Trusting in the Father’s love
Genesis 3:9-11
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree, the LORD God
called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in
the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” Then he
asked, “Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree
of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
Boys and
girls, how many of you get nervous if you have to stand in front of people and
speak, like when you have to give a presentation in class or read in church? It’s very normal to get nervous and feel
fear. I get nervous, too. Someone gave me a little advice to help me
relax when I have to give a homily. They
said, “Try to imagine everyone sitting in the audience in their
underwear.” You know what happens? When I try to picture that, that makes me
laugh, I relax, and I feel no fear. But
do you know why I relax and feel no fear?
It’s because I think in my head, “Haha!
Look at those people in their underwear!
They look funny! THEY should be
afraid, not me! They have more to worry
about than I do!” Now you know what I’m
thinking as I give these homilies and why I like to laugh in church!
Now, have
you ever noticed that there are some people who love to run around without
their clothes on, and they’re not worried about it? Can you guess who they are? Little boys and girls sometimes run through
their house naked! They feel no
fear. Sometimes I go to people’s homes
for supper and if they have small children, those children will sometimes take
off their clothes and run around the house.
The parents are always so embarrassed, but I just smile because that’s
what I see in church every Sunday. Do
you know WHY little children feel free to be naked? It’s because they know their parents love
them. They feel no fear, but only mom
and dad's love, and so they run around their house in their birthday suits,
confident that nothing will hurt them.
You see, fear needs clothes, love doesn’t.
In the
first reading today from Genesis we see someone who was naked and afraid. Do you remember who that was? It was Adam.
He said to God, “I heard your voice in the garden, but I was afraid,
because I was naked, so I hid myself.”
Now, the funny thing is that all this time Adam WAS naked, but he was
not afraid. So what did Adam do that
suddenly make him afraid? He did
something bad – what was it? He ate the
apple; he committed a sin. Adam didn’t
trust in God’s love for him, and that’s what every sin ultimately is. This is the best definition of sin: a failure
to trust in God's love. Before he ate
the apple, Adam was like a little boy running around the garden without any
clothes on, completely confident in his Father’s love. But because he sinned -- he doubted God’s
love -- he became afraid, and hid his nakedness. Fear needs clothes, love doesn’t.
Today is
the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Today, we remember the only person (besides Jesus) who never committed a
single sin, that is, who never doubted God’s love for her. Who was that?
Our Mother Mary! She was like a
little girl who could run around without any clothes on – she didn’t do that,
of course – but she could have because she was completely confident in her
Father’s love for her; she knew nothing could hurt her. She never doubted God’s love for a second,
and that’s what we mean by the “Immaculate
Conception,” that is, from the first moment of her existence, Mary never
sinned, she never felt fear, only God's love.
Mary wouldn’t get nervous giving a presentation in class or reading at
Mass because she was filled with God's love.
That’s why we honor our Mother Mary and try to be more like her, so that
we, too, may never doubt our Father’s love for us.
St. Augustine famously said, "Love, and do what you will." When your heart is as full of love as Mary's
was, there is no room for fear. When you
have that much love, like a little child's, you might even run around your house
without any clothes on. Fear needs
clothes, love doesn't.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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