Homily
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Friend, who has set me up as your judge and arbitrator?” These words of Jesus are strikingly similar
to the words of Pope Francis as he returned to Rome after being with 3 million
young people for Word Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro. “Who am I to judge?” the Pope asked, of
someone searching for the Lord and who has good will. “Who am I to judge?”
Jesus seldom offered a blatant judgment of
another person. Rather, he most often did what he did in the event described in
today’s Gospel reading. Demurring, he
went on to give a parable. He helped
people to understand right from wrong, led their minds and souls to think,
reflect, and distinguish right from wrong.
No one went away from this event without a judgment having been made. Jesus taught; He didn’t judge. He taught others to make judgments for
themselves.
Walk the aisles of any grocery store. They are filled from top to bottom with
instant food: no preparation necessary, just open and eat. A generation ago, “instant food” meant opening
a package, putting the contents into a pot, adding water, and boiling. Today that’s too much trouble. We want to open the package and consume the
product immediately, then toss it away and move on with life. It matters little that the nutritional value
of the food has been sucked away by all the processing and homogenizing that
goes into that little box: we just want to pop open the container, eat the
contents, toss it aside, and walk away.
The crowds repeatedly asked Jesus for instant
answers to their questions and instant solutions to their problems. I suspect some of us do that today as well. I
know I do. “Lord, give me a quick answer
and let me get along with my life.” But Jesus
has a way of grabbing your thoughts and heart and conscience, and stopping you
from acting instantly.
When the question was put to Jesus, he was
being asked to provide instant food: yes or no, black or white, right or wrong,
up or down. Jesus refused. Now, to be sure, there was a right and a wrong
in this case, as in most cases presented to Jesus. He just wasn’t going to provide the easy
answer. Instead, He led His listeners to
think for themselves and reach their own conclusion, their own judgment. You see, He doesn’t want our obedience or agreement
as much as He wants our hearts.
A reporter asked Pope Francis why he hadn’t
used the occasion of World Youth Day to preach on individual topics of Catholic
doctrine. He had three million young
people in one spot — 3 million — why
didn’t he preach against the evils of modern society, or teach the moral
doctrine of the Church about specific issues. His answer was simple: you already know well
what the Church teaches on these issues, such as abortion or homosexual
marriage, immigration reform, social justice, artificial contraception, and the
just progress of peoples. Pope Francis
said he preferred to speak of the positive actions of God’s grace that will
lead to spiritual growth and trust in how God works through the Church. The rest will fall into place.
A very effective preacher and retreat
director was asked a number of years ago what his secret was. His answer: “I paint in bold, broad strokes,
and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to the individual about the particulars.”
It is unlikely that a 6 minute homily could
do justice to the richness of the Church’s doctrine on any particular
issue. Doctrine does not lend itself to
instant food. A homily does no service
to God or man if it allows the listener to pop open the box, consume the
contents, then toss it away and get on with life.
Oh, to be sure, you can find churches and
pseudo-churches where instant answers are the norm, but here the work of Jesus continues: to teach, to guide, to shepherd,
to lead, to form, not to give quick answers.
Discipline is easy; discipleship is rigorous.
Walk through the entrances of our parish
church and find books and CDs and DVDs. They are there without charge as part
of our parish stewardship. I’d like to see the shelves empty after every
Sunday! Read through the parish bulletin
and find classes and workshops and retreats and Bible studies and times for
prayer and fellowship. Tune into Catholic
radio and television. Our parishioner
Joe Bahret even has an entire religious goods store in the West Shore Farmers’
Market where richer, deeper, longer answers can be found to questions.
Jesus could have offered quick and easy
answers, but that’s what the Pharisees did.
That would have prolonged the legalism and minimalism so rampant in the
religion of His world, and in ours as well. On the contrary, the work of Jesus
is to give us the tools to make our own decisions in life, to render our own
judgments, to be formed in right and wrong so as to know the difference. Let Jesus be your teacher; let Jesus feed
you: not instant food, but food that
lasts for eternal life, the bread of life itself.
August 4, 2013
Msgr. William J. King
