THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Third Sunday after the Epiphany

22 January 2023

[Image]

The Sunday

Sermon

Click the button on the right to be told about updates. Your address will be kept strictly private.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today's Gospel reading begins with Jesus coming down from the mountain. The multitude followed Him. Jesus, in His Divinity, likewise came down from the mountain of Heaven so that many people here on earth can follow Him.

Jesus came down from Heaven and became human with us to be physically accessible. The leper could not ascend the mountain to see Jesus, but now that Jesus has come down from the mountain, the leper can approach Him. Spiritually we cannot ascend to Jesus in Heaven because of the leprosy of our sins. Now that Jesus has come down from Heaven and become Man with us, we can much more easily approach Him.

The words of the leper, "If Thou will, Thou can make me clean," become the words of every repentant sinner. We turn to Jesus in the Sacrament of Penance (Confession), knowing that Jesus can forgive our sins; we only ask if He Wills it. The leper heard Jesus affirm that it was His Will to cure him, and then He touched him and pronounced him clean. In the Confessional, we penitents likewise hear Jesus affirm His Will that we be made clean, and the confirming words of absolution bring into effect the Will of Jesus.

Jesus can forgive our sins and make us whole without showing ourselves to the priest, but He demands that we do this just as He required the leper. The cure of physical wounds often requires further pain or discomfort when the wound is cleaned and stitched or bandaged. The injuries in our soul that, in general, are caused by pride can only be healed by humility and submission. When seeking the cure, we must agree to the treatment necessary to bring about the cure. The requirements that God has established are essential for us. God could heal us without them, but He chose to make these things obligatory for us, so they are now necessary. The vice of pride must be wounded and cut away before the virtue of humility can soothe and calm our souls and allow them to heal.

Next, we see Jesus approached by a Centurian on behalf of his servant, who is lying paralyzed at home. The Centurian is a man of power in the Roman military. His faith is strong because he has just witnessed the leper's cure. He is a Gentile, yet his faith is stronger than most of those descended from Israel. The Centurian understands that Jesus is not just a miracle worker but that He is truly God. It is not necessary for God to physically touch his servant or that He even physically come near him. As a man in authority can give orders to his subjects and know that his will will be accomplished, so God can order all of His creation and know that His Will will be accomplished. Likewise, we find that the Centurian is humble. He knows his own unworthiness of the grace that he asks for. "I am not worthy…."

The Centurian was not an Israelite nor subject to the Law of Moses; therefore, he was not required to see the priest or offer the gift required by the Law. His faith and humility raised him above the Law. He knew that if Jesus only said the word, the disorder would leave his servant, and all would be well.

Today, many "Christians" boldly proclaim that they do not need to confess their sins to a priest because they can go directly to Jesus. As if the Law of the Church does not apply to them. We need to investigate this a little closer. Are they suggesting that they are not under the Law of Christ? Then they have no claim to the title of "Christian." All who have been validly baptized belong to Jesus and are subject to His Laws.

Then we hear the argument that these are men's laws, not God's. Would they deny that Jesus is God when He clearly said to the Apostles and their successors, "Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them?"

To be saved, we must be baptized, making us members of Jesus and His Church. We, therefore, fall under the Law of Christ. The Law of Christ is the law of the Church. What the Church (The Apostles) forgives, God forgives; what the Church binds, God binds.

Those who have never come to receive Jesus and sanctifying grace in the Sacrament of Baptism can theoretically bypass the need to "show themselves to the priest." However, their faith must be so great in that one instance as to surpass the faith of all those who are subject to the Law of Christ. If they obtain this instantaneous faith in Jesus, they will soon be eagerly seeking Jesus and grace in the Sacrament of Baptism and soon become subject to the necessity and Law to show themselves to the priest.