5th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Feb. 9, 2020
Is 58: 7-10Matt 5: 13-16
St. Pius X, Scarsdale, N.Y.
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Share your bread with the hungry’” (Is 58: 7).
Both the 1st reading and the gospel today speak of
light: light arising in the darkness of
the world and piercing the gloom around us (Is 58:10), and Christians as the
light of the world (Matt 5: 14). Isaiah
instructs the Jewish people in the particular ways in which they are to be
light in the darkness. Jesus isn’t as
specific in today’s gospel passage, but he certainly is in other parts of his
teaching.
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Light in the darkness
(camping at West Mountain Shelter)
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The particulars of Isaiah’s instructions comprise
what’s often called the social gospel, viz., that the people of God—whether
pious Jews or devout Christians—have a responsibility to care for their
brothers and sisters and to act to help them improve their lives. In particular, the Lord God says thru Isaiah
that his people are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the oppressed
and the homeless, and get rid of oppression, false accusation, and malicious
speech. It’s a program not only of
social concern for the needy but also one of uplifting the social environment. In our public discourse as well as our
private social interactions, slander, gossip, rumor-mongering, perjury, and fake
news have no place among us if we wish to be God’s own people—in the way we
talk about our relatives and neighbors, about people in public life, or about
people of different cultures, ethnicity, race, or social class.
There are people who call themselves disciples of
Jesus who think such concerns as those voiced by Isaiah are merely politics;
who say that the Gospel of Jesus is concerned only with our souls, not with the
bodily needs of other human beings. They
say the Church shouldn’t be concerned about environmental policy or economic
policy or immigration issues or nuclear weapons, and so on.
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The widow of Zarephath shares her bread with Elijah
(Giovanni Lanfranco)
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Dom Helder Camara was archbishop of Recife in the
impoverished northeastern region of Brazil. He played a prominent part at Vatican II and
was well known for his opposition to Brazil’s military dictators in the 1960s
and ’70s. He said once, “When I give
food to the poor, they call me a saint. When
I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.” This light in the Brazilian darkness was
nominated in 1973 for the Nobel peace prize, but the Brazilian government and
their conservative allies made sure someone else won. (If you’re curious, as I was last nite, the
prize that year went to Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho). Abp. Camara died in 1999, and the Church is
considering the possibility of canonizing him.
Your parish has various programs thru which you do
actively try to care for the needy and the unfortunate, as the OT prophets and
our Lord Jesus command us. Such programs
do cause “your light to break forth like the dawn” (Is 58:8). That’s part of your being “good Christians
and upright citizens,” in the timeless phrase with which St. John Bosco expressed
what he was trying to teach his youngsters.
The followers of Jesus must necessarily be
involved in social life, in culture, in political life so as to bring the light
of the Gospel into the political and cultural life of our community and of our
nation.
In a major address 3 days ago at the University of
San Diego,[1] Bp.
Robert McElroy of San Diego stated that voting is the primary means in which
Catholics who are “rooted in conscience and in faith” can participate in “the
just ordering of society and the state.” Bp. McElroy noted that Pope Francis says
political lives “must be seen as an essential element of our personal call to
holiness.” The bishop continued: “We are called in our lives as citizens and
believers to be missionaries of dialogue and civility in a moment that values
neither. And this requires deep
spiritual reflection, courage, and judgment. It demands a Christlike dedication to seeking
the truth no matter where it may lie, and defining our politics and voting in
the light of the Gospel.”
We need to remember, however, that social programs
are one expression of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus; they
aren’t the entire Gospel. St. Paul
reminds us today that “the mystery of God” is about “Jesus Christ crucified” (1
Cor 2:1-2). While we must show practical
love for our neighbor in this world, e.g., by feeding, clothing, and sheltering
the poor and helping them provide for themselves, we also must be mindful that
we are sinners for whom Christ suffered and died. We must repent our sins and resolve to live
for God’s glory so as to follow the crucified, risen Christ into eternal life. Jesus says at the end of today’s gospel,
“Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and
glorify your heavenly Father” (Matt 5:16).
God created us to glorify him in both this world by our activity, and in
eternity by our partaking in Jesus’ love for his Father.
[1] https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2020/02/bishop-urges-catholics-to-exercise-prudence-when-voting/.
CRUX of the News online, Feb. 8, 2020.
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