The Light & Truth of Christ: Remedy for Our Culture
Homily 4th Sunday Year B
The Light & Truth of Christ: Remedy for Our Culture
Fr. Dwight P. Campbell, S.T.D., J.D.
Our first reading is from the Book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Bible, the last book of the Pentateuch, also called the Torah, or Law of Moses. Deuteronomy comes from two Greek words, deutero (second) and nomos (law); it means literally “second law.”
Deuteronomy is Moses’ farewell speech to the people of Israel as they are about enter into the Promised Land. In it he sets forth, for a second time, the law of God, including the 10 Commandments, so that God’s Chosen People will remain faithful to His Law when they enter the Promised Land, which is filled with pagans who worship false gods (really demons), and who sacrifice their own children to these demons.
In ch. 18 of Deuteronomy, which we hear today, Moses speaks of “a prophet” that will come after him, from among their kin, to whom they must listen, because he will speak God’s word, and speak in God’s name.
That prophet is, in fact, Jesus Christ, the very Word made flesh, who, as our Gospel story relates, was able to cast out demons from people possessed at the very word of His command.
As the Son of God who became man while remaining God, Jesus had a triple office of Priest, Prophet and King. As the divine Prophet, as our Gospel today says, He taught “with authority.”
We, who are disciples of Christ, must follow His teaching. Jesus came to reveal to us the truth – about God, and how we must lead our lives in order to get to Heaven. Therefore, the truth proclaimed by Christ must be the guiding light for all that we think, say and do in our lives.
But Jesus desires something more from us, His faithful followers: that we, who have the light and truth of His saving message – and the teaching of the Church, which is Christ’s living voice in the world – He desires that we do all in our power to bring that light and truth to a secular culture, which in many ways as turned its back on God, and the saving message of Jesus Christ, and therefore is in darkness, and desperately needs to be enlightened.
The Gospel acclamation for today reflects this notion: “The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, for those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, a light has shown.”
Nowhere does our secular culture need more enlightenment than in matters concerning marriage and the family.
Now, God has beautiful plan for love, life, marriage and the family.
Why is this area so important? Because the common good – of all people, and of each and every individual person – is intrinsically linked to the family, which desperately needs to live according to God’s plan. “As the family goes, so goes the culture.”
What is God’s plan for love, life, marriage and the family? It’s pretty simple:
First, that intimacy between a man and a woman be reserved for marriage. WHY? So that children, the fruit of marital love, will grow up in a loving household with a father and a mother present to nurture, form and guide them – on their journey through this life, and ultimately, to eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven, our ultimate goal.
And second, that every marital act of husbands and wives, and every use of their procreative powers, always be open to God’s potentially life-creating love, thereby following the original blessing that God bestowed on the human race: “Be fertile, and multiply, fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28).
Why this blessing? Why “multiply and fill the earth”? Because God, who IS LOVE, and who is the Creator of human life, wants more souls for the Kingdom of Heaven!
Well, it’s pretty clear that we are not following God’s plan for love, life, marriage and the family:
– marriage itself has been redefined to include people of the same sex – a relationship that, by its very nature, is closed to procreation of new human life;
– many young couples shack up, and choose not marry or have children;
– many married couples use contraception and sterilization, thereby intentionally rendering themselves infertile and closed to new human life;
– abortion – the murder of preborn children – is used as a back-up for failed contraception. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court admitted this. In its 1992 decision Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who wrote the majority opinion, said “we’re keeping abortion legal [even though all the scientific evidence proved that human life begins at conception] because abortion is needed as a back-up when contraception fails, to assure that women maintain their positions in the workplace.
This reasoning reveals the truth: that abortion is really the flip side of contraception; both stem from an anti-child mentality – one prior to conception, and one after the child is conceived.
Sadly, and shockingly, many in our nation today still insist that the murder of children in the womb is a “right” that must be protected by laws in our country and in our states – something truly demonic, and insane!
As noted in last week’s bulletin, our government along with other wealthy, first world nations, has effectively declared war on people of poorer, third world nations – on families and unborn children.
The article by Dr. Stephen Mosher in last week’s bulletin told of how, back in 1974, Henry Kissinger, former National Security Adviser, wrote a 250 page report that warned that the world’s natural resources are limited, and therefore, to assure enough resources for us here in the U.S., we must reduce the populations in poorer nations that are producing too many children.
This became official U.S. policy: U.S. taxpayer-funded programs were initiated to reduce populations of 3rd world nations through contraception, sterilization, and abortion; and these programs continue to this day.
I’ll quote from Dr. Mosher’s article:
“For over 50 years the population controllers have carried out a gigantic, costly, and inhumane program to reduce human numbers. They have abused women, targeted racial and religious minorities, undermined primary health care, and aborted countless babies. They even embraced the most brutal birth control campaign in human history: China’s infamous one-child policy.”
By the way, it was Dr. Mosher who exposed the diabolic one-child policy of the communist Chinese government more than forty years ago – he was a graduate student living in China and witnessed the horror of this program.
As a result of these practices and programs I’ve just mentioned, fertility rates are at record lows in our nation and in many wealthy first world nations – and populations are literally dying off. In the U.S., the fertility rate last year was 1.77 children per woman during her reproductive lifetime, well below the 2.1 children needed to sustain a country’s population.
I could go on and on. But my point is, that people need to hear the truth proclaimed. We must make the light and truth of Christ known, in order to cultivate a true culture of life.
Let us pray that we have strength, the fortitude, and resolve to be true witnesses of Jesus Christ to the world.
Let us pray that people in our nation, and in every nation throughout the world, will repent, turn back to God, and follow God’s beautiful plan for love, life, marriage and the family.
I’ll end with a quote from Pres. John Kennedy. He once said, “Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.”