26th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2024



 
The Sacred Heart statue that sits on the mantle above the fireplace in the conference room at St. Patrick's Church in Watertown, NY

Jesus seems to be a little harsh today, doesn’t He?

“If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out! If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off, too!” Ugh!

Is He serious about this? Of course not. If He meant for us to take this literally, we would all be a funny-looking bunch, wouldn’t we? This church would look like an emergency room filled with folks missing eyes, feet, or hands!

But we get the point, don’t we?

Jesus is speaking about the consequences of sin for the whole community. One person might sin, but the entire community suffers. He’s calling us to take charge of our lives and make whatever changes are necessary to live His life.

Sometimes, making these changes can feel like cutting off a part of ourselves when we try to:

  • Break a harmful habit we’ve had for a long time.

  • Simplify our lives so we can have more time for others.

  • Reduce our material excesses to help those who have less.

  • Open our eyes and ears to the larger world of the poor.

Making significant changes in our lives can feel like major surgery, or, as Jesus puts it, like chopping off a hand, or foot, or plucking out an eye. Who wants to do that?

Well, we do, if we have heard Jesus’ invitation to follow Him! And we can because at this Eucharist, we are being offered transforming grace once again.

A few years ago, I was at a meeting in a conference room at another parish in the diocese. In this room, there is a fireplace, and on the mantle over the fireplace is a foot-tall statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Jesus is clothed in white, His heart is exposed from His chest, and His arms are spread open as if to say, “Hey world, look at how much I love you!”

But this statue is missing its hands! Apparently, some time ago, this statue fell, and the only damage that occurred was losing its hands at the end of each of the arms.

They’re missing! I thought, ‘Who would put a damaged statue back on the mantle? Why didn’t they throw it away?’

Then it hit me!

What a powerful reminder to a broken person, a broken people, a broken world (broken by neglect, sickness, pain, poverty, broken by sin) that Jesus loves us this much. 

And despite our brokenness, He is calling us to be His hands and to share His healing and love with another broken person, a broken people, and a broken world!

And this is where the transforming grace of the Eucharist comes in. In a few moments, bread will be broken like the hands on that Sacred Heart statue, and wine will be poured out, and we will be receiving the Body and Blood of Christ.

With it comes the transforming grace that changes broken people into the Body of Christ.

We are literally grafted onto the arms of the Body of Christ and become the eyes, feet, and hands of Jesus, ready to share His love and healing with a broken world!

Are we using our eyes to see those in need around us? Are our feet RUNNING toward those who need help? Are our hands reaching out to lift others up? Are we living in a way that leads others to Christ, especially the “little ones” who are vulnerable?

Let’s be the eyes, feet, and hands of Christ, leading others by our example and bringing His love to a world in need.

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