am I an underdog?

Homily

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time C2

21 August 2022

St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas

AMDG

Am I an underdog?

You better believe it!  I'm not sure Jesus could make the answer any clearer in the Gospel.  When it comes to salvation, the odds are not in my favor!

Jesus exposes the question of the bystander as one of the worst questions one could ask. Will many be saved?   Jesus doesn't engage it at all, for it's a fearful question.  If I am worried about the score, I'm not fully engaged in the game.  If I am scared of losing, I've already lost.

How could any human person possibly be assured of his own salvation?  We are talking salvation here!  This is not a magic ticket to a vacation carpet ride that that God gives out willy-nilly.  No, Jesus talks about a narrow gate.  Jesus knows to be fully alive, to grow in the likeness of God, to be holy, to have a capacity to love as God does is the most impossible thing for me.  What makes me think I could bathe others in sacrifice, prayer, tears, compassion, patience, virtue and even my own blood?

If I have any chance of salvation, it will be the greatest of upsets, for when it comes to laying hold of eternal life, I couldn't possibly be ready or worthy by my own efforts.   

When it comes to salvation, I am the biggest of underdogs, and so are you.

Remember though that the 3 latest national championships for KU were huge upsets, miraculous comebacks.  In 1988, Danny and the Miracles came out of nowhere.  In the championship game, the announcers were screaming that KU wasn't good enough to keep pace with Oklahoma.  But we did!  In 2008, we were down 9 with 90 seconds left. Enter Mario's miracle!  Then in 2022 -yeah baby - the biggest 2nd half comeback in the history of the tournament.  Natty Champs baby!

What do I have going for me?  That God desires my salvation more than I am scared of it.  What more?  That Jesus is betting it all of me, even though I am the worst of bets.  It's who He is.  It's how He does things.  He doesn't want to know any different.

An underdog has to start a hero's journey and a great story by believing that anything is possible.  There's hope for salvation in that!