Father Ed Witt, SJ
Homily from the Televised Mass, NewsCenter1
The 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 9, 2024

First reading today we hear the familiar story of the first human sin and the human response to sin. Adam and Eve were disobedient. They ate from the tree that they were not supposed to eat and as a result they were alienated from God. They became afraid and separated from God. They turned on one another, and all of creation was infected by this sin. But what is striking in the first reading is how Adam and Eve refused to take responsibility for what they’ve done. Adam blames Eve. She’s the one who flew the flag upside down or whatever the case might be. Political joke there; political reference. Eve passed the buck and said, “the serpent made me do it.”  Adam even indicates that God made them do it. They refused to take responsibility and they are kicked out of the garden. 

And yet God did not abandon them or leave them alone for it says in the Psalm response, “with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.” And indeed, the grace of Jesus Christ far outweighs human sin in the balance as Paul reminds us. 

We turn to the second reading; I think this is one should encourage us not to be discouraged as our outer self is wasting away. We find that we can’t see as well as we could at one time. We need stronger light. Our knees are starting, we’re getting a little unstable. We might have a knee replaced, a hip replaced, or even have two knees replaced. We start to fall apart. We want to step on the brake, and we step on the gas and crash into Perkins. That’s how it goes sometimes. But do not be discouraged because our inner self, we are reminded, is growing stronger through the grace of God and we look beyond the discouragement of what happens to our bodies to the encouragement that comes from the resurrection. 

A final word about the Gospel, Jesus’ family, his blood ties and the religious authorities think he’s crazy. They think he’s out to lunch. He doesn’t take time to eat. He must be crazy. They want to take him away to a nut house apparently, or wherever they were going to take him. But he says, “who are my real mothers and brothers, sisters and family? It’s those that do the will of God. They are my brothers, mother, and sisters.” 

So, we are the insiders, the adopted family of Christ. So let us take responsibility for our sins, trust in God’s mercy. Let us not be discouraged by what happens to our bodies as we slowly age and deteriorate and let us trust in our place in the family of Jesus.