to cast out demons. After the Sabbath service, we hear that Jesus went to Simon Peter’s house for a meal. Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a fever, and they asked Him to heal her. Once Jesus did that, she rose up and waited on them. That night, the town brought those needing healing to Jesus, and He healed them. Second to preaching the Kingdom of God, healing was Jesus’ most vital work.

Sexuality is both beautiful and dangerous. It is like fire. Fire gives us comfort and warmth. It can cook our food. But it can also bring destruction and death if not used carefully. Sexual sins are not necessarily the most destructive ones. Sins like pride, greed, envy, and self-righteousness can cause even more harm. Sexual sin stands in a category of its own because it can cause a different level of pain. If misuse of our sexuality only caused physical health issues, we wouldn’t have any business talking about it in church. Sexual sins also damage souls and break hearts that don’t easily heal and, at times, are permanently damaged.

Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus wants to bring us healing for all of our sins. With Jesus’ healing, hearts can be changed, and intimacy can be recovered. Our past doesn’t need to define our future. However, we need to want to experience healing. If we are honest with them and ourselves, Jesus and God will cure our hearts.

Healing from our sins is so difficult because of regret. Regret causes us to lie to ourselves and to try to minimize our sins. We manufacture excuses like: I didn’t do anything wrong, she tempted me, I was young, drunk, claim everyone was doing it, or say boys will be boys. We claim that no one was hurt, but truthfully we were. We need to deal with that hurt and find healing.  

Addressing this misuse of our sexuality isn’t meant to cause guilt or sadness. I’m addressing this topic because everyone needs healing in this area. We have all missed the mark in some way, and if we want to improve our relationships, especially with God, we need spiritual healing.

Spiritual healing comes from honestly naming our sinfulness and asking for God’s forgiveness. In our prayer this week, may we ask God for the grace to repent. To turn around and head in the direction of faith. If our sin is grave, gather the courage to bring it to God for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Lent is coming, offering us an excellent time to reflect on how we have damaged our relationships with others, God, and ourselves. I’m in the Reconciliation Room here at the back of the church from 3-3:45 pm every Saturday. During Lent, we will hold a Reconciliation Service and offer extra opportunities to celebrate confessions. Confession isn’t a magic wand, but if we use it to seek Jesus’ healing, we will experience its start.

With Jesus’ love, mercy, and healing, we can reclaim what we have lost through our sins. God created everything good, including our sexuality. While sin has stained it, salvation history shows us God wants to help us begin the work of redemption and restoration. God always provides the way forward to the purity and intimacy God wants everyone to enjoy.