Be Holy: Homily for Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Readings for Today. Listen to our other podcasts.

Be holy for I am holy.

Be Holy

“Be holy, because I am holy.” If we want to ask, “What do we do as a disciple?” we seek holiness. That is the most important thing for us to do. It is the way in which we love God and neighbor by being holy. We live in a culture that, quite frankly, values activity over internal growth. We need to be busy about something.

There are so many things that need attention. We can’t help ourselves. We find ourselves working busily in this activity or that activity. But it is not anywhere near as beneficial as the type of activity that arises from holiness.

Saint Peter, in this first reading today, is reminding those who have newly accepted Jesus that the salvation that Jesus offers is grounded in holiness. Moreover, it has been foretold for centuries. The prophets have sought it and investigated it and talked about it, even at times when they might not have realized that the words that God gave them to speak were words that foreshadowed the Messiah. In the Gospel, we have a circumstance that follows just upon yesterday.

If you remember yesterday’s reading, the young man had kept all the commandments and Jesus said to him, “If you really want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor.” And Peter is obviously now wondering, “Well, what does this mean for them, the disciples, the apostles who are with Jesus?” And so he asks, or he makes a statement, “We have given up everything to follow you. We have done that thing that you asked the rich young man to do. What’s in it for us?”

And it’s very interesting. Jesus, first of all, says, “Anyone who has given up everything to follow me will not lack for a reward.” But know this, there will be persecutions as well. This is not going to be all milk and honey or roses and candy. This is going to involve some hard choices, some difficulties, some standing up for what is right and good and true, to talk about Jesus with all that we have, with everything we are, to seek Jesus above all things so that we might hear the words of Peter and make them our own, that we might be holy because the Lord God is holy.

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