Homily

Today we are reminded of the negative behaviors, feelings, or reactions people may have when they do not imitate our Lord. Elijah, the prophet, wanted to give up and die. He lost faith. St. Paul felt the need to correct the Ephesians who apparently were spreading bitterness, fury, anger, and much more. Even the followers of Jesus grumbled at what he said.

All of these things, all of these behaviors grieve the Holy Spirit of God. If we were all to take a test and the the question about whether we should grieve the Lord, I am sure we would all answer correctly. But the problem is that we all do it. But, today we are being challenged to reflect on these sins and repent.

Imagine for a moment that our behaviors had a smell associated with them. So, when we love, we would smell roses. When we forgave another person, we would smell our favorite dessert. Our ability to smell is a powerful sense. It is capable of helping us remember things more potently than our hearing or sight. Imagine then what our sins smell like? Rotten food in the garbage? Have you ever smelled the odor coming from underneath the streets in large cities? Death smells very bad. Sin is a form of death. If we could smell sin, we can conclude that it would smell really bad. So listen again:

Brothers and sisters:
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.
All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling
must be removed from you, along with all malice.
And be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.

Finally, we are being called to be healed and encouraged by Jesus by participating in the Eucharist. This fragrant grace we receive heals us of our sins and gives us the power to do better. Therefore, come to the table today and receive the bread of life.