July 1st - 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)
July 8th - 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)
July 15th - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)
July 22nd - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Father Chris on Vacation)
July 29th - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Father Chris on Vacation)
On Wednesday we celebrate Independence Day. On July 4,
1776 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence from England.
They opted to fight for freedom rather than to accept living as colonies.
After watching the movie The Patriot most of us have a better understanding
of what kinds of sacrifices our Founding Fathers made. The British
captured and then tortured and killed five of the signers. Twelve
had their homes sacked and burned. Two lost sons in the war.
Nine signers would lose their lives fighting in the Revolution too.
Most lost a lot of their wealth through the war. Yet they believed
that it was important enough to risk everything.
In hindsight we might say that it was worth the risk.
We live in a prosperous nation. We have been blessed in many ways.
We know too that many of the founders lived long enough to regain some
of their fortune and enjoy the fruits of their labors. But in 1776
that wasn’t guaranteed. They took a huge risk.
Today’s readings are a call to discipleship. Elijah
knew that his time of service was coming to an end so he needed to find
a successor. He saw Elisha, a man of faith, who could take on that
task. Elisha was content being a farmer. He was caring for
his family farm when the prophet laid upon his shoulders the mantle of
leadership. Elisha said yes to the call. He would end up doing
even greater things than Elijah accomplished. Elisha was able to
do miraculous healings. He saved a whole city from poison that had
gotten in the water. He multiplied wheat and oil for a widow during
a famine. Elisha had no idea that God was going to bless him in such
a way. Yet, he trusted in God and in the prophet Elijah. He
took a huge risk and said yes.
Jesus gives a series of teachings on what it means to be a
disciple. The first is that there will be people who will reject
the message. The Samaritan village rejected Jesus only because he
was a Jew who was traveling down to Jerusalem. The Apostles were
angry. I would have been too. Suppose you wanted to get to
Orlando and the people of Seminole County said you couldn’t cross through
their county to get there. That would be a huge inconvenience to
go around it. Yet, Jesus doesn’t choose to use his power to destroy
the Samaritans for being inhospitable.
The second lesson they learned was that the message had to
be preached now. “Let the dead bury the dead” was a way of saying
that the message couldn’t wait for 10 or 20 years until one’s family obligations
were completed. I hear this every so often from people who complain
that they couldn’t attend Mass because they had family from out of town
over. Jesus tells his followers to make a decision today and don’t
look back. He is asking them to take a risk.
The apostles didn’t know what would await them in Jerusalem
when they got there. Jesus was asking them to follow him all the
way to the cross. When they discovered that discipleship would mean
that big of a sacrifice they were scared. They hid in the upper room
when Jesus was led away and crucified. Yet, on Easter Christ returned
alive. He showed them that they didn’t have to fear. It was
worth the risk.
You and I are asked to be Christ’s disciples today.
In seems as though it’s not hard being an apostle today. It’s unlikely
that we will lose our lives for the Gospel. It doesn’t seem likely
that we will be asked to give up all of our physical possessions to follow.
Yet, being a follower of Christ today is challenging if we take up the
full mantle.
Christ asks you and I to turn away from the slavery of the
flesh. It is so tempting to want to fit in society. So, to
work for justice or be pro-life seems foolish or fanatical. If you
refuse to tolerate bigotry against Catholicism you might be ridiculed.
If you stand against pornography, vulgar language in movies and music,
or anything else that challenges the society in which we live you stand
a chance of being persecuted. Christ desires that our world reflect
His values. He desires that the Kingdom of God be made manifest in
the world. We are the agents of that Kingdom today. We are
being asked today to take a risk. Will you say yes?
Our nation was founded on the principle of independence.
It is believed that we should be able to achieve greatness through self-sufficiency.
But realistically, every accomplishment that we achieved has come with
the assistance of others. In school you had the help of teachers.
In the work world there have been employers who took a chance on you or
mentored you. There have been people who believed in you when others
didn’t. For many people their spouse and children are their emotional
support during difficult times. All of us have had people in
our lives who have made a difference. Jesus did too.
He had the Twelve Apostles that we know by name. Also,
we hear of today that there were 72 disciples who assisted in the mission.
Jesus did tremendous work, yet he didn’t do it all alone. He entrusted
the mission to others. He gave these disciples the directive to spread
the Good News to those who had not yet heard of it. In order to accomplish
their work they were given some specific instructions.
They were first told not to take a walking stick or traveling
bag. People who have a walking stick are on the move. They
keep moving. Jesus wanted his disciples to get to know the people
along the journey. It didn’t matter how far they got. What
was more important was what they did on the journey itself. They
were not just to pass through, but really listen to the people they met
to hear their concerns. They are to know who is in need. That
only happens if you go slowly. I know that it is much easier to pat
people on the back and say, “have a nice day” and walk away. It takes
more work to discover the hopes and dreams of another person. Jesus
wanted his disciples to do that.
Jesus wanted his disciples to offer peace when they entered
a house. Then they were to stay in the one house rather than go from
house to house. Part of that may be the desire to get to know people
thoroughly. But part of that is also not to be particular always
looking for something or someone better. I have met people who could
not commit to another person in a relationship for very long. They
always feared that someone would come along who would be their true soul
mate. So, they figure, don’t get tied down and miss that chance.
Jesus tells his followers that the next person will not be better than
the person in front of them. Jesus tells them that it is more important
to care completely for those around you rather than wait for someone else
who may never come.
Then Jesus tells his disciples to cure the sick in the place
where they stay. I have always marveled at the fact that the center
of Jesus’ ministry is healing. Maybe Jesus knew that if one is not
well they cannot be receptive to experiencing the power that God has in
store. If you are ill you have a hard time feeling the peace of God.
You don’t feel like being kind or generous. You naturally retreat
into yourself until you are better. Jesus wanted the people to know
that God cared for their body and soul.
Finally Jesus told his disciples that they would face rejection.
He told them that some people will not be receptive to the message or be
hospitable. What do you do when someone treats you poorly?
You think about it for a long time. If you can you usually respond
right away with a comment. If you don’t you plan in your mind what
you would have said or could have said. If the rejection is profound
this kind of mental game can go on for a long time. Some people get
so mired in the “what ifs” that they cannot let it go and move on.
Jesus had a very simple yet very profound way of dealing with rejection.
Shake the dust from your feet and move on. In other words don’t take
that “dust” with you. Let it go. Life is too short to live
with bitterness.
The advice Jesus gave 2000 years ago is appropriate today.
Each of us has the job of spreading the Good News today. Getting
to know our brothers and sisters in the Lord here and discovering those
that live and work around us is important. Don’t just pass through
life. Be present to people when they are in pain and let them know
that they are not alone. But when it’s over don’t dwell on it forever
with malice or anger in your heart. If we do this we will experience
the overflowing love of God as a mother has for her child.
Every so often a person will come to me with this dilemma.
They will tell me that they have a neighbor or family member that has wronged
them. Usually it has happened more than once. They don’t want
to have anything to do with this person. They want to know if they
have to love them. After all, Jesus told us to love one another.
I usually respond by suggesting that we may never be able to change the
way another person is. We cannot make them more loving, more charitable,
more understanding. We cannot change another’s behavior or actions.
All we can change is ourselves. So, although it might seem acceptable
to get even with the person who has done wrong or to shun them completely
that wouldn’t be the Christian thing to do. If we allow ourselves
to let the harm of another dictate how we will respond we are not loving
as Christ would expect. Christ expects that although we may not like
them we must love them. We must always leave the door open to the
possibility of reconciliation.
The story of the Good Samaritan isn’t all that shocking to
us anymore. We don’t live under the conditions that the Samaritans
and Jews of the first century lived under. They saw each other as
enemies. Jews believed Samaritans had become heretics by allowing
improper worship to occur. These differences had been told and retold
for over five hundred years! So it may be hard to relate to the story
directly. But substitute whomever in your life you would not want
to associate with, that is the Samaritan. If you have someone in
your family that is estranged, that is the Samaritan. If you have
a neighbor or a co-worker you despise, that is the Samaritan. Now,
imagine you run into this person on a road and they are stranded.
Will you stop and give assistance? Or would you find good reason
why you cannot stop like the priest and Levite did?
Jesus challenged the lawyer in the story to broaden his perspective.
Neighbor is anyone, whether they be rich or poor, black or white, Muslim
or Christian. Neighbor is most especially the one who we would rather
not have much to do with. Who is your neighbor?
Today we have an opportunity to hear about our neighbors in
the Dominican Republic and how we can respond to their needs.