Solemnity of St Laurence 2009
Homily preached by the Abbot of Ampleforth on the occasion of the Solemnity of St Laurence, 10 August 2009
‘What page, what passage of the inspired books of the Old and New Testaments is not the truest of guides for human life?’ asks St Benedict.
Let us begin this morning by examining the second reading (2 Cor 9:6-10). Doubtless this text from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians has been chosen for this feast because of the reference to almsgiving: ‘he was free in almsgiving, and gave to the poor: his good deeds will never be forgotten’. If so it is an interesting choice because St Laurence was an almsgiver on behalf of the Church of Rome. He did not give away his own wealth but rather he distributed to the poor what the Church of Rome gave him. We are in the same position. All that we have to give has been given to us by others and to that extent giving away what we have received should be, in the main, a joyful experience.
It is more difficult, more interesting, too; to see how the opening sentence might relate to St Laurence: ‘thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap.’ It is possible that St Paul has drawn here upon an idea in the Book of Proverbs where the author writes: ‘One scatters money around, yet only adds to his wealth; another is excessively mean, but only grows poorer. The soul who blesses will prosper, whoever satisfies others will himself be satisfied’ (Proverbs 11.24-25). ‘Whoever satisfies others will himself be satisfied’: In what way was Laurence satisfied? In what way will we be satisfied? The prophet Isaiah guides us when he writes, ‘Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me: sharing your bread with the hungry and sheltering the homeless poor; if you see someone lacking clothes, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own kin? Then will your light blaze out like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Saving justice for you will go ahead and the glory of the LORD come behind you. Then you will cry for help and the LORD will answer; you will call and he will say, “I am here”. … If you deprive yourself for the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light will rise in the darkness … The LORD will always guide you, will satisfy your needs in the scorched land; he will give strength to your bones and you will be like a watered garden, like a flowing spring whose waters never run dry’ (Isaiah 58.6-11). If we desire to be true sons of Laurence, imitators of Christ just as he imitated Christ, roast alive whole upon the gridiron like the Passover lamb to feed his brothers and sisters for the journey, then we must seek to satisfy the needs of others. Part of our monastic ascesis should be to care for the needs of those around us.
Some of you may well have noticed in this passage from Isaiah echoes of the passage we heard from the book of Sirach: ‘you have been my support, you have redeemed me, … from the many hardships I have endured, from the stifling heat which hemmed me in, from the heart of a fire which I had not kindled, … I will give praise to you, Lord and King, and praise you, God my saviour, I will give thanks to your name; for you have been protector and support to me’. Sirach can say ‘You have been protector and support’ and at the same time, in another place, tell us ‘My Son, if you aspire to serve the LORD, prepare yourself for an ordeal, … be sincere of heart, be steadfast, and do not be alarmed when disaster comes. Cling to him and do not leave him, … since gold is tested in the fire and chosen men in the furnace of humiliation’ (Sirach 2.1-5, edited). Our lives, if they are lives of genuinely seeking the LORD, as the life of St Laurence was spent seeking the LORD, are a curious admixture of prayer, of practical service, of searing doubt and humiliation – and in the midst of all of this we must lift up our voices and sing the praise of the God who guides us and protects us.
Why do we persevere in this extraordinary way of life? Why did Laurence persevere until his end upon the gridiron? ‘In all truth I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain but if it dies it will yield a rich harvest’. What has been sown must die before it is given new life (c.f. 1 Cor 15.36). ‘It was the LORD’S good pleasure to crush him with pain; if he gives his life as a sin offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his life, and through him the LORD’S good pleasure will be done. After the ordeal he has endured he will see the light and be content’ (Isaiah 53.10-12). Of course we know that Christ is the suffering servant described by the prophet Isaiah – but we are all called to become Christ. Laurence was called to make Christ visible for those around him: in his practical works of charity on behalf of the Church, the Body of Christ, in Rome he made Christ visible. In his death, roasted entire like the paschal lamb, he made Christ visible. We, too, are called to make Christ visible. In our case we are called to make Christ visible as monks. It is a particular vocation in the Church. Lived well, in fidelity to the call which has been addressed to us, the monastic life makes Christ visible in a particularly vivid way. Making Christ visible means dying to self – and dying to self is not a comfortable process. Dying to self, setting aside one’s natural desires, one’s hopes for the future, the urge to be famous, to have influence, or money, or offspring – none of this is easy. If we rely on our own efforts we are bound to fail – we must place ourselves unreservedly into the hands of Christ and allow him to act within us. In the account of the martyrdom of the Perpetua and Felicity we discover that when we place ourselves into the hands of Christ, and do not count the cost, we are blessed by seeing the vision of God in this life. And so, today, let us receive Christ’s gift of himself in this Eucharist in order that we might have the strength to place ourselves wholly into the hands of God and rejoice in whatever life brings.