Matthew 7, 21-27 (9th Sunday OT, A, Heart and Soul)

Focus: Heart and Soul (Body and Spirit)

Function: To remind hearers to give their heart and soul (body and spirit) to the Christian life.

1. Introduction

“Heart and soul, I fell in love with you…
Heart and soul, the way a fool would do…
…madly…”

The song “Heart and Soul” was written and lyricized by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser in 1938.

These initial lines from “Heart and Soul” are sappy, schmaltzy, sentimental, and romantic; yet, they introduce us to two important themes of the Christian life: heart and soul.

1. The Heart and Soul of our Faith

Let us consider the heart and soul of our faith.

• • 1. What is at the heart and soul of our understanding of God? Perhaps, we see God as merely a law provider, …as one who rewards and punishes, …as someone who gives goodies to good little boys and girls, and spankings to the naughty ones. Maybe, for some of us, we imagine God as merely a great celestial sky-daddy, …as a paternally loving Being or fatherly caring figure, …as a Person who casts from above either an approving eye or a displeasing glance?
    2. As Christians, we do refer to God as Father (although there are also maternal aspects to God); yet, God is much more than an anthropomorphized image of a heavenly benefactor or an eternal crime-fighter. God is beyond our mental projections of images or ideas about reward and punishment. In fact, God and God’s law are beyond space and time; they are eternal. Even so, this eternal law-giving God came to dwell among us by becoming one of us in the person of Jesus Christ; the Logos, the Word, the Reason, the Law became flesh and dwelt among us.
    3. The heart and soul of our faith is that the God of Infinite Spirit came to dwell among us in finite flesh. The God of pure Soul (spirit) was joined to a human heart (flesh); so great was God’s love for us! Thus, the heart and soul of our faith consists of believing profoundly and of living boldly in response to this expression of God’s love for us.

1. The Heart of the Christian Life

Let us consider the heart.

• • 1. The human heart is that muscular organ responsible for pumping blood through our vessels and arteries by repeated and rhythmic contractions. The Greek word kardia (as in cardiac or cardiology) means “heart.” In addition to this functional and definitional notion of the human heart, we also can think of the word “heart” in a literary way–as a metaphor for our physical life.
    2. A poetic image of the heart for physical life (flesh) furnishes us with an image to understand what it means to live the Christian life. God asks us to give the totality of our physical existence to the Christian life. For Christians, the totality of our heart represents us making a complete commitment of ourselves to sacrifice and service.
    3. Jesus Christ, God-made-flesh, sacrificed the totality of His historical physical Self for our redemption. He also served by teaching, healing, and leading. As His followers, we too are asked to teach, to heal, and to lead, to the best of our physical abilities (although we have physical limitations). In baptism, we were given these mandates by Christ; we were baptized as priest, prophet, and king. By virtue of our baptism, we are to commit the totality of our physical human life to sacrifice for and to serve God and neighbor. Our physical sacrifice and service is meant to honor the eternal God; we are to build a more humane world–a world that better reflects God’s goodness and is in keeping with human dignity.

1. The Soul of the Christian Life

Let us consider the soul.

• • 1. The human soul is the spiritual dimension responsible for animating our flesh, thus “soul” refers to the vital breath, the animating principle in humans. The Greek word psychē means “life, spirit, consciousness.” According to our ancient Christian tradition, the soul is the innermost aspect of our self. The soul incorporates our authentic inner essence, rather than the brain or any other material or natural part of the biological organism. The soul is immortal, and exists prior to our incarnation. The immortal soul continues to exist in the afterlife. In addition to this catechetical and definitional belief about the soul, we also can consider the soul in innovative way–as a metaphor for the spiritual life.
    2. A poetic image of the soul for the spiritual life (spirit) provides us with a way to appreciate what it means to live the Christian life. God asks us to give the totality of our spiritual self to the Christian life. For Christians, the totality of our soul represents a total commitment of ourselves in sacrifice and service.
    3. The God-of-infinite-spirit was poured out for us into human form in the person of Jesus Christ; we too our called to follow this divine example. God asks us to pour out our life force, our souls, into all that we do. We do this to the best of our ability (although we all have spiritual limitations). We commit the totality of our spiritual life to sacrifice for and to serve God and neighbor. We were initiated into sacrifice and service, and were strengthened to do this, in baptism, when our soul was claimed by Christ. In baptism, our soul was imprinted with the sacramental sign of our new birth, which united us with Jesus Christ and to the ecclesial community, the Church. As Christians, we are asked to pour ourselves out spiritually in sacrifice and service in order to honor the eternal God; we are to build a more humane world–a world that more reflects God’s goodness and is in keeping with human dignity.

1. Conclusion
   • 1. In summary, heart and soul… the totality of our physical and spiritual self … means pouring our lives out in sacrifice and service. But, in the process of pouring ourselves physically, sometimes (maybe many times) our hearts will be broken, but hopefully spiritually our souls will be enlarged.
     2. To a degree, whether our soul enlarges is up to us. If our Christian life is merely about “the rules,” “the laws,” “the policies,” etc. when outcomes fail to match our expectations, our souls will shrink. We have a choice: will our souls enlarge in love or will they shrink in bitterness? Will our heart and soul together keep God’s law of sacrifice and service?
     3. The unity of the heart and soul is expressed poetically by the famous Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa (whom Harold Bloom said was the most representative poet of the twentieth century, along with the Chilean Pablo Neruda). Pessoa said: Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena. (“Everything is of value when the soul is not small.”) Hopefully, for each of us here, every physical action poured out in sacrifice and service from our hearts will indeed enlarge our souls.

Lord, Lord, Lord… I give my heart and soul…

Lord, Lord, Lord… I give my heart and soul… madly…

9th Sunday Ordinary Time, Heart and Soul

For the Universal Church, may each of Her members faithfully give their lives with heart and soul to sacrifice and service… [Let us pray to the Lord]

For the leaders of world religions and of nations, may they continuously sacrifice with heart and soul for all those they are called to serve… [Let us pray to the Lord]

For all those preparing to graduate and those in other transitional stages of life, may they respond with heart and soul in sacrifice and service of others… [Let us pray to the Lord]

For those who do not feel welcomed at, or have distanced themselves from, this Eucharistic celebration, may we find ways to reach out to them with a welcoming heart and soul… [Let us pray to the Lord]

For each of us here may we embrace with heart and soul of the Gospel’s message of sacrifice and service… [Let us pray to the Lord]

For our newly ordained Fr. Augustine and for Brother Emmanuel, may we welcome them with heart and soul into our local Christian community of sacrifice and service… [Let us pray to the Lord]

For all those traveling this summer holiday season, may their journeys renew them in heart and soul for continued sacrifice and service… [Let us pray to the Lord]

And for your prayers…