September 7th, 2014
The gospel deals with a life situation which is totally foreign to today’s reality. The church, the Christian community, was a very small, closely knit group of people. Everyone knew everyone else’s business. If a member of the church was living or acting in such a way as to bring dishonor to the reputation of the community is was the duty or one or many of the community to confront that person with whatever he or she was doing wrong. The person was given many chances to face his or her wrongful behavior, given many chances to get his or her life in order. If a person persisted in that attitude that no one was going to tell what to do, that a person or the whole group should mind its own business, then the community would decide it was best for all concerned that that such a person no longer belonged to the group.
We live our lives in relationships and relationships can get pretty rocky at times. Things we say or do can be hurtful to others, even without our realizing it. We can be or abrupt – curt in the way we speak to others and we may not appreciate the way we say or do things are hurtful or offensive. Or we may live with people who act this way. We just don’t appreciate the way we or they come across to others. Some families will go years before addressing problems such as verbal, psychological or physical abuse or the abuse of alchol and drugs. Grudges or resentments within a family more often die with those who hold them rather than come to resolution in quiet conversation. Misdeeds of friends or relatives are usually discussed with anyone but the accused.
At work we may be victims of power plays or office politics. We may be aware of a collogue being exploited by someone in authority and we stay silent.
None of us is perfect but we are our brother’ and sister’s keeper and out of love for that person we know to be doing wrong or doing something that is harmful to themselves and those close to them then, in all charity we must say something to help that person stop and think about themselves and the effect they are having on those around them.
It was probably out of today’s gospel that a practice developed in religious communities called fraternal correction. This applied especially to the superior of the community. If he or she saw a member of the community acting or speaking in a way that damaged community life, he or she was to confront that person. The superior was cautioned to wait at least three days before doing so just in case he or she was acting out their own quirks or frustration. The purpose of the correction was to restore and strengthen the peace and unity of the community.
There was a book out a number of years ago titled, Caring Enough to Confront. The title speaks for itself, especially the word ‘caring’. We care enough about a family member or friend that we take the risk of confronting them about the way they are behaving or treating a family member or friend. We are not out to scold , judge of condemn. We just want this family member or friend to stop and think of what they are doing and how it is affecting those around him or her.
We are our brothers and sisters keeper and out of love we speak. It may not work but we tried. St. Paul invites us to do all we can to strengthen the bonds of peace. That can apply to our life within the community of the parish, within the family or our place of work.
If ever we find ourselves in situations of stress and conflict may each of us care enough to say something, do something to hopefully bring about a change, a change that will bring about great peace and harmony to those for whom we care.
| Posted in Homily |
August 31st, 2014
This past Thursday we celebrated the martyrdom of John the Baptist. He spoke the truth to power when told King Herod that it was not lawful to be married to his brother’s wife, Herodias. She hated John for saying this and when the opportunity arose she had John beheaded.
In today’s gospel Jesus tells his disciples that they were on a collision course with the religious power brokers of the day. Because he would continue to speak the truth to power he would be betrayed, handed over to the authorities, undergo great sufferings and be put to death. This was to be his future and they were to be part of it. To say the least they were upset by this news. Peter couldn’t his head around it at all. ‘This must never happen to you Lord.’ Jesus, who just a short before had called Peter a rock now called him a stumbling block and Satan because he tried to talk Jesus out of his mission which involved speaking truth to power.
From the beginning of his public life there were those who tried to divert Jesus from his life’s mission. It began with his temptation in the desert when the tempter suggested Jesus find an easier, more popular way of accomplishing his life’s mission. There were probably a number of times when the disciples advised Jesus to go easy on the priests of the temple, the scribes and Pharisees. Calling them hypocrites and whiten sephulres was not too politic. The apostles probably suggested Jesus might lighten up on the rhetoric. Even his own townsmen threw him out of town for claiming that the words spoken to the prophet Isaiah were being fulfilled in him. Jesus spoke the truth to his townspeople to the fact that he was chosen by God for a special task. In his own lifetime, Jesus was able to read the handwriting on the wall. He had made an ever-growing number of powerful enemies. Their desire to have him put to death was no secret. As he said to Pilate at his trial, ‘for this was I born, for this I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth.’ Speaking the truth to power would cost Jesus his life.
There can be times in our lives when we are challenge to speak the truth to power. We may be involved in a conversation with a friend or find ourselves in a group when things are said we find offensive, racist, bigoted or homophobic. But do we have the courage to speak up, challenge these harmful, maybe even hateful words? When people say things that belittle people of other races and backgrounds, when we hear good people being stereotyped in derogatory ways, when we hear words that belittle the humiliation of people using food banks, unemployed young people, the reality of children in this city going to school hungry, when we hears people excusing the injustices suffered by the peoples of our first nations do we speak the truth to the power of these lies? Are we afraid of being challenged or unpopular, afraid of taking sides, afraid of speaking up for those good people who are being put down by these hurtful even hateful words?
Every Sunday the scriptures remind us of the teachings and the example of Christ. We hear them as part of our celebration of the great sacrifice he offered his father when, out of love for every person who walks the earth he gave his life on the altar of the cross. Every man, woman and child is of infinite worth to him as they should be to us. As people who bear his name, Christian, we should know that following Him costs the follower. The cost is a willingness to let go of our hunger for security, approval, and comfort and take up our own cross of love and forgiveness and a willingness to recognize the worth and dignity of all people.
May we being willing to speak the truth to the power of those who would deny the rights and dignity of our fellow human beings, sons and daughters of the God who made us all, brothers and sisters of the Christ who died for us all.
August 24th, 2014
We hear this gospel a few times in the course of the year and the words that stick with us are usually, ‘you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.’ But Jesus tells Peter why he was able to say what he said, ’You are the Christ, the son of the living God’ Jesus tells Peter, ‘you didn’t come to this insight on your own’ not through human reasoning – it was my Father who made this truth known to you. You were gifted to know my oneness with the Father. Even after having been so gifted Peter was unable to stand by his statement of faith when he was confronted by the servant on the night Jesus was betrayed by Judas. When accused of being a disciple of Jesus Peter swore on an oath he did not know Jesus. When he realized what he had done that must have been the lowest point in Peter’s life. But after his resurrection Jesus still entrusted the church to the denier Peter’s leadership telling him, ‘feed my lamb, feed my sheep.’
I was reading something on today’s gospel that was written by John Chrysostom who was the Patriarch of Constantinople in the 4th century.This is how he explained how Peter the Rock could fall so far as to deny he even knew Jesus.
“Now Peter was inclined to be severe, so if he had also been impeccable what forbearance would he have shown toward those he instructed? His falling into sin was thus a providential grace to teach him from experience to deal kindly with others.
The reason God’s plan permitted Peter to sin was because he was to be entrusted with the whole people of God, and sinlessness added to his severity might have made him unforgiving toward his brothers and sisters. He fell into sin so that remembering his own fault and the Lord’s forgiveness; he also might forgive others out of love for them.
This seems to be the message of Pope Francis. In the first days of his being the pope a reporter asked him, ‘who are you’? Pope Francis answer, ‘I am a sinner.’ The evening he was presented to the crowds in St. Peter’s square as the new Pope, before he gave his first blessing as Pope he bowed his head and ask the people to bless him first and then he would bless them.
Pope Francis is trying to change people’s image of the church as severe and judgmental, unfeeling about the daily struggles people are living with. His arms are open in welcome and blessing instead of a pointed and judgmental finger. In his first letter to the church he said, ‘I want to remind priests that the confessional is not a torture chamber but an encounter with the Lord’s mercy which spurs us on to do our best.’ As regards receiving Holy Communion the Pope had this to say,’the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfects but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.’ In that same letter he wrote,’ I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out in the streets ‘ As I said before the church is a community of mistake making beings which walks with the wounded of the world.
Fr. Ron Rolhosier tells of a conversation he had with an older priest whom he admired. He asked him, ‘If you had your priesthood to live over again, would you do anything differently?” From a man so full of integrity, I fully expected that there would be no regrets. So his answer surprised me. Yes, he did have one regret, a major one, he said: “If I had my priesthood to do over again, I would be easier on people the next time. I wouldn’t be so stingy with God’s mercy, with the sacraments, with forgiveness. I fear I’ve been too hard on people. They have pain enough without me and the church laying further burdens on them. I should have risked God’s mercy more!”
This is a lesson we can take from today’s gospel and Christ entrusting the church to Peter, a sinner. We can remember the insight of St. John Chrysostom who wrote of Peter,’ He fell into sin so that remembering his own fault and the Lord’s forgiveness, he also might forgive others out of love for them.
Again, our church is a community of mistake making people from the Pope on down. We have our conflicts, our misunderstanding, our resentments to others and that’s why we should support one another in our woundedness as we daily pray- forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
August 17th, 2014
Jesus was a person of his time molded by the society in which he was raised. He believed in God’s promise to Abraham; I will be your God and you will be my people. The Jewish people, his people, were special to God above all others. As a Jew Jesus was to avoid any dealings with non-Jews lest he be tempted to be influenced by their way of thinking and living. Jesus saw nothing strange about the way women were treated in the home or in the community. The restrictions on the social life of women were just normal and right. As he grew older he knew he had to learn a trade so as not to be a burden on the community and be able to support a wife and family. To Jesus’ way of thinking everything about how life was lived and how people treated one another was perfectly normal.
When he entered adulthood at the age of twelve and showed a bit of independence by staying in Jerusalem after the feast to listen to the teachers in the temple. We are told that after being scolded by Mary, Jesus went back to the boring life of Nazareth but that he grew in wisdom and grace before God and man.
Threw his public ministry we can see occasions of that growth. When he sent the first disciples out to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God was at hand he told them not to go near to the Samaritans because he was raised in a society that held a great hostility to the Samaritans whom they saw as heretics and unfaithful to the Law. Later Jesus moved beyond that narrow minded opinion of Samaritans and we have his great conversation with the Samaritan women at the well and his willingness to stay several days with the Samaritan people teaching them of the kingdom. He came to admire the integrity of these people and often used Samaritans as example of how people should live out their religious convictions.
Today’s gospel is a perfect example of how Jesus could grow beyond the mentality in which he was raised. He saw himself as sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and that it would be right to waste him time with non-Jews, especially this noisy woman. It wouldn’t be fair to take the children’s, the Jews, food and throw it to dogs –people not deserving of God’s love and mercy. But the mother’s response, ‘even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table’ challenged Jesus’ opinion of foreigners. He admired her spunk, her challenge to his opinion of her kind and cured her daughter instantly. Jesus showed us his ability and his willingness to change.
In one way or another we are all set in our ways. We don’t particularly like it when we have to change. We’ve all been conditioned by the likes and dislikes of our upbringing. We hold back from accepting and respecting the faith and cultures of others. We just have to look at the conflicts plaguing the world today, conflicting arising from a need to impose on others the way we believe and live, conflicts arising from people’s unwillingness to share the good of the earth with others.
In our own lives we are challenged to question our own willingness to accept other people as they are, what they believe, how they live out their relationships or express their faith and culture. This is what we ask of others, should we not do the same for them? May all of us continue to grow in a willingness to accept other people as they are.
August 10th, 2014
Last week’s gospel told of how Jesus fed over 5000 people with five loaves and two fish. By his simple action of being willing to share the little food he had with this large crowd he challenged the crowd to share whatever food they had with them with those around them. As we know there was plenty of food left over.
After all this excitement Jesus wanted to be alone so he sent the crowd away and told the disciples to go too. Jesus needed some peace and quiet.
The weather this summer has been pretty unsettled. We can start out with a beautiful day and then be caught in a heavy down pour. Imagine the number of boaters who head out on the water and everything is fine and then out of nowhere they are caught in a violent wind and pouring rain and they really are at the mercy of the elements. It’s the same with golfers. I’ve been caught twice this year in real downpours, thunder and lightning and all. And no umbrella.
A number of years ago I went with some friends to Port Dover to sail in a friends new sail boat. There were five of us and the owner of the sailboat was a beginner. We set sail in beautiful weather. Within the hour the sky darkened and a strong wind seem to come out of nowhere and we knew we were in trouble. The boat owner said,’ this is beyond me’ and we pulled down the sails and turned on the motor and headed for shore. It was an anxious, ever a frightening ride home as the wind grew stronger and the waves grew higher and the rain never stopped. I’m sure we all made our own acts of contrition as we made for the safety of land. The wharf at Port Dover never looked so good.
Peter and his friends were seasoned fishermen. They’d been through storms like this before and they appreciated the danger there were in. One of them saw something strange – a form, a ghost walking over the waves. They cried out their fear but this form, this ghost identified himself as their friend with the encouraging words,’ take heart, it is I, don’t be afraid.’ We have no idea whatever possessed Peter to say what he said,’ Lord if it is you bid me come to you on the water.’ Was he showing off, did he want to look braver than the others?’ Jesus took up Peter’s challenge and bade him come to him. We know the rest. When he took his eyes of Jesus and realized the mess he was in and how helpless he was Peter began to sink. Naturally Jesus reached out and caught him and got him into the boat and the wind and waves ceased and there was a calm.
We all know the word swamped. How many times in our lives have we felt swamped, overwhelmed by something that was going on in our lives? We don’t know what to do; we don’t know where to turn. We feel helpless as we try to sort things out with a spouse who just doesn’t see the problem, who just doesn’t want to talk about it. We feel swamped by unwillingness of an aging mother or father to accept our help or advice as how to make difficult decisions. We are confused as to what to do with young sons and daughters who are so confused themselves but don’t want advice. We know young adults who struggle with depression as they face their reality that after all their years of study and hard work it means nothing in today’s market. We can be tempted to give up as we try to fit into a new job, a new neighbourhood, a new parish and meet coldness and disinterest. We know that sinking feeling as we face our own weaknesses in areas of our lives knowing we have not kept our promises and good resolutions. We feel we can be overcome by the waves of disbelief as we sense an emptiness in our prayer life and the absence of God. We find it hard to stay afloat as we wonder if it is all worthwhile. How many times in our stormy lives have we called out in fright and doubt ‘save me Lord?’
In those confusing and painful times Jesus chides us for our lack of trust in his love and care for us. Why do we doubt? Didn’t He tell us he will always be with us? Didn’t he warn us that following him would not be easy? Didn’t he say, come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh you? Finally, didn’t Jesus die on the cross for each one of us? Jesus is our personal Lord, Jesus is our personal savior. Each one of us means something to him, each one of us is important to him. If we can hold on to that conviction then we will not be swamped by the storms that come out of nowhere in all our lives and we will answer the invitation he gave to Peter as he called to him over the waves ‘come’ and he will stretch out his hand and catch us and hold us and see us through our storm. May we always trust his words, ‘take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.’
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