Only a Flesh Wound

Learning and living the logic of love by seeking sacrifice  

Matthew 5:27-32  

Jesus said to his disciples: “If your right eye causes you to sin,  tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin,  cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.”   

          Sometimes young couples in love have a hard time staying chaste. They can’t keep their hands off each other, and then one thing leads to another, and chastity goes out the window. So, I ask these young star-crossed lovers this question. How do you prove your love to each other, by doing something easy or by doing something difficult? Usually they answer, by doing something difficult. Then I ask: well, which is harder to do, having sex or not having sex? Obviously, not having sex is harder than jumping into bed. So, if you’re not married, the better way to show someone your love is by not having sex with them. By the way, the number of couples I’ve convinced with this argument is a whopping zero.   

          This was the same logic of love that led me into the priesthood, namely, the sacrifice of celibacy. As a young man, I wanted to show Jesus I loved him, and quite spontaneously I looked for a sacrifice and saw celibacy. I realized that love proves itself by doing something difficult. I know some people say if we just let men get married, there would no longer be a priest shortage. Maybe that’s true. But speaking very personally, I would be deeply disappointed the day the Church no longer required priests to be celibate. On that day, we would lose an important lesson in love.   

          In today’s gospel, Jesus is trying to teach his disciples this same lesson about love, that is, genuine love proves itself by sacrifice. So, our Lord says some astonishing things: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.” Later he adds, “If you right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.” Those lines always remind me of that scene in the Monty Python movie where King Arthur cuts off the Black Knight’s both arms and both legs, and remarkably the Knight retorts, “It’s only a flesh wound!” In other words, both Jesus and the Black Knight would agree when you love someone, you prove it by sacrifice, even being willing to lose and eye or an arm or a leg. You see, real love always seeks some sacrifice.   

          My friends, would you like to test your love for Jesus? Then just apply this little litmus test of love: ask yourself, do I feel like doing something difficult for Jesus, or am I happy just doing what’s easy? Real love always seeks some sacrifice. Perhaps you can let go of some past hurt and forgive the person who hurt you. Maybe you can give up an addiction, like alcohol or smoking or pornography. Maybe you can go on our mission trip to Honduras next year. I’ll never forget two years ago in January the parking lot was covered in ice and I figured no one would come for daily Mass. But I opened the church anyway, and looked across the parking lot and saw Leo Anhalt and Fred DeMiranda crawling on their hands and knees over the ice to come to daily Mass.  That was for a daily Mass.

          Those who understand the logic of love always seek some sacrifice to prove their love. For such star-crossed lovers, losing an eye or an arm or a leg, would be “only a flesh wound.”   

          Praised be Jesus Christ!