Eyes Fixed on Jesus

Homily for Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In the moving passage from the Letter to the Hebrews, the writer has given us a well-nigh perfect summary of the Christian life.

In the Christian life, we have a goal. The Christian is not an unconcerned stroller along the byways of life but a wayfarer on the high road. The Christian is not a tourist, who returns each night to the place from which he starts but a pilgrim who is forever on the way. The goal is nothing less than the likeness of Christ. The Christian life is going somewhere, and it would be well if, at each day’s ending, we were to ask ourselves: “Am I any farther on?”

The Christian life comes with an inspiration. Not only are we surrounded by the unseen cloud of witnesses, but we also have our eyes fixed on the person of Jesus.

The Christian life comes with a handicap. While we are encircled by the greatness of the past, we are also aware of the handicap of our own sins. No one would seek to climb Mount Everest with a backpack filled with heavy weights. Those who climb must travel light. So, we must discard our sins, our bad habits, our self-indulgent pleasures, and any associations which hold us back in the race.

In the Christian life, we have an example. That example is Jesus himself. To accomplish the will of his Father, he endured all things, even the cross. The cross was a humiliating thing as it was meant for criminals, for those whom society regarded as the dregs of humanity. Yet, he accepted it. St. Philip Neri bids us, “to despise the world, and to despise the fact that we are despised by the world.” If Jesus could endure like that, so must we.

In the Christian life, we have a means. That means is steadfast endurance. It is a determination, unhurrying and yet undelaying, which goes steadily on and refuses to be deflected. Obstacles do not daunt it and discouragements do not take its hope away. It is the steadfast endurance which carries us on until we arrive at our goal.

It is the goal which drives us forward. Today’s rather long Gospel passage exemplifies two people who did not fail to pursue their goal. Though afflicted with human doubt in the midst of their suffering, they pressed on despite being jeered and criticized. Like them, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.