Homily
for the
25th
Sunday of Ordinary Time
Sept.
19, 2021
Mark
9: 30-37
Wis
2: 12, 17-20
Our
Lady of the Assumption, Bronx, N.Y.
St. Joseph Church, New Rochelle, N.Y.
“The Son of
Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him…” (Mark 9: 31).
This is the 2d
time that Jesus tries to teach his disciples that he’s going to suffer and
die. We heard the 1st time last
Sunday. Like that 1st time, the
disciples don’t even begin to grasp what he’s saying. There will be one more such warning.
The lectionary pairs this passage from Mark’s Gospel with one from the Book of Wisdom about the wicked assailing a just man because his life is a reproach to them. They scoff at his trust in God.
THE just man,
of course, is Jesus. His life was marked
by complete trust in God, and by self-denial, service of others, and love for
everyone, even for the least significant people like children (9:37): “If anyone wishes to be 1st, he shall be the
last of all and the servant of all” (9:35).
Self-denial
and consideration for others aren’t ordinarily how the world works. Ordinary wisdom advises us to look out for
#1, i.e., for yourself. Those who
advocate for others—for the poor, the hungry, refugees, the elderly, unborn
human beings—carry little weight in society.
Our TV and newspapers, instead, are filled with the doings of social
media giants, entertainment stars, big-name athletes, corporate CEOs, and
politicians—people who are rich and famous and important and glamorous.
On the other
hand, the world will harass, persecute, and prosecute those whose words and
lifestyle it finds offensive—like Jesus.
Last week the U.S. bishops reported that there have been at least 95
physical attacks on churches and church property so far this year—various kinds
of vandalism and desecration; there are many people who don’t like what the
Church teaches about human life in the womb, about homosexuality, and about
other issues. The state of California is
embarked on a campaign of slander against St. Junipero Serra, the Franciscan
missionary who founded the state.
Numerous supposed scholars and media have been slandering Pope Pius XII
for decades, ignoring his actual record of protecting Jewish people from the
Nazis. Public authorities spent years
trying to prove false—obviously false—criminal accusations against Card. George
Pell of Australia, whose only “crime” is that he has strongly and publicly defended the
Church’s moral teachings. Our former
governor once stated that there is no room for pro-life people in New
York—perhaps hiding his own moral failures by blaming people who really do
defend the most vulnerable human beings.
Even Mother Teresa has been faulted for not doing enuf to help the poor
and the hungry of Calcutta—if you can imagine that!
The words of
the Book of Wisdom and the life of Jesus show us what we can expect when we put
our lives completely at the service of God and of our neighbors. The Collect of Mass today reminded us that
God has “founded all the commands of [his] sacred Law upon love of [God] and of
our neighbor.” When we try to base our
lives on God and neighbor, at the very least we’ll be inconvenienced—by setting
aside time for prayer and worship instead of seeking entertainment or sleep;
and by giving time, money, or our abilities to assist the poor and the
weak. If we defend Christian morality in
regard to sexual behavior, human dignity, the right to life, the right to food,
the right to housing, parental rights in education, we may be called names,
picketed, assaulted, maybe taken to court like numerous Christian bakers, florists,
photographers, and anti-abortion protesters.
We may risk arguments with relatives with racist or anti-immigrant
attitudes or whose philosophy is “if it feels good, do it,” or on the “flip
side” those whose approach to morality is all fire and brimstone without mercy.
In all things,
however, as “servants of all,” as Jesus says, even as we speak Gospel truth we have
to speak with humility and respect. In
the words of Wisdom, even as we uphold what is right and true, we must give
proof of our gentleness and patience (2:19).
Jesus was persecuted for his
faithfulness to God; but God vindicated him by raising him from the dead. Quoting Wisdom again, “According to his own
words, God will take care of him” (2:20).
God did take care of his Son Jesus, and we believe that he’ll take care
of us, too, if we follow Jesus faithfully in “purity, peaceableness,
gentleness, mercy, and good deeds,” as the Letter of James urges (3:17).
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