THE SACRED HEART:

3 IMAGES OF GOD’S LOVE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Feast of the Sacred Heart: 3 Images of God’s Love.”

Today’s 3 readings give 3 images of God’s love for us.

For starters, there is a basic human question: “Do you love me!”

We ask it in various and many ways:

·        Does anyone love me?

·        Does she love me?

·        Does he love me?

·        Does [did] my mother love me?

·        Does [did] my father love me?

·        Do my children love me?

·        Does so and so love me?

·        Does God love me?

Today’s 3 readings for this feast of the Sacred Heart give 3 images of God’s love for us?

FIRST READING - FIRST IMAGE PARENTING

Today’s first reading from Hosea the Prophet gives the basic image of a parent loving a child. [Cf. Hosea 11: 3-4, 8c-9.] That’s where it all begins - being held and loved as a baby.

I’ll never forget a scary statement I heard in a lecture in a counseling course I was taking, “The bigger the problem, the earlier the problem.”

The speaker then said, “If a person has severe personality problems, sometimes it can traced back to horrible neglect of that person early, early in their childhood and babyhood.”

It gives me pause when I run into “problem people” or “strange rangers” or folks I find “difficult”.

Please God we have/had parents that love us.

All through the scriptures we hear that theme - God as a Parent - both Mother and Father - loving us. [1]

Hopefully, when we say the “Our Father” - we say it with deep feelings because we got glimpses of the love of God for us - because we had a loving father - or we experienced in our lifetime from guardians or father figures - great care and love for us.

Want to catechize your kids and grandkids?  Love them.

SECOND READING - THE IMAGE OF CONVERSION MOMENTS

In today’s second reading from Ephesians we have mention of Paul’s experience of Christ. [Cf. Ephesians 3: 8-12, 14-19.] Saul, who became Paul, was trying to remove mention of Jesus, or the presence, awareness, following, or attachment to Christ from Jewish folks who were becoming Christians. In his conversion Paul discovered that Christ was aware of him.

Today’s second reading has the word “access”. Isn’t that a neat image? Christ gives us “access” to the Father. In his conversion moment on the road to Damascus, Paul  discovered that the one he was trying to kill - erase - destroy - hurt - was the one who saved him from his destructive life style. In this Christ - in this mystery of Christ - which he entered - Paul experienced the love of God for him and for all. 

Conversion stories are reversal stories.

Listen again to the powerful words from Ephesians in today’s second reading - words of access to the Father through, in, and with Christ.

For this reason 
I kneel before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven 
and on earth is named,
that he may grant you 
in accord with the riches of his glory
to be strengthened with power

through his Spirit in the inner self,
and that Christ may dwell 
in your hearts through faith;
that you, rooted and grounded in love,
may have strength to comprehend 
with all the holy ones
what is the breadth and length 
and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ 
which surpasses knowledge,
so that you may be filled 
with all the fullness of God.

GOSPEL - DEATH SCENES - THE SACRED HEART OF GOD

And today’s Gospel gives us the third image of God’s love for us.[Cf. John 19: 31-37] It is a  scene from Jesus’ death on the Cross. I assume it was chosen for this feast of the Sacred Heart because the lance is thrust into Jesus’ chest - his heart area - and out flowed blood and water.

What happens to you when you stand before an image, a statue or a picture of Jesus Christ? We have this gigantic image of Christ here at St. John Neumann’s. At St. Mary’s we have a big crucifix in the back of church, a statue of the Sacred Heart in the sanctuary, and an image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd on the upper wall of the sanctuary. What is your favorite image of Jesus? What moves you?

Looking at the history of how Jesus is pictured, using broad general statements, the first key image of Jesus was that of the Good Shepherd. Then came Jesus on the Cross. Then came Jesus as the Sacred Heart. In the last century came the image of Jesus filled with Divine Mercy. These images convey caring, relating, reaching out, pouring out one’s heart, for others.

Today we celebrating the image of the  Sacred Heart.

We know the meaning of the heart - in all those “I love you’s” - all those heart images on rings and things - bumper stickers - and Valentine Day stuff. We feel it in our pump - our chest - our heart - when we are loved and when we love.

CONCLUSION

In this homily I presented from today’s 3 readings, 3 images that God loves us. Today, on this feast of the Sacred Heart,  we celebrate that reality: God loves me.

[1] Pope John Paul I, [Albino Luciani] (1912-1978) said at the Sunday Angelus blessing in St. Peter's Square on September 17, 1978, "He is Father. Even more, God is Mother, who does not want to harm us."