Sunday:       22 ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Date:         August 29, 1999
Year:         A
The readings: [Jer. 20;7-9; Rom 12:1-2; Mt. 16:21-7]
The message:  SEEK THE WILL OF GOD IN ALL THINGS.
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  1202

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"Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." [Mt. 6:10] Every time we repeat the words that Jesus taught us in the Lord's Prayer, we ask God the Father that His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

What does it mean to ask that "The Lord's will be done?" [Acts 21:14] Does it mean that by some supernatural means, because we pray to God the Father, that He will change things for the better? Or, does the Lord's Prayer ask for Divine favour by the grace of the Lord and the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, that we and those around us be transformed according to His Divine Will?

My brothers and sisters, nothing in this world will improve unless you change! Unless you change your thoughts, your words and your actions according to the Divine Will of God, nothing will improve. Prayer is fruitless when there is no sincerity of heart. As Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in Heaven." [Mt. 7:21]

"The Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the Will of our God and Father." [Gal. 1:3-4] Accordingly, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect." [Rom. 12:2] "For the doubter, being doubled-minded and unstable in every way must not expect to receive anything from the Lord." [Jas. 1:8]

As Jesus said, "The spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak." [Mt. 26:41] The new heart and the new spirit that you received through the Sacrament of Baptism longs to do the Will of the Lord God in cooperation with the indwelling Holy Spirit. Your new spiritual inclination is constantly battling against your old ways. At times, the battle between the spiritual and the worldly ways can be very difficuilt.

The evidence of the inner battle between our spiritual and worldly inclinations, often being out of control because we do not think before we speak, was mentioned in today's Gospel reading when Jesus told His disciples that He must undergo great suffering and death. Thinking worldly, Peter took Jesus aside and told Him, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." Consequently, Jesus rebuked Peter because he was thinking worldly, only seeking worldly comfort. By failing to think spiritually according to the will of God, Peter was not striving to see the spiritual benefits of the suffering and death of Christ for the salvation of mankind.

In today's First Reading from the Book of Jeremiah, we heard that the same thing happened again. The prophet Jeremiah was experiencing that inner battle between the spiritual and the worldly ways. Choosing to embrace the worldly way rather than the will of God, he made a fool of Himself. The Lord God was telling Jeremiah how to embrace the spiritual way, but Jeremiah would not listen.

From that same reading, there is something I would like to point out. Disobeying the will of God, Jeremiah said, "If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak anymore of his name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot."

I would like to read you another similar passage from the Gospel of Luke. This passage refers to the experience of the disciples who had previously walked on the Road to Emmaus with Jesus. After Jesus left, they said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking to us on the road, while He was opening the Scriptures to us?" [Lk. 24:32]

In both instances, the spirits of the individuals were being moved by the power of the Holy Spirit. In both instances, their minds were hearing the voice of God speaking in their hearts. In both instances, the action of the Holy Spirit was as a burning fire within them.

My brothers and sisters, having received the Sacrament of Baptism and the new creation of the godly seed, you have all experienced this burning hunger from time to time. It is because your spirit is starving for spiritual food. When God promised the New Covenant through the Blood of Christ, He said, "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." [Ezek. 31:33]

Having God's law written on your hearts, the commandment of loving God first and then your neighbours, you cannot run away from God's burning fire. Our God is a consuming fire. [Heb. 12:29] "He is like a refiner's fire. He will refine you like gold and silver until you present offerings to Him in righteousness." [Mal. 3:2-3] The One and only true Lord God is your God and He is speaking to you in your hearts. Will you respond or will you continue to choke Him by remaining indifferent to His call? Are you going to dull your spiritual inclination to the extent that you will no longer hear the voice of the Lord in your heart?

The reason that God wrote His law in your heart is for you to know Him, to present yourselves to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is your spiritual worship. "So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." [Eph. 5:17]

When you seek to live the ways of the world, you choke the voice of the Lord God. Alcoholism, drugs, dishonesty, adultery, common-law relationships, same sex relationships, hatred, slander, child neglect, all these things choke the voice of the Lord God. Such worldly ways do not feed your spiritual life. It dulls it. It leaves you as a worldly soul that walking in the darkness, deprived of spiritual growth. It disqualifies you as a child of God, taking away from you the promised salvation and inheritance of eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

As Jesus said, "The spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak." [Mt. 26:41] Knowing so, then equip yourselves with weapons that will help you to walk your spiritual lives as a living sacrifice. Read the Word of God. Seek the Presence of Jesus in the Holy Tabernacle. Attend the services of the Holy Catholic Church. Receive the Sacraments of the Church. Enjoy the Church Sacramentals for pious devotions. For all of these holy actions are spiritual worships that please the Heavenly Father.

My brothers and sisters, today's message is, "Seek the Will of God in all things." When, by the grace of God, you feel that burning fire within your heart, realize that God is calling you to be spiritual in thoughts, words and actions. Do not continue to act in a worldly way, allowing your conscience to convict you of your sins. Turn your eyes towards the Lord. Acknowledge Him in love. Show repentance with a commitment. Thank Him for speaking in your heart by glorifying His Most Holy Name.

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"Jeremiah cried out to the Lord: 'O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughing stock all day long; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I must cry out, I must shout, 'Violence and destruction!' For the word of the lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot." [Jer. 20:7-9]

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Second Reading...

"I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God! what is good and acceptable and perfect." [Rom. 12:1-2]

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Gospel Reading...

"Jesus sternly warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, 'God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.' But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things. Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If any want to become followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done." [Mt. 16:21-7]

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