Transcript of Abbot Clement’s Homily, February 19, 2008

In this rich text of directives we like to just pick out one where Jesus observes that the Scribes and Pharisees widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

Now Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy reminds the people that they should love the Lord their God with their whole mind, their whole soul and all their strength. And then he says that they should put phylacteries on, that is straps, around their head and around their arm in such a way that it touches their heart so that they are reminded that their whole minds, and their whole hearts are to be directed toward God. So that= s what they did. But it didn’t do them any good. Why? Because we as we were discussing last night at a Bible study, the Ten Commandments presupposes that you have struggled with this question, do you really believe in the good? You may think you do but you may not because this is a growth question. There= s an awakening involved in believing in the good. And there= s also facets to it that have to be really looked at, namely, if you do believe in the good where is it? Jesus told the young man that came to him and called him good, he said, A No one= s good but God.@ So that means you have struggled with it to the point that you realize that only God is good. Then of course you have to have some sense where you stand.

So we are a people who have a capacity for good, a capacity for freedom, but the good in us and the freedom we have is a gift of God. It’s not from ourselves. So what does that mean? That means there are people who don= t believe there is good in the world. They are already dead. Morally dead, personally dead. In our culture this is not exactly a rare occasion anymore because most people think the cultural view is that I as a human being determine what is good. It’s insanity. God alone is good. To discover that God is good has a tremendous impact on our life.

If we read the mystics when the Lord opened his heart to people and let them in most of the people came out of that experience saying things like, A I never experienced such goodness. I= ll do anything for God.@ Meaning that they sensed, not just his kindness, not just his goodness, not just his gentleness and support, but his total presence toward them and therefore they would do anything for him.

So to believe in the Ten Commandments means not only do I believe in the good but I give myself to it. Not just put on phylacteries, not just put on external things but I surrender myself to this good. And of course in the process then what’s the first thing God= s going to show us but our need for repentance. Therefore, we develop a response that really repents, that is, I fight against the evil that is in me, with confidence. That God is going to liberate me from any evil in me.

So I go to the Lord and I expect the Lord to heal me. Of course he does. That in itself is another sign of God= s intention to save the whole world. Why he came and what were doing in Lent is precisely to highlight the whole redemptive action of God toward us and the world. So when we come to the Eucharist in which we encounter the life giving life that pours itself out upon us at every Mass we= ll be open to it. So we allow the Lord then to take hold of us and really pour out grace upon us and acknowledge it as his. Namely, to give us life, virtue, forgiveness, purity, or whatever else you want to see has God= s action in your life as he gives it to you.

So the real first important question is have you really struggled with the question - do you really believe in the good? And how? Any person who thinks they have the answers to everything and they= re the source of good they= re insane. Any person who doesn= t see, as the rest of the gospel is pointing out, is that we are poor and we need salvation and therefore we walk very humbly in the world is again not in the truth.

So the importance of reflecting on do I really believe in the good and where do I place it and how do I place it in the sense that when I discover that God is good does it make me want to give myself totally to God?