We are answerable for what we believe

Homily for January 29, 2017 (4th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13; Psalm 146; 1 Corinthians 1:28-31; Matthew 5:1-12a

Blessed John Newman, one of the great Catholic theologians of the 19th century, wrote that “To live is to change; and to be perfect is to have changed often.”

Cardinal Newman knew this from experience. A vicar and a tutor at Oxford University in England, he helped found the Oxford Movement, which spurred a spiritual and doctrinal revival in the Anglican Church.  Then his own studies of early church history led him to do something even more radical and, to many, scandalous:  at age 44 he became a Roman Catholic.Soon after he was ordained a priest and established the Oratorians in England.

From that time until his death at age 89, Newman dedicated his life to scholarship, pastoral work and the expansion of Catholic education, particularly at the university level.  His devotion to the Church and the development and articulation of doctrine was recognized by Pope Leo XIII, who made him a Cardinal.

Today his legacy remains in what we know as Newman Centers: the Catholic houses and chapels at many public universities. Cardinal Newman would have loved that, for he believed that the purpose of a university was to engage the heart as well as the mind; to not just transmit knowledge but to build character; and to not merely prepare for a job or career but to prepare for life.

Changing one’s mind has gotten a bit of a bad rap in some circles.  When politicians change or sometimes merely attempt to nuance their positions on issues, they’re often accused of flip-flopping or waffling.  Sometimes it’s true!  But it’s also not a trait unique to politicians.  When any of us are confronted or held accountable by others about what we say or believe, we can sometimes fall prey to fear, self-interest or cynical calculation and change because it’s expedient.

Yet it’s not automatically a sin to change our minds. In fact, it’s a necessary part of conversion! Such a change begins with humility—admitting that as human beings and sinners, none of us “has it all together.”

Zephaniah saw it expressed in obedience and fidelity to living God’s law and the integrity between the faith that people professed and the way that they actually lived.  St. Paul, who knew something about the experience of changing one’s mind, asked the church in Corinth to remember their own situations when they were chosen by God: they weren’t considered wise or people of great status, yet they were richly blessed in becoming members of Christ. Thus, if they really had to boast, they could only boast in the Lord.

Humility is the virtue that helps us to move from the “me-attitudes” of the world to the Beatitudes of Jesus. At a time when meekness, mercy and peacemaking are often scorned as signs of weakness or political correctness,Jesus asks us to embrace them as signs of strength.  When persecution and insults for the sake of the faith can make us feel vulnerable, Jesus encourages us to seek our security in him and his kingdom. When surreal debates about “alternative facts” can leave us confused and frustrated,

Jesus challenges us to embrace the truth of the Gospel.  As Cardinal Newman said, “We can believe what we choose.  We are answerable for what we believe.” +