Homily for October 12, 2025
A few years ago, I had the privilege and fun of distributing some family inheritance funds to my five nieces and nephews. It was a very substantial sum. Two of them responded immediately. I waited patiently to hear from the others to at least know if they had received the checks. A month went by and there was still no word.
Finally, like any good teacher, I decided this was totally unacceptable behavior and sent an identical note to each of them, saying: “ I love you very much but I am really ticked off at you right now. I don’t care if you write thank you on an old piece of newspaper and stick it in an envelope but I would like to know that you received the gift.” Three thank-you cards arrived immediately. So I can empathize a bit with how Jesus felt about the nine people who did not return to say thanks.
Gratitude is an important ingredient in life. It is easy in today’s social upheaval to forget the things for which we need to be grateful, starting with our Creator and gift of life itself.
As I think about Rachel and the child in her womb I marvel at how this little person develops day by day. Rachel recently of showed me a picture the child’s face with its chubby little cheeks. Amazingly, from the moment the child is born, it will be taking in knowledge like a little sponge and will grow in consciousness with the ability to reflect on its own life and the life around it. In fact, it is already learning the sound of its mother’s voice and other sounds.
Today’s world is chaotic and seems to be drifting along without direction. It may be helpful to look at the long view. Where have we come from and where are we headed? We live in a world that is constantly changing. It and has been changing since the beginning of time, for over 13 billion years ago. We, collectively and individually, are changing. Science informs us about the material side of evolution. Theology tries to look at life from God’s perspective.
Life forms of all kinds have been developing, adapting and re-appearing into higher forms of existence. The thing that makes human beings different from other species is consciousness. We know that we are, that we exist. We can reflect on who we are and what we are doing. Unlike lower species, we make conscious choices. This is our great gift as humans.
Our consciousness has been growing in us individually but also as a species. It is changing us, moving us gradually upward. For example, the first members of the human species used simple tools and simple language. Compare that with the complexity of human beings today – look at the many languages, the tools, the technical know-how, the ways of communication.
The difference between what was possible in our childhood and what is possible through technology today is amazing. Airplanes were a novelty, and space travel was science fiction. We have moved from a telephone attached to the wall to the internet which allows us to be in contact with people anywhere in the world and that changes us, broadens our perspectives, and builds different kinds of relationships. It has the potential to change us and widen our perceptions. It can make us more aware of the suffering of others as we know from the images projected on our TV screens every day.
Where is God in all of this? We believe that through the incarnation God has chosen to enter into this busy, messy world. But that incarnation didn’t start just with the birth of Jesus, it has been going on since the very beginning. God goes with the flow, deeply involved in the changes taking place and somehow pushing or pulling humanity on to higher planes. God is deeply entangled in all of creation. We are discovering more ways to conceptualize this every day about this through scientific discovery.
The latest break-through is Artificial Intelligence. We worry about it because it can be used in very good or very bed ways, but the flip side is that through its capacity to pull information together and provide us with expanded knowledge, it can lift us up along the spiraling path to greater consciousness. It is a vital part of the next phase of human consciousness.
Circling back around to gratitude, we have so much to be thankful for beyond the material things. Our God is incarnate in every part of the world. God is the energy in every living thing, in the air and soil, and the entire universe. God is emmeshed in matter and we are only just beginning to understand this.
Scripture tells us that God is love. No matter how messy our world, there is still a higher power, a loving power, that asks us to trust that this is all part of a larger plan. Go’s love and energy is in us and with us every step of the way whether we feel it or not. God is love. God gives us reason to have hope in our evolving world. Our efforts to love and work for justice are part of a much larger picture that we cannot see. Let us, therefore, begin each day in awesome wonder, love and thanksgiving.
Eileen Custy