Homily for 5th Sunday of Lent

Homily for the
5th Sunday of Lent
April 1, 1990
Rom 8: 8-11
Holy Cross, Fairfield, Conn.

This weekend (April 9-10) I preached (on the raising of Lazarus) to Boy Scouts and to Ursuline nuns without a written text--2 different homilies, in fact. Here's an oldie (on the epistle).

“You are not in the flesh; you are in the spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Rom 8:9).

Every time my stomach growls: “It’s lunch time”; every time I get poison ivy; every time I experience those temptations that we modestly call “of the flesh”; every time I enjoy the warm sun on my skin, hear Mozart, smell fresh-baked bread, or see the sun rise over the Sound, I know I’m “in the flesh,” with all the bad and good that come from being a bodily creature.

St. Paul and the Christians of Rome were human too. So when Paul contrasts the flesh and spirit, he evidently does not mean body and soul. But Paul tells us that some people are “in the flesh” and therefore “do not belong to Christ” and “cannot please God,” while others “have the Spirit of Christ” and “will live because of justice” (8:8-10). When Paul speaks of justice or righteousness, he means God’s own holiness, complete moral integrity, the state of grace.

Whoever is “in the flesh” still lives a superficial earthly life, is still committed to himself rather than to Jesus Christ and his neighbor, is still a child of sin. Whoever is “in the flesh” has not yet repented, is not redeemed and forgiven, is not made whole by God’s grace.

The Christian, on the other hand, has committed herself or himself to Jesus Christ and entered the community of disciples, the Church. The Christian is “in the spirit,” possessed by God’s spirit, united with Christ and made just, made holy, by that Spirit. The Christian’s earthly body must still pay the price of sin, but its death is only temporary. For the Spirit that raised the earthly body of Christ to eternal life and spiritualized that body will likewise raise up the body of every Christian. In our creed, we profess our belief “in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,” and because the Spirit dwells in us, “we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” 

Filled with the Holy Spirit, we are filled with hope. Though we are not yet completely dead to sin—how well we know that!—the Spirit who dwells in us and makes us a holy people makes us pleasing to God. The Spirit who dwells in us makes us life-giving, like Christ our Master.

And how are we life-giving like Christ? Surely we don’t go into cemeteries and rouse the dead by shouting out, “Come forth from your graves!” But we do imitate Jesus and give life by doing the works of mercy. Lent is a time of fasting; it is also a time of almsgiving. The alms we give may be material or spiritual.

We give alms, as Jesus gave people bodily help, by teaching our children; by visiting the sick and the lonely; by writing letters to distant relatives and friends; by giving money, supplies, or time to charitable causes. We give spiritual alms, as Jesus gave people spiritual help, by teaching our children not just their ABC’s and algebra but the truths of our faith and a strong moral code; by comforting the sorrowing; by praying for people in need and those with responsibilities; by listening to the troubles of families and friends.

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will bring your mortal bodies to life also through his Spirit dwelling in you” (8:11). The good works you do in your mortal body right now are spiritual works “since the Spirit of God dwells in you” (8:9), and they are already life-giving works.