33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

         Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of Positive Thinking, suggested three (3) steps to a successful life: First, convince yourself that you can do it. Second, get God’s help. Third, avoid any negativity. Dale Carnegie, in his best seller, How to Win Friends and Influence People, observed that, “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. Believe that you will succeed and you will.” Both authors sold millions of books.

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Entrance: Jer 29:11, 12, 14 – “The Lord said: ‘I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. You will call upon Me, and I will answer you, and I will lead back your captives from every place.’”

First Reading: Mal 3:19-20a – “The sun of justice will shine on you.”

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 98:5-6, 7-8, 9 – “The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.”

Second Reading: 2 Thes 3:7-12 – “If anyone is unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.”

Alleluia: Lk 21:28 – Alleluia, alleluia. “Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Lk 21:5-19 – “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

Communion: Ps 73(72):28 – “To be near God is my happiness, to place my hope in God the Lord.”

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         Newsflash … the Bible is the best-selling book of all time. Examples of positive thinking abound in the teachings of Jesus Christ. In today’s Gospel from Saint Luke, Jesus warns us that dire events are on the way, but that we should not worry. He says to each one of us, “By your endurance you will gain your lives” (Lk 21:18).

         In the last sentence of today’s Gospel, Jesus said that our salvation comes from endurance. The usual understanding of the history of salvation goes something like this: Adam and Eve enjoyed happiness with God in Paradise, the Garden of Eden. Then they sinned and plunged mankind into estrangement from God. Then God’s Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, died for us and placed humankind back in God’s good graces. Thus far, true, as far as it goes.

         That is the history of humanity in general, but what about human beings in particular? The thought was that Jesus opened up the possibility of salvation for everyone, but that each one of us had to make that general possibility personal. Again, that is roughly true, but with the free will each one of us possesses … we can accept what God offers us or we can reject it utterly … it sounds like a risky 50-50 chance for salvation.

         Ideas about personal salvation depend on the cultural climate. By the fourth century, Saint Augustine thought that most people were damned … they were headed south. Maybe he was acutely conscious of sin and the frailty of humanity from personal experience. Fast forward to 2025, modern times, the most popular opinion is probably that most people are saved. That may result from our fondness for excusing ourselves, blaming others, and generally denying responsibility for our own actions … as epitomized in no-fault divorce and the insanity plea.

         But beneath the silly psychological excuse is a profound theological reality. The Church grows and learns over the centuries, and it has come to appreciate the full impact of the sacrifice of Christ and the power of grace and the function of human freedom.

         Life ends with God, but it starts with human freedom, rightly understood. The purpose of human freedom is to form our unique self, to create our future by the choices we make.

         Think of yourself as a marble block. Each choice you make is a strike of the chisel. We chisel away for a number of years, some blows glancing off harmlessly, some knocking off huge chunks, some of them merely rounding off the basic contours. And by the end of life, we have, willingly or not, carved ourselves into our permanent self. The resulting statue looks remarkably like an angel or a devil. Such is the power of free will and human freedom!

         But if we take into account the “foes” of our freedom: our DNA, our imperfect parents, our persistent passions, our secular environment – all that power pitted against our frail freedom – is that really a fair fight? No, it isn’t. If we had to face the full brunt of human evil and cultural influence unaided, we would all certainly lose. But we have a great aid in the grace of Jesus Christ. No matter what forces encourage us to sin, in every single instance there is at least a little more grace on the other side. No excuses.

         Our human freedom does not operate in a vacuum. It operates within the freedom of God. Now, God chooses that every single human being should be saved. That settles it – nobody can be God, right? But guess what … they can. Though God is stronger than us, God does not force us. God gives us the power to even reject Him … the ultimate good. Still, the odds of beating God are pretty slim. We could presume that everyone is saved no matter what they do, but that would be presumption … right? We could conclude that most people are damned, but that would be despair. And guess what? Presumption and Despair are called the only unforgivable sins.

         Better to hope. That is the divine virtue that respects our human freedom while letting God be God.

         Ever mindful of the future, may we continue to hope and to be a people of God, set apart from the confusions of this world. May we enter into the realization of growing ever stronger by partaking of the Body and Blood of Jesus, our eternal Passover. He carries us through life in this world and will help us pass over into the next.