Homily: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, YR A
“A Christian is Someone with Integrity”
by Fr. William Holtzinger
Sept. 25, 2005

I’d like to begin my homily today with an illustration.  

 

(Bring out a golf club and swing it poorly by stopping the club soon after imaginarily hitting a ball)

 

What did I do wrong?  

(Ask the congregation if they can tell you what was wrong)

The answer?  I didn’t follow through.  In fact, a good golfer will tell you, as would any tennis player or baseball player that following through is essential to playing the game well.  This is also true in our lives.  Following through with our commitments is what it means to be a person of integrity, a person whose actions are the same as their words.  Another word for that is credibility or dependability.

 

The Gospel story illustrates two sons, neither of whom did what they said they were going to do.  The son who said “no” at first dishonored his father by claiming himself independent of his father.  The second told his father what his father wanted to hear, but seems to have had no intention of doing it.  Ultimately he dishonors his father too.  Yet, we know that while each created a bad relationship with their father, the one who changed his mind and did what the father asked was given mercy.  I wonder what was different for the first son?

 

Have you ever been the victim of another person’s broken promises?  Have you done it yourself?  The second reading from Philippians challenges us to have the attitude of Christ, to empty ourselves, to humble ourselves, and to be obedient to God.  Yet, when we break our promises, we are certainly not being people of integrity.  We certainly are not modeling Christ.  The Gospel today illustrates this too.  Jesus himself challenges the leaders of his day not only to teach the truth, but to live it.

 

There have been times when I’ve asked a parishioner to help with something. They often say yes to my face, but no when I am gone.  I arrive at the time we agreed, but they don’t show up.  Why is that?  Are they embarrassed to say no to me?  Do they truly intend to lie to a priest?  Are they of such poor integrity that they break their promises frequently to others?  Maybe they have such poor self esteem that they can’t deal with rejecting another person.  If someone came to you and behaved that way, how would you feel?  I am just a human.  But, it makes me wonder how often we make promises to God that we know we won’t keep.

 

I wonder if the culture of our country today has wooed us into such behaviors.  It seems that many of us are afraid of commitment or afraid that we will miss an opportunity.  It seems that we would rather wait and gather all our options before making a decision.  This is great if you are planning a building project.  But, this is a formula for ruining your relationships.  A mature person does not act this way.  Clearly Jesus didn’t.  I imagine that he could have found other people than Judas or Peter who would not deny him.  But, he didn’t.  

 

We must not treat each other as commodities to be traded if a better one comes along.  Instead, make a commitment and stick to it.  Sure, it is very possible that another thing will come along that might be better, but if you committed yourself to the first decision, then your integrity will shine through to others.  Live by principles guided by the Gospel, not by the latest fad or news fixation.  

 

Luckily, Christ is merciful and forgiving.  He will forgive you and me if we have behaved in this way.  Paul desires to encourage us to be a people of integrity, to be united and not self-seeking.  Listen again:

    complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,

    united in heart, thinking one thing.

    Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;

    rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,

    each looking out not for his own interests,

    but also for those of others.

Christians are called by God to be people of integrity, people who do what they say and say what they do.  This week for homework, be mindful of what is truly the most important relationship in your life.  Keep Christ in the center and don’t be swayed by the latest “bling-bling” (attractive thing) that catches your eye.  Focus your heart on Christ-centered decisions and unite your actions with your will. 

I have a management approach that I learned that helps me with this.  IT is called managing from the heart.  HEART is an acronym.

            H - Hear and understand me

            E - Even though we disagree, don’t make me wrong

            A - Acknowledge the greatness within me

            R - Remember to look for my good intention

            T - Tell me the truth with compassion

 

Stay true to your commitments.  Be clear in your speech.  Mean what you say and say what you mean.  Be clear instead of illusive.  Be firm of heart instead of bouncing around from one infatuation to another.  Seek out what is true and be compassionate to those around you.  Then even if you make a mistake like the first son in the Gospel story, your heart, formed by Christ, will remind you of the need to change and do the right thing.