Let It Go

Seeing how interior change leads to exterior action

03/01/2020

Matthew 4:1-11 At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”

Today I would like to share a few thoughts about being good stewards, and I hope you have received my letter asking your prayerful consideration of your financial support of the parish. I would like to start with a little joke. A Buddhist monk stroke into a Zen pizza parlor, and said, “Make me one with everything.” – Get it: a Buddhist says “make me one with everything.” When he got his order, he gave the proprietor a $20 bill, which the guy pocketed. “Hey,” asked the irritated monk, “where’s my change?” The man replied inscrutably: “Change must come from within.” That reminds me of one Mass where a man stopped the usher who was taking up the collection. The man had dropped a $50 bill in the basket and then he started fishing for change in the basket. All ushers hereby have my permission to tell such people: “Change must come from within,” don’t look for change in the basket.

This joke illustrates the fact that without inner change, a transformation of the heart by faith, we will not understand exterior change, like giving to church or charity. Indeed, we will not understand Christianity itself. Instead of seeing God’s commands (like tithing) as a blessing, we believe it is only as a burden. The great Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, famously declared: “Every Christian undergoes three successive conversions: first, the conversion of the heart, second, the conversion of the mind, and third, the conversion of the checkbook.” Notice how there must first be “change from within” (in our hearts and minds, in our feelings and thoughts) before there is a “change from without,” that is, in our outward behavior like writing a check for the church. Let me suggest three ways we might start making this “change from within.”

First of all, when we are “changed from within” we feel God’s grace and power to overcome the temptations of the devil, especially temptations to greed. In the gospel today, Jesus confronts Satan’s three temptations in the desert, and he rebuffs all three, including possessing all the kingdoms of the earth in their magnificence, a temptation to greed. How did our Lord do it? If we take a step back from today’s gospel text, we discover that this episode of the temptation in Matthew 4 was immediately preceded by Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3. Baptism creates a profound “change from within,” and we become children of God. Secondly, notice our Lord’s fluency with scripture, which was also a great ally in the spiritual battle. In other words, both baptism and the bible create that “change from within” that helps us decisively defeat the devil. We put into practice what Paul taught in 1 Tim. 6:10 that “the love of money is the root of all evil.” Interior change leads to a more authentic exterior Christianity.

A second way we must “change from within” is going from being “takers” to becoming “givers.” Have you noticed these two qualities in other people? More importantly, have you noticed them in yourself? It’s always easier to see other people’s faults and failings (the splinter in our neighbor’s eye) than our own planks protruding from our eyes. I am convinced there really are only two kinds of people in the world: givers and takers. For example, Jesus was a “giver,” and therefore he gave his life for the salvation of the world. On the other hand, Satan was a “taker,” who eagerly took our Lord’s life. Being either a giver or a taker constitute the cornerstone in each person’s character. When you’re fundamental inner orientation is that of a “giver” like Jesus, then giving to church or charity makes all the sense in the world.

And thirdly, when we experience “change from within” we overcome fear and find true freedom. And now I have a big confession to make: I have never seen the Walt Disney movie called “Frozen.” I am probably the only person on earth with that dubious distinction. But I did read the Wikipedia plot summary of the movie, so that’s pretty much the same thing. The whole movie revolves around one song, “Let it go.” Elsa sings it to symbolize how she will not hoard her magical powers like a hermit but rather “let it go” and use it for others. Let me play a small segment of that song that every child knows. Elsa’s inner awakening to “let it go” is an analogy for how we sometimes treat our money. That is, we can hoard our wealth as a hermit and keep it only for ourselves. Or, we can experience a “change from within” like Elsa did, and overcome our fears about finances. We can do magical things with our money when we just “let it go” into the collection plate!

Let me give you a one-sentence summary of this whole homily. Change from within (in our hearts) leads to a further change from without (in our actions) which finally leads to a change for the whole world (in building up the Kingdom of God).

Praised be Jesus Christ!