Sept. 3, 2017: 22nd Sunday A
Sept. 3, 2017: 22nd Sunday A
Click to hear Audio Homily
Today’s Gospel is hard hitting and difficult for us to accept, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” It was too difficult for Peter to understand so he protested, which was promptly met with sharp rebuke from Jesus. Peter, like many of us only see a small part of the big picture due to our self-centeredness, and naturally the desire for things to go our own way. Hand in hand with the desire for things going our own way, we also desire comfort and ease. We, like Peter, fail to understand the deeper meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice which is an act of love for the benefit of all.
There is a wise quote from a modern saint which reveals the inner heart of Jesus’ message for today: “Let us remember that love lives through sacrifice and is nourished by giving. Without sacrifice, there is no love.” That quote was from St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan priest who volunteered to take the place of an inmate who was selected for starvation execution in Auschwitz in 1941. St. Kolbe also said that, “The Cross is the school of love, “ and “A single act of love makes the soul return to life.”
Sacrificial and nurturing love was lacking in our nation, as one news reporter observed, weeks before Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast. On the news at that time was the fate of a Confederate statue with people on opposing sides at each other’s throats over race, religion, immigration, and politics. But when a trillion gallons of water drowned neighborhoods and roads, no one cared about the color or creed of his or her rescuer. The reporter commented, “No one says, ‘Thanks for the rope, but I’d rather wait for someone more like me.’” The reporter wisely observed, “A lot of people in Texas and Louisiana lost everything, but they are rich with a new and priceless appreciation of their community...volunteer rescuers risked their lives--some even lost their lives--in service to their neighbors.”
If you have watched any of the news coverage, then you have seen the stories of ordinary people with boats, rowing down the streets that have turned into rivers in order to rescue complete strangers. Neighbors were transporting children and the elderly alike, crossing dirty murky water to get others to safety. Even a priest got in his kayak and went to check on parishioners. Each of us has the freedom to choose--to choose to use our hands and feet as instruments of Jesus or use our hands and feet to cling to our small island of self-centeredness. When Jesus said ‘pick up your cross and follow me,’ I don’t think he meant that we would be persecuted in the same way he was persecuted. I think he meant that we are to embrace his great act of love and imitate his sacrificial love by being his hands and feet.
Jesus invites us to see the gap between his sacrificial love on the cross and our tendency to be part-time disciples. We think we are doing well if we can write “be Christian” somewhere on our calendar between all the other activities we feel are more important. Salvation comes not to those who call Jesus “Lord,” but to those who feed, clothe, and help strangers regardless of race, religion, and political persuasions. Our Lord’s parable of a Samaritan helping a Jew who was robbed, beaten, and left on the street stung the conscience of disciples of his time. Likewise on the TV news a few days ago, a human chain of strangers of various creed and nationality formed to save an elderly man in a sinking truck. That image stung our conscience and showed us what is possible when we choose to use our hands and feet for sacrificial love.
Right before our TV screen is an opportunity. Hurricane Harvey is not just a hashtag, a news story, or video to be consumed. It’s a challenge from Jesus to love. The flooding and devastation are so close to our hearts because we’ve been through them in our own communities. Our Lord is challenging us to ponder what it means to love our neighbor. How are we called to pray? How are we called to sacrifice? How are we called to give? Here are some practical things we can do: Intercede in prayer for people whose lives were devastated by the storm; offer your time to those who are collecting supplies or helping with the relief efforts; donate to Diocesan collections next week or other reputable organizations such as Catholic Charities and St. Vincent de Paul of Galveston-Houston, Beaumont, and Lake Charles. This is a time of great need, and we as Christians must orient our lives in assisting the most vulnerable. Our Lord wants us to be his hands and feet through this opportunity. As Mother Teresa said, "In loving and serving, we prove that we have been created in the likeness of God, for God is Love and when we love we are like God."
Click to hear Audio Homily
Today’s Gospel is hard hitting and difficult for us to accept, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” It was too difficult for Peter to understand so he protested, which was promptly met with sharp rebuke from Jesus. Peter, like many of us only see a small part of the big picture due to our self-centeredness, and naturally the desire for things to go our own way. Hand in hand with the desire for things going our own way, we also desire comfort and ease. We, like Peter, fail to understand the deeper meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice which is an act of love for the benefit of all.
There is a wise quote from a modern saint which reveals the inner heart of Jesus’ message for today: “Let us remember that love lives through sacrifice and is nourished by giving. Without sacrifice, there is no love.” That quote was from St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan priest who volunteered to take the place of an inmate who was selected for starvation execution in Auschwitz in 1941. St. Kolbe also said that, “The Cross is the school of love, “ and “A single act of love makes the soul return to life.”
Sacrificial and nurturing love was lacking in our nation, as one news reporter observed, weeks before Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast. On the news at that time was the fate of a Confederate statue with people on opposing sides at each other’s throats over race, religion, immigration, and politics. But when a trillion gallons of water drowned neighborhoods and roads, no one cared about the color or creed of his or her rescuer. The reporter commented, “No one says, ‘Thanks for the rope, but I’d rather wait for someone more like me.’” The reporter wisely observed, “A lot of people in Texas and Louisiana lost everything, but they are rich with a new and priceless appreciation of their community...volunteer rescuers risked their lives--some even lost their lives--in service to their neighbors.”
If you have watched any of the news coverage, then you have seen the stories of ordinary people with boats, rowing down the streets that have turned into rivers in order to rescue complete strangers. Neighbors were transporting children and the elderly alike, crossing dirty murky water to get others to safety. Even a priest got in his kayak and went to check on parishioners. Each of us has the freedom to choose--to choose to use our hands and feet as instruments of Jesus or use our hands and feet to cling to our small island of self-centeredness. When Jesus said ‘pick up your cross and follow me,’ I don’t think he meant that we would be persecuted in the same way he was persecuted. I think he meant that we are to embrace his great act of love and imitate his sacrificial love by being his hands and feet.
Jesus invites us to see the gap between his sacrificial love on the cross and our tendency to be part-time disciples. We think we are doing well if we can write “be Christian” somewhere on our calendar between all the other activities we feel are more important. Salvation comes not to those who call Jesus “Lord,” but to those who feed, clothe, and help strangers regardless of race, religion, and political persuasions. Our Lord’s parable of a Samaritan helping a Jew who was robbed, beaten, and left on the street stung the conscience of disciples of his time. Likewise on the TV news a few days ago, a human chain of strangers of various creed and nationality formed to save an elderly man in a sinking truck. That image stung our conscience and showed us what is possible when we choose to use our hands and feet for sacrificial love.
Right before our TV screen is an opportunity. Hurricane Harvey is not just a hashtag, a news story, or video to be consumed. It’s a challenge from Jesus to love. The flooding and devastation are so close to our hearts because we’ve been through them in our own communities. Our Lord is challenging us to ponder what it means to love our neighbor. How are we called to pray? How are we called to sacrifice? How are we called to give? Here are some practical things we can do: Intercede in prayer for people whose lives were devastated by the storm; offer your time to those who are collecting supplies or helping with the relief efforts; donate to Diocesan collections next week or other reputable organizations such as Catholic Charities and St. Vincent de Paul of Galveston-Houston, Beaumont, and Lake Charles. This is a time of great need, and we as Christians must orient our lives in assisting the most vulnerable. Our Lord wants us to be his hands and feet through this opportunity. As Mother Teresa said, "In loving and serving, we prove that we have been created in the likeness of God, for God is Love and when we love we are like God."
