There was a man who invented the art of making fire. He took his tools and went to a tribe in the north, where it was very cold, bitterly cold. He taught the people there to make fire. The people were very interested. He showed them the uses to which they could put fire: they could cook, could keep themselves warm, etc. They were so grateful that they had learned the art of making fire. But before they could express their gratitude to the man, he disappeared. He wasn’t concerned with getting their recognition or gratitude; he was concerned about their well-being. He went to another tribe, where he again began to show them the value of his invention.
People were interested there too, a bit too interested for the peace of mind of their priests, who began to notice that this man was drawing crowds and they were losing their popularity. So they decided to do away with him. They poisoned him, crucified him, put it any way you like. But they were afraid now that the people might turn against them, so they were very wise, even wily. Do you know what they did? They had a portrait of the man made and mounted it on the main altar of the temple. The instruments for making fire were placed in front of the portrait, and the people were taught to revere the portrait and to pay reverence to the instruments of fire, which they dutifully did for centuries. The veneration and the worship went on, but there was no fire.
People were interested there too, a bit too interested for the peace of mind of their priests, who began to notice that this man was drawing crowds and they were losing their popularity. So they decided to do away with him. They poisoned him, crucified him, put it any way you like. But they were afraid now that the people might turn against them, so they were very wise, even wily. Do you know what they did? They had a portrait of the man made and mounted it on the main altar of the temple. The instruments for making fire were placed in front of the portrait, and the people were taught to revere the portrait and to pay reverence to the instruments of fire, which they dutifully did for centuries. The veneration and the worship went on, but there was no fire.
Where’s the fire? Where’s the love? Where’s the freedom? This is what spirituality is all about. Tragically, we tend to lose sight of this, don’t we? This is what Jesus Christ is all about. But we overemphasized the “Lord, Lord,” didn’t we? Where’s the fire? And if worship isn’t leading to the fire, if adoration isn’t leading to love, if the liturgy isn’t leading to a clearer perception of reality, if God isn’t leading to life, of what use is religion except to create more division, more fanaticism, more antagonism? It is not from lack of religion in the ordinary sense of the word that the world is suffering, it is from lack of love, lack of awareness. And love is generated through awareness and through no other way, no other way. Understand the obstructions you are putting in the way of love, freedom, and happiness and they will drop. Turn on the light of awareness and the darkness will disappear.
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Fr. Jude Botelho:
Jeremiah had the unpleasant task of warning the people that if they continued in their corrupt way of life and did not repent and return to God their nation would be destroyed. The people did not like Jeremiah’s warnings and complained that his message was demoralizing the people. He was accused of treason and punished by being lowered in a cistern where he was stuck in the mud until he was rescued. Jeremiah knew he had to speak the truth and warn the people no matter what the consequences for his life. Despite his pain, the prophet remained faithful to his mission.
Courage to confront
In the 1920s an English adventurer named Mallory led an expedition to conquer Mount Everest. His first, second and even his third attempt, with an experienced team, met with failure. Upon his return to England, the few who had survived held a banquet to salute Mallory and those who had perished. As he stood up to speak he looked around and saw picture frames of himself and those who had died. Then he turned his back on the crowd and faced a large picture of Mount Everest looming large like an unbeatable giant. With tears streaming down his face, he spoke to the mountain on behalf of his dead friends. “I speak to you Mt. Everest, in the name of all brave men living, and those yet unborn. Mt. Everest, you defeated us once, you defeated us twice; you defeated us three times. But Mt. Everest, we shall someday defeat you because you can’t get any bigger and we can.”
John Rose in ‘John’s Sunday Homilies’
Today’s gospel is called the gospel of fire because of the inevitable confrontation it speaks of as part of living the Christian life. Jesus bluntly states the meaning and purpose of his life when he says, “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already.” Once touched by Jesus our lives are never the same. He ignites us to live fully; He pushes us into the centre of life so that we are forced to take a stand for or against him. “Do you suppose that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” These words of Jesus disturb us. In today’s gospel Jesus talks about his mission by using the metaphor of lighting a fire, and he refers to his passion by using the image of a baptism to be received. Both fire and water are ambivalent symbols. Fire can be awesome and it was seen by the Israelites to symbolize the presence of God. It was also terrifying in its power and symbolized its ability to cleanse, divide, destroy and purify, as the Jews experienced during their Exodus. Jesus also says he has a baptism to receive, which brings to mind another ambivalent symbol of God’s activity –water. This water brings life, refreshment, cleansing and healing but also destruction and death. Today’s gospel puts Jesus and what he stood for in sharp perspective. No one who accepts Jesus can be the same. His message would bring a sword, even to people who were closely related to each other.
Fiddler on the Roof
An example of the opposition that faith brings about in a family occurs in the play Fiddler on the Roof. The plot centres around a man named Tevye, the father of a poor Jewish family. He has five daughters but no son. His eldest daughter marries a tailor who was not chosen for her by the traditional matchmaker. After a struggle with his conscience Tevye accepts the marriage. His next daughter marries a college student who has broken with many Jewish traditions. After a struggle with his conscience, Tevye accepts this marriage too. Finally, his third daughter, Chava, marries a non-Jew, a young Russian soldier. When Golde, his wife breaks the news to him, Tevye sings a song. In it he pours out his heart to God. At that moment Chava appears and pleads with Tevye to accept her and her husband. Tevye looks up to heaven and says: “How can I accept them? Can I deny everything I believe in? On the other hand, can I deny my own child?” (But if I deny everything I believe in…) if I try to bend that far, I will break... No Chava.” – When Jesus invited people to follow him, he realized what he was asking. For them it meant leaving father and mother and family for God.
Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’
The Disciplined Wild Man
“Christianity is not a dull religion!” Nothing could be farther from Jesus’ intention. His own life shows this. He preached on street corners as well as in synagogues. He constantly met new and interesting characters (from wealthy tax collectors to pushy prostitutes.) He was faced with every kind of human problem (from intellectual tests to family squabbles about inheritance). He enjoyed banquets and fasted for weeks in the desert. He asked little children to come into his presence just to enjoy them, and at other times he had fierce battles with the Pharisees whom he called “hypocrites and whitened sepulchers.” William McNamara in his book The Human Adventure, has a fascinating chapter which describes the contemplative active Christ – “The Disciplined Wild Man”! What an appropriate title for Jesus. What a fitting description for the Word of God who came to set the world on fire.”
Eugene Lauer
We stand for God?
Some time ago a newspaper columnist Arthur Jones, shared an important moment in his earlier life with his readers. It happened when he was drafted into the Royal Air Force and found himself in military barracks with 30 other men. On the first night he had to make a decision. He had always knelt to say his prayers. Should he continue to kneel now that he was in military service? He squirmed a little and then said to himself: “Why should I change just because people are watching? Am I going to begin my life away from home by letting other people dictate what I should do or not do?” He decided to kneel. By the time he had finished, he became aware that everyone else was aware of him. And when he made the Sign of the Cross, he was aware that everyone else knew he was a Catholic. As it turned out, he was the only Catholic in the barracks. Yet, night after night he knelt. He said that those ten minutes on his knees often led to discussions that lasted for hours. On the last day in boot camp, someone said to him, “You are the finest Christian I’ve ever met.” He replied, “Well, I might be the most public Christian you’ve ever met, but I don’t think I’m the finest. Still, I thank you for what you said.” – That story illustrates one of the points of today’s gospel. Commitment to Jesus means taking a stand on certain things. And sometimes that stand sets us in opposition to other people.
Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’
Jesus came to light a fire
The fourth graders were studying the Pilgrims coming to America and settling in New England. The teacher asked, “Why did the Puritans leave England for America?” A pupil immediately raised his hand and answered, “So that they could carry on their religion in freedom in their own way, and force others to do the same.”
Application: Is our faith afire burning within? Would others know we are Christians by observing us day to day?
Gerard Fuller in ‘Stories for All Seasons’
Families will be divided
Sr. Tina (name changed) was one of the finest students I’ve had. A ‘doctor’ of science, she lectured in a prestigious college in Mumbai before expressing her desire to enter a convent. This broke the heart of her mother who wanted to see her ‘successful’ by worldly standards. Sadly, Tina’s mother refused to speak to her and didn’t even turn up at peak moments of her life like religious profession. This is an example of what Jesus means by prophesying, “From now, families will be divided... Mother against daughter and daughter against mother.”
Francis Gonsalves in ‘Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds’
****
Fr. Jude Botelho:
Jeremiah had the unpleasant task of warning the people that if they continued in their corrupt way of life and did not repent and return to God their nation would be destroyed. The people did not like Jeremiah’s warnings and complained that his message was demoralizing the people. He was accused of treason and punished by being lowered in a cistern where he was stuck in the mud until he was rescued. Jeremiah knew he had to speak the truth and warn the people no matter what the consequences for his life. Despite his pain, the prophet remained faithful to his mission.
Courage to confront
In the 1920s an English adventurer named Mallory led an expedition to conquer Mount Everest. His first, second and even his third attempt, with an experienced team, met with failure. Upon his return to England, the few who had survived held a banquet to salute Mallory and those who had perished. As he stood up to speak he looked around and saw picture frames of himself and those who had died. Then he turned his back on the crowd and faced a large picture of Mount Everest looming large like an unbeatable giant. With tears streaming down his face, he spoke to the mountain on behalf of his dead friends. “I speak to you Mt. Everest, in the name of all brave men living, and those yet unborn. Mt. Everest, you defeated us once, you defeated us twice; you defeated us three times. But Mt. Everest, we shall someday defeat you because you can’t get any bigger and we can.”
John Rose in ‘John’s Sunday Homilies’
Today’s gospel is called the gospel of fire because of the inevitable confrontation it speaks of as part of living the Christian life. Jesus bluntly states the meaning and purpose of his life when he says, “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already.” Once touched by Jesus our lives are never the same. He ignites us to live fully; He pushes us into the centre of life so that we are forced to take a stand for or against him. “Do you suppose that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” These words of Jesus disturb us. In today’s gospel Jesus talks about his mission by using the metaphor of lighting a fire, and he refers to his passion by using the image of a baptism to be received. Both fire and water are ambivalent symbols. Fire can be awesome and it was seen by the Israelites to symbolize the presence of God. It was also terrifying in its power and symbolized its ability to cleanse, divide, destroy and purify, as the Jews experienced during their Exodus. Jesus also says he has a baptism to receive, which brings to mind another ambivalent symbol of God’s activity –water. This water brings life, refreshment, cleansing and healing but also destruction and death. Today’s gospel puts Jesus and what he stood for in sharp perspective. No one who accepts Jesus can be the same. His message would bring a sword, even to people who were closely related to each other.
Fiddler on the Roof
An example of the opposition that faith brings about in a family occurs in the play Fiddler on the Roof. The plot centres around a man named Tevye, the father of a poor Jewish family. He has five daughters but no son. His eldest daughter marries a tailor who was not chosen for her by the traditional matchmaker. After a struggle with his conscience Tevye accepts the marriage. His next daughter marries a college student who has broken with many Jewish traditions. After a struggle with his conscience, Tevye accepts this marriage too. Finally, his third daughter, Chava, marries a non-Jew, a young Russian soldier. When Golde, his wife breaks the news to him, Tevye sings a song. In it he pours out his heart to God. At that moment Chava appears and pleads with Tevye to accept her and her husband. Tevye looks up to heaven and says: “How can I accept them? Can I deny everything I believe in? On the other hand, can I deny my own child?” (But if I deny everything I believe in…) if I try to bend that far, I will break... No Chava.” – When Jesus invited people to follow him, he realized what he was asking. For them it meant leaving father and mother and family for God.
Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’
The Disciplined Wild Man
“Christianity is not a dull religion!” Nothing could be farther from Jesus’ intention. His own life shows this. He preached on street corners as well as in synagogues. He constantly met new and interesting characters (from wealthy tax collectors to pushy prostitutes.) He was faced with every kind of human problem (from intellectual tests to family squabbles about inheritance). He enjoyed banquets and fasted for weeks in the desert. He asked little children to come into his presence just to enjoy them, and at other times he had fierce battles with the Pharisees whom he called “hypocrites and whitened sepulchers.” William McNamara in his book The Human Adventure, has a fascinating chapter which describes the contemplative active Christ – “The Disciplined Wild Man”! What an appropriate title for Jesus. What a fitting description for the Word of God who came to set the world on fire.”
Eugene Lauer
We stand for God?
Some time ago a newspaper columnist Arthur Jones, shared an important moment in his earlier life with his readers. It happened when he was drafted into the Royal Air Force and found himself in military barracks with 30 other men. On the first night he had to make a decision. He had always knelt to say his prayers. Should he continue to kneel now that he was in military service? He squirmed a little and then said to himself: “Why should I change just because people are watching? Am I going to begin my life away from home by letting other people dictate what I should do or not do?” He decided to kneel. By the time he had finished, he became aware that everyone else was aware of him. And when he made the Sign of the Cross, he was aware that everyone else knew he was a Catholic. As it turned out, he was the only Catholic in the barracks. Yet, night after night he knelt. He said that those ten minutes on his knees often led to discussions that lasted for hours. On the last day in boot camp, someone said to him, “You are the finest Christian I’ve ever met.” He replied, “Well, I might be the most public Christian you’ve ever met, but I don’t think I’m the finest. Still, I thank you for what you said.” – That story illustrates one of the points of today’s gospel. Commitment to Jesus means taking a stand on certain things. And sometimes that stand sets us in opposition to other people.
Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’
Jesus came to light a fire
The fourth graders were studying the Pilgrims coming to America and settling in New England. The teacher asked, “Why did the Puritans leave England for America?” A pupil immediately raised his hand and answered, “So that they could carry on their religion in freedom in their own way, and force others to do the same.”
Application: Is our faith afire burning within? Would others know we are Christians by observing us day to day?
Gerard Fuller in ‘Stories for All Seasons’
Families will be divided
Sr. Tina (name changed) was one of the finest students I’ve had. A ‘doctor’ of science, she lectured in a prestigious college in Mumbai before expressing her desire to enter a convent. This broke the heart of her mother who wanted to see her ‘successful’ by worldly standards. Sadly, Tina’s mother refused to speak to her and didn’t even turn up at peak moments of her life like religious profession. This is an example of what Jesus means by prophesying, “From now, families will be divided... Mother against daughter and daughter against mother.”
Francis Gonsalves in ‘Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds’
1. Apple and the GPS Glitches:
Apple had to issue a warning recently. Customers who were using a GPS national park hiking trails "app" on their iPhones were warned about some serious "glitches." In several national parks the identified trailhead, the mileages, and the directional guides . . . all were completely off. Several hikers got seriously lost because they trusted downloaded trail information that was fatally flawed. Those hikers had faith in the electronic guidance their hiking "app" had given them. But that faith was rewarded with a "wandering in the wilderness" experience.
If truth be told, we don't take much "on faith" anymore - or do we? Let's be more precise: We don't take much "on faith" anymore at least from human sources. Anything a politician or a government bureaucrat or a corporate CEO or now even an athlete says and swears is immediately suspicious and suspect. Network media, government warnings and recommendations of professionals like doctors, lawyers, financial advisors, tarot card readers - these days we take them all with a hefty helping of salt, or buckets full of aspirin.
But as the emergency Apple "app" warning revealed, we do seem to place faith in our electronics. We have more faith in Artificial Intelligence than human intelligence. We input all of our most private information - personal, financial, medical, emotional, and we trust that it is safely stored away. We routinely hit "send" secure in our faith that our message will go swiftly to its appointed destination without interception or invasion. We trust our family trips to a GPS screen and a computer-generated voice that tells us where to go.
What would you do today if your GPS suddenly instructed you to drive your car around the beltway seven times, honking your horn all along the way? What if your GPS insisted this was the only way to reach your desired destination? Would you "have faith" and follow directions?
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2. Without the Fire the Seeds Will Never Grow
Stretching south for hundreds of miles from Glacier National Park lay a majestic mixture of valleys, rushing streams, and gargantuan mountains called the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Backpackers have hiked there for decades looking for elk, grizzlies and golden eagles. Fortunately the grizzlies stay up in the high country, but a golden eagle may be spotted and the elusive wolverine may be tracked.
The Bob Marshall Wilderness hosts some 90,000 packers and hikers each year, most of them in the months of July and August. They must come in either by foot or horseback. No motorized vehicles are allowed. The forests on those rugged mountain slopes are thick with Lodgepole Pine, a tough, hardy tree with cones so thick that only extreme heat can burst forth the seeds. That's where fire comes in. For thousands -- oh, millions of years -- lightning has cracked the big sky out there down to the forests below. (Often the lightning will hit the Douglas Firs, less rugged than the Lodgepole Pines, and a forest fire will begin.) For years, of course, the United States Forest Service fought furiously to put out these fires. More recently, they have adopted a policy of managed fires. They have learned these fires have a purpose. Without them the seeds of the Lodgepole Pines are never released. Without them much of the underbrush and plant life there does not regenerate. The earth needs a fire cast on it or it will die.
Jesus, speaking to Peter, that blustery, Lodgepole Pine kind of a man, said, "Peter, I have a fire to cast over the earth, and how I am constrained until it be kindled!" What did Jesus mean? He knew that Peter, like all of his disciples, was a wilderness that needed fire or he would die. Peter needed the fire of God's Word to keep his heart from freezing over and to keep the passion of his soul from cooling down.
John G. Lynn, Trouble Journey, CSS Publishing
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3. Like Fire Cast On the Earth
Martin Luther knew that the ice of human nature had frozen things over in his day, most especially he thought, in the heart and mind of a man named Erasmus. To that Dutch humanist Luther wrote the Word of God always puts the world in a state of tumult because it comes like fire cast on the earth. "For the Word of God comes, whenever it comes, to change and renew the world."
Nowhere does the fire of God's Word burn off the ice and cause tumult more than in the differences between generations, in the relationships between father and son and mother and daughter. These relationships tend to freeze over into a cool placidity where mother thinks her daughter must be just as she is, or son thinks he must be a carbon copy of dad. Not so, says the gospel. There will not be agreement between mother and daughter or father and son so much as there will be distinction; each will have a proper share of the kingdom of God. God's Word burns off the ice of mutual identification and kindles the fire of proper identity over and over again.
John G. Lynn, Trouble Journey, CSS Publishing.
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4. Splintered Families
There is evidence of splintered families all around us and among us. A cartoon strip showed a young woman talking to a minister. She said, "John and I are having a terrible time, and we need your advice. We are trying to decide how to divide the furniture, who gets what of the money we've saved and who gets custody of the children."
"Oh," the minister asked, "are you contemplating divorce?"
"Oh, no," she replied. "We are trying to work out our prenuptial agreement."
Carveth Mitchell, The Sign in the Subway, CSS Publishing Company.
______________________5. A Weird New Religious Cult
A sociology professor every year begins his course on "The Family" by reading to his class a letter, from a parent, written to a government official. In the letter the parent complains that his son, once obedient and well-motivated, has become involved with some weird new religious cult. The father complains that the cult has taken over the boy's life, has forced him to forsake all of his old friends, and has turned him against his family.
After reading the letter, the professor asks the class to speculate what the father is talking about. Almost without exception, the class immediately assumes that the subject of the letter is a child mixed up with the "Moonies," or some other controversial group. After the class puts out all of the possible conclusions they can think of, the professor surprises them by revealing that the letter, was written by a third century father in Rome, the governor of his province, complaining about this weird religious group called "The Christians."
William H. Beljean, Jr., An Interesting Letter
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6. Giving Your Life to the Mission
This past week I have been thinking about people who have been obsessed with mission. Some years ago, Scott Carpenter died. Scott Carpenter was one of the great citizens of the United States of America. He was one of our seven first astronauts. He was truly a great man. Scott Carpenter was a man who had a sense of mission. Let me read what Scott Carpenter had to say, "This project of being an astronaut and going to the moon, gives me the possibility of using all of my capabilities and all of my interests and gifts at once. This is something that I would be willing to give my life for. I think a person is fortunate to have something that you care that much about that you would give your life for. There are risks involved, that's for sure." Then Scott Carpenter went on to say in the following words in a letter to his wife, "My dear, if this comes to a fatal, screaming fiery end for me, I will have three main regrets. I will have lost the opportunity to prepare for my children's life here on this planet. I will miss the pleasure of seeing you and loving you when you are a grandmother. And will have never learned to play the guitar." Signed, Scott. He cared for his wife. He cared for his children. He wanted to play the guitar. But more than that, more than his love for his wife and children, more than his wanting to learn to play the guitar, Scott Carpenter was willing to give his life for the mission to go to the moon.
What does it mean to give your life for THE mission of Jesus Christ?
Edward F. Markquart, Christ Brings Division
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7. Making Decisions
A teenage girl at summer camp was torn between two sets of friends. Some of them were sunbathing on the dock, saying to her "stay with us." But her other friends were in a rowboat saying "no, come with us." There she stood, one foot on the dock, the other foot on the edge of the boat, and the boat was moving. Trying to appease everyone, trying to not decide, she ended up falling into the water; and worse, her hair got wet!
But I think this is exactly what Jesus is addressing in the gospel lesson today. He is warning us that there will be times when following him will require us to turn away from something else. There will be times in this life when we will be required to say "yes" to one thing, and therefore "no" to the other. And of course, the action we most often take is the same one that girl did on the swimming dock. We try to go in both directions. We try to say "yes" to it all, and we end up falling in between the seams, and being miserable.
Steven Molin, Flashing Yellow Lights
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8. Trouble Makers
Thank God for those free thinkers throughout Christendom who have brought fire upon the earth, the early Church and the Catholic Church which has prevailed for almost 2000 years holding the banner of Christ.
Martin Luther, who called the church back to a Gospel which emphasized grace rather than works. John Wyclif and William Tyndale, who against the wishes of church leadership produced the Bible in the language of the people. William Wilberforce, against the will of many within the church, fought the evil ravages of the institution of slavery. Hudson Taylor, who dared to adopt the customs and culture of the people to whom he was a missionary. He converted people to Jesus, not to Western culture. He changed the focus of foreign missions. Men like John and Charles Wesley, Charles Finney, and Spurgeon, who called upon their churches to reform. They woke the world with their fiery preaching.
These men were trouble makers. Thinkers. Applecart shakers. Men who muddied the water just like Jesus. Heroes of the faith, we now call the, because they were not afraid of division. They knew Jesus did not come to bring peace but a sword. In other words: Truth. God's truth is like that. It is a double edged sword. What sounds like peace, the peace that Christ gives, really isn't peace as the world would have it. It is peace as God would have it. And what kind of peace is it that God wants? He wants the peace that exist between you and Him when the weight of your sins no longer are a snare and you can run with endurance the race set before you.
Brett Blair
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9. What Is Unique About Christianity?
The story of Jesus sitting and debating the Law with rabbis reminds me of another debate that took place in a comparative religions conference, the wise and the scholarly were in a spirited debate about what is unique about Christianity. Someone suggested what set Christianity apart from other religions was the concept of incarnation, the idea that God became incarnate in human form. But someone quickly said, "Well, actually, other faiths believe that God appears in human form." Another suggestion was offered: what about resurrection? The belief that death is not the final word. That the tomb was found empty. Someone slowly shook his head. Other religions have accounts of people returning from the dead.
Then, as the story is told, C.S. Lewis walked into the room, tweed jacket, pipe, armful of papers, a little early for his presentation. He sat down and took in the conversation, which had by now evolved into a fierce debate. Finally during a lull, he spoke saying, "what's all this rumpus about?" Everyone turned in his direction. Trying to explain themselves they said, "We're debating what's unique about Christianity." "Oh, that's easy," answered Lewis. “It’s grace.”
The room fell silent.
Lewis continued that Christianity uniquely claims God’s love comes free of charge, no strings attached. No other religion makes that claim.
After a moment someone commented that Lewis had a point, Buddhists, for example, follow an eight-fold path to enlightenment. It’s not a free ride.
Hindus believe in karma, that your actions continually affect the way the world will treat you; that there is nothing that comes to you not set in motion by your actions.
Someone else observed the Jewish code of the law implies God has requirements for people to be acceptable to him and in Islam God is a God of Judgement not a God of love. You live to appease him
At the end of the discussion everyone concluded Lewis had a point.
At the end of the discussion everyone concluded Lewis had a point.
Only Christianity dares to proclaim God’s love is unconditional. An unconditional love that we call grace.
Christians boldly proclaim that grace really has precious little to do with us, our inner resolve, or our lack of inner resolve.
Christians boldly proclaim that grace really has precious little to do with us, our inner resolve, or our lack of inner resolve.
Rather, grace is all about God and God freely giving to us the gifts of forgiveness, mercy, and love.
10. The Priest with Fire: Father James Gilhooley
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From Fr. Tony Kadavil’s Collection:
10. The Priest with Fire: Father James Gilhooley
| A priest was getting on a bus. Somehow his shoe came off and fell into the street. Since he could not retrieve it, he took off the second one. He threw it out the window in the direction of the other one. To a puzzled looking passenger, he said, "The fellow who finds the first shoe now will have a good pair to walk about in." I have just returned from retreat. Hopefully I am filled with grace. But certainly I am filled with gossip from my fellow priests. They were filled with information about new assignments from our bishop. The shocker is that a certified firebrand among the brethern has been sent to a very proper and wealthy parish as pastor. The priest in question has been lining up on the side of the poor, disenfranchised, and the oppressed since he was priested a quarter of a century ago. Wherever he goes, fire follows him. He has all the scars, many of them quite glorious and even enviable, that go with such a career. Everyone at the retreat had an opinion pro and con on the appointment. Most dared not speak them publicly since the bishop himself was present. But the one point on which all agreed is that the parish will become a different creation. Given his track record, the new man will most assuredly bring fire to the parish in question. The fox-hunting set there will never be the same again. These aristocrats may well come to feel that they are among the hunted. But today's Gospel tells us that fire is precisely what the Teacher brought to the earth. Therefore, can we fault a priest if he himself brings that same torch to a small corner of the Teacher's Church? Do you really think the Christ would fault him especially since he is but following His example? Quite obviously our bishop does not fault him. |
From Fr. Tony Kadavil’s Collection:
1. “Be God’s prophets and God’s microphones” (Oscar Romero).
God sends His prophets to give the world His message in every century. Oscar Romero, Blessed Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dom Helder Camara, Maura Clark, Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, Jeanne Donovan, and Ella Baker were all twentieth century prophets who had the courage of their Christian convictions to follow Jesus and proclaim his undiluted message which cast fire on earth and caused healthy division in the society as today’s gospel points out. In 1980, in the midst of a U.S.-funded genocidal war against the so-called leftist rebels in El Salvador, Archbishop Oscar Romero who sided with the poor, exploited farm workers, declared: “If they kill all your priests and the bishop too, each one of you must become God's microphone, each one of you must become a prophet." "I do not believe in death without resurrection." "If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the Salvadoran people." Amid overarching violence, Romero wrote to President Jimmy Carter pleading with him to cease sending military aid to the brutal military regime because, he wrote, "it is being used to repress my people." The U.S. sent $1.5 million in aid every day for 12 years. Archbishop Romero’s letter went unheeded. Two months later he was assassinated. Ending a long homily addressed to the pro-government land owners and peasants and the military and broadcast throughout the country, his voice rose to breaking, "Brothers, you are from the same people; you kill your fellow peasants . . . No soldier is obliged to obey an order that is contrary to the will of God.” There was thunderous applause; he was inviting the army to mutiny. Then his voice burst, "In the name of God then, in the name of this suffering people I ask you, I beg you, I command you in the name of God: stop the repression." Oscar Romero gave his last homily on March 24, moments before a sharpshooter felled him at the altar of a hospital chapel. Reflecting on the day’s scripture, he had said, "One must not love oneself so much, as to avoid getting involved in the risks of life that history demands of us, and those that fend off danger will lose their lives." In an interview as he was flying to Brazil in May, 2007 Pope Benedict told the reporters, “Romero as a person merits beatification.” In July 2007, the new Salvadoran conservative government said it would formally request the Vatican to beatify Romero although it will not accept responsibility for his slaying. Today’s readings remind us that the Church needs prophets like Romero and cautions contemporary prophets that their course will not be easy. (http://salt.claretianpubs.org/romero/romero.html).
2. Apathetic Attitude:
In 1993, the total attendance at worship services in the United States came to 5.6 billion. The total attendance for all pro-basketball, baseball and football games combined was only 103 million, less than 2 percent of the number who attended worship ["To Verify: Statistics for Christian Communicators," Leadership 15 (Fall 1994), 50).] We complain about a shrinking church membership when the numbers actually point to a shrinking sense of excitement and exuberance for Christ's sake. In the name of sports, those 103 million get stadiums built, get team franchises moved, give local economies a boost and get whole regions of the country stand-up-and-shout excited. In the name of Christ, how much more could 5.6 billion accomplish in this country in the world if they were as "on fire" as the sports fans?
3. Courage to confront:
In the 1920s, an English adventurer named Mallory led an expedition to conquer Mount Everest. His first, second and even his third attempt with an experienced team met with failure. Upon his return to England, the few who had survived held a banquet to salute Mallory and those who had perished. As he stood up to speak he looked around he saw picture frames of himself and those who had died. Then he turned his back on the crowd and faced a large picture of Mount Everest looming large like an unbeatable giant. With tears streaming down his face, he spoke to the mountain on behalf of his dead friends. “I speak to you Mt. Everest, in the name of all brave men living, and those yet unborn. Mt. Everest, you defeated us once, you defeated us twice; you defeated us three times. But Mt. Everest, we shall someday defeat you, because you can’t get any bigger, but we can.” Today’s scripture challenges us to confront the world with prophetic courage of our Christian convictions (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies).
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From Fr. Tony Kadavil:
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From Fr. Tony Kadavil:
1: Courage to confront: In the 1920s, an English adventurer named Mallory led an expedition to conquer Mount Everest. His first, second and even his third attempt with an experienced team met with failure. Upon his return to England, the few who had survived held a banquet to salute Mallory and those who had perished. As he stood up to speak, he looked around he saw picture frames of himself and those who had died. Then he turned his back on the crowd and faced a large picture of Mount Everest looming large like an unbeatable giant. With tears streaming down his face, he spoke to the mountain on behalf of his dead friends. “I speak to you Mt. Everest, in the name of all brave men living, and those yet unborn. Mt. Everest, you defeated us once, you defeated us twice; you defeated us three times. But Mt. Everest, we shall someday defeat you, because you can’t get any bigger, but we can.” Today’s Scripture challenges us to confront the world with prophetic courage of our Christian convictions (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies).
# 2: Apathetic Attitude: In 1993, the total attendance at worship services in the United States came to 5.6 billion. The total attendance for all pro-basketball, baseball and football games combined was only 103 million, less than 2 percent of the number who attended worship [“To Verify: Statistics for Christian Communicators,” Leadership 15 (Fall 1994), 50).] We complain about a shrinking Church membership when the numbers actually point to a shrinking sense of excitement and exuberance for Christ’s sake. In the name of sports, those 103 million get stadiums built, get team franchises moved, give local economies a boost and get whole regions of the country stand-up-and-shout excited. In the name of Christ, how much more could 5.6 billion accomplish in this country in the world if they were as “on fire” as the sports fans? (Here is a Forbes Magazine note on Crimson Tide football team of Alabama, U. S. A.. “Not only did Nick Saban (the head football coach) deliver the University of Alabama its 4th national college football title in 7 years, but he also helped subsidize the entire Crimson Tide athletics department by generating an astonishing $95,132,301 (almost 100 million) in revenue, the most ever by any single team in the history of college sports. Nick Saban’s total compensation rose to $7,969,113 (almost 8 million) including bonuses), the highest ever paid to a college football coach. In total, he and his staff of nine assistant coaches and countless support staff and administrators were compensated over $18 million- up by some $3 million from the year before.” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbelzer/2016/02/24/the-university-of-alabama-made-almost-100-million-from-football-in-2015/#205054463b6c)
# 3: “Be God’s prophets and God’s microphones” (St. Oscar Romero, Archbishop and Martyr; canonized October 14, 2018 by Pope Francis). God sends His prophets to give the world His message in every century. Saint Oscar Romero, Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa; canonized October 4, 2016 by Pope Francis), Pope St. John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dom Helder Camara, Maura Clark, Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, Jeanne Donovan, and Ella Baker were all twentieth century prophets who had the courage of their Christian convictions to follow Jesus and proclaim his undiluted message which cast fire on earth and caused healthy division in the society as today’s Gospel points out. In 1980, in the midst of a U.S.-funded genocidal war against the so-called leftist rebels in El Salvador, Archbishop Saint Oscar Romero who sided with the poor, exploited farm workers, declared: “If they kill all your priests and the bishop too, each one of you must become God’s microphone, each one of you must become a prophet. I do not believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the Salvadoran people.” Amid overarching violence, Romero wrote to President Jimmy Carter pleading with him to cease sending military aid to the brutal military regime because, he wrote, “it is being used to repress my people.” The U.S. sent $1.5 million in aid every day for 12 years. Archbishop Romero’s letter went unheeded. Two months later, he was assassinated. Ending a long homily addressed to the pro-government landowners and peasants and the military and broadcast throughout the country, his voice rose to breaking, “Brothers, you are from the same people; you kill your fellow peasants . . .. No soldier is obliged to obey an order that is contrary to the will of God.” There was thunderous applause; he was inviting the army to mutiny. Then his voice burst out, “In the name of God then, in the name of this suffering people I ask you, I beg you, I command you in the name of God: stop the repression.” Oscar Romero gave his last homily on March 24, 1980, moments before a sharpshooter felled him at the altar of a hospital chapel. Reflecting on the day’s Scripture, he had said, “One must not love oneself so much, as to avoid getting involved in the risks of life that history demands of us, and those that fend off danger will lose their lives.” In an interview as he was flying to Brazil in May 2007 Pope Benedict told the reporters, “Romero as a person merits beatification.” In July 2007, the new Salvadoran conservative government said it would formally request the Vatican to beatify Romero although it would not accept responsibility for his slaying. Pope Francis beatified the martyred Archbishop Romero on May 23, 2015. Today’s readings remind us that the Church needs prophets like Romero and they caution contemporary prophets that their course will not be easy. (http://salt.claretianpubs.org/romero/romero.html).
22- Additional anecdotes:
1) “How can anyone argue with a life so well-lived?” Agnes Bojaxhiu (St. Teresa of Calcutta — Mother Teresa), who died in 1997, was one of the most influential persons of our time. She was on fire with love of Christ, and she was so passionate about her beliefs that her life became an articulate expression of her Faith. She loved life, and so she hated abortion; thus, even when called to speak at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington in the U.S. to a pre-dominantly American elite audience, she strongly criticized the policy of government-funded abortion. At the end of her speech the crowed gave Mother Teresa a standing ovation and clapped profusely. Apparently thirst overwhelmed Bill and Hillary Clinton at that very moment because while everyone else went in an uproar of applause the Clintons just sucked on their water bottles. Later when questioned, about Bill’s meeting with Mother Teresa Bill’s only response was, ‘”I cannot argue with a life that had been so well lived.”
2) General Sherman set fire to the city of Atlanta: “War is hell,” said William Tecumseh Sherman, a Northern General in the American Civil War. It is. The material losses are staggering. It was Sherman himself who set fire to the city of Atlanta, Georgia and burnt it to the ground. Worse than the material losses caused by fire, however, are the physical pain, dismemberment and disability — too horrible to dwell on. Beyond the physical distresses are the psychiatric horrors. We hear less about the psychiatric horrors of war, if only because they are less visible to the public. In World War II, psychiatric breakdown was the single largest reason for honourable discharge from the armed forces. Any combatant’s chances of psychiatric collapse (from the American Civil War right up to the current military intervention in Afghanistan) are three times greater than his likelihood of being killed. When the U.S. Army landed in Sicily in the 1940s, there were platoons where the psychiatric breakdown was 100%. Military psychiatrists know very well the psychological harm war inflicts on the veterans. Then why does Jesus say in today’s Gospel that he came to set the world on fire and cause division in the family?
3) Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness: Keller Weaverling, a kayak guide had come thirteen years earlier to Valdez, Alaska, to get away from the world. All that changed literally overnight when the bulk carrier Exxon Valdez, dumped 11 million gallons of oil into the Prince William Sound. It was a ghastly catastrophe to which he just could not stand neutral. To quote him, “It was like coming home to find your house totally vandalized, your pet dog killed, and your wife raped, gagged and bound. I needed to get involved.” So, when the Valdez Bird Rescue Centre was looking for someone to lead a wildlife rescue operation after the Exxon Valdez spill in March 1989, Kelly stepped forward in the conviction that “it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” He organized 220 workers and 43 boats to rescue wildlife endangered by the spill. – In 1989, this seventeen-year-old lived in Portland Oregon, across the street from the boarded-up windows of a former crack house. When he saw his friend join street gangs, he felt it was his call to “light a candle rather than curse the darkness” -he just could not stand neutral. He organized his peers into a high-school fraternity -as a positive alternative to street gangs. Members of the fraternity sponsored dances, cleaned up graffiti, and helped one another with homework and family problems. These are just two of the eight million such stories reported throughout the U.S.A. They are seemingly ordinary people with an extraordinary desire to do something positive. These are people who walk in the footsteps of Jesus who said, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already burning.” (James Valladares in Your Words, O Lord, Are Spirit, and They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
4) The Truth Teller: Many years ago, a certain Greenland Eskimo was brought to New York City for a short visit. He was filled with wonder at all the miracles of sight and sound in New York City. When he returned to his native village he told his people the stories of a building that rose into the very face of the sky; of the street cars, which he described as houses which moved along the trail, of the mammoth bridges, artificial lights and all the dazzling things of the metropolitan city. Many of the people could not believe him. Those who did not believe him looked at him coldly and walked away. The villagers called him a liar. He carried that name, “the liar,” to his grave. – The road of the truth-teller has always been rocky. As a result of telling God’s truth according to His command, many of the prophets were killed. Jeremiah died at the hands of his own people. Socrates who led people to truth through reason had to sip poison. Jesus was crucified. St. Stephen was stoned. Bruno was burned. Mahatma Gandhi, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Archbishop Saint Oscar Romero were shot to death. The decision to follow Christ can meet harsh rejection. In 2004, Sister Helen Prejean, a prison chaplain at Stewardship Conference in New Orleans, wrote a book, Dead Man Walking, which became an Oscar-winning movie. Sister. Helen sought reconciliation between prisoners on death row and their victims’ families. She met with harsh words and actions. Taking a stand and telling the truth often invites division and opposition. You are either for or against Jesus. There is no comfortable way of following Jesus! (John Pichappilly in The Table of the Word; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
5) Do we stand for God?: Some time ago a newspaper columnist, Arthur Jones, shared an important moment in his earlier life with his readers. It happened when he was drafted into the Royal Air Force and found himself in military barracks with 30 other men. On the first night he had to make a decision. He had always knelt to say his prayers. Should he continue to kneel now that he was in military service? He squirmed a little and then said to himself: “Why should I change just because people are watching? Am I going to begin my life away from home by letting other people dictate what I should do or not do?” He decided to kneel. By the time he had finished, he became aware that everyone else was aware of him. And when he made the Sign of the Cross, he was aware that everyone else knew he was a Catholic. As it turned out, he was the only Catholic in the barracks. Yet, night after night he knelt. He said that those ten minutes on his knees often led to discussions that lasted for hours. On the last day in boot camp, someone said to him, “You are the finest Christian I’ve ever met.” He replied, “Well, I might be the most public Christian you’ve ever met, but I don’t think I’m the finest. Still, I thank you for what you said.” – That story illustrates one of the points of today’s Gospel. Commitment to Jesus means taking a stand on certain things. And sometimes that stand sets us in opposition to other people. (Mark Link in Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
6) Peace by setting the earth on fire with wisdom: A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and contentment. Then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys, full of youthful, after-school enthusiasm, came down his street, beating merrily on every trashcan they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action. The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their way down the street. Stopping them, he said, “You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see you express your exuberance like that. In fact, I used to do the same thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I’ll give you each a dollar if you’ll promise to come around every day and do your thing.” The kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the trashcans. After a few days, the old-timer greeted the kids again, but this time he had a sad smile on his face. “This recession’s really putting a big dent in my income,” he told them. “From now on, I’ll only be able to pay you 50 cents to beat on the cans.” The noisemakers were obviously displeased, but they did accept his offer and continued their afternoon ruckus. A few days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way down the street. “Look,” he said, “I haven’t received my Social Security check yet, so I’m not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. Will that be okay?” “A lousy quarter?” the drum leader exclaimed. “If you think we’re going to waste our time, beating these cans around for a quarter, you’re nuts! No way, mister. We quit!” And the old man enjoyed peace by casting fire on the rogue kids. (Fr. T: Scr. Homilies)
7) Moral Malaise: According to Time magazine’s report of a Daily Expresssurvey, 84 percent of those polled did not think that Prince Charles’ TV confession that he had committed adultery sullied his reputation [Ginia Bellafonte, “People,” Time (18 July 1994), 61] The Church as an organized institution has become too comfortable, too at home with the standards and values of the world. Our silence in the face of such signs of the times suggests that moral failure is really no more serious than rolling through a stop sign at a deserted intersection. The truth is, moral muck-ups are a symptom of a very serious condition — heart failure. It is a sign that the central pump of our being is sick and faltering a sign of despair.
8) “Good-bye”: “Dear Mom and the Preacher: I’m leaving town. Don’t expect to see me again. I’m sick and tired of all this talk about the Lord and Church. I’m not going to listen to your sanctimonious talk about my drinking problem, AA, and going to worship. I’ve had enough of it. When you count the members of the family, count me out. Good-bye. Your former son, Harry, Jr.” – The Gospel of Jesus Christ is Good News, but when people are locked into their sins, they may see it as bad news. The fire of the Gospel is intended to cleanse family relationships. On some occasions, the fire of the Gospel is too hot for certain family members to handle. They flee from the family that embraces the Gospel. They say, “Good-bye.”
9) “You can’t see what’s right under your feet:” The Greek version of Jesus’ diatribe against the crowd in this week’s Gospel text is perhaps the experience of the Greek philosopher, Thales. He ventured outside one night with a knowledgeable, elderly woman who had promised to teach him about the stars. In the darkness, he fell into a ditch and started screaming for help. The old woman responded dryly, “You want to know all about the Heavens, but you can’t see what’s right under your feet” [From Diogenes, Laertius 1:34, cited in Frederick W. Denker, Jesus and the New Age (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988), 258.]
10) “For he shall give his angels charge over thee:” Jimmy Stewart was one of Hollywood’s most loved and most respected actors. According to all accounts, Stewart’s character and integrity were byproducts of being raised by loving and honorable parents. He himself once wrote of his father’s wise and loving advice to him before Jimmy went off to fight in World War II. In a letter, Alex Stewart wrote, “My dear Jim boy, soon after you read this letter, you will be on your way to the worst sort of danger . . . I am banking on the enclosed copy of the 91st Psalm. The thing that takes the place of fear and worry is the promise of these words . . . I can say no more . . . I love you more than I can tell you. Dad.” Part of the 91st Psalm reads, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” [J. Allen Nudge with Marge Van Kirk, “The Boy Next Door,” McCall’s (January, 1998) p. 38.] This is the proper antidote to the anxiety that many of us feel in this turbulent world in which we live. God is with us regardless of what the future may bring. What we need to do is to regain our connection to God. We need to focus less on our financial resources for security and more on the Rock of ages. Read the signs of the times. They will tell you we need God more than ever before.
11) Be on fire: Ancient people had a more intimate knowledge of fire than we do. Their only nighttime illumination came from the flames of oil lamps. The smoke from the cooking fire on the hearth constantly irritated and reddened their eyes. Everyone’s fingers were callused from working household fires. Their arms and hands bore the scars from burns. Early in childhood, they learned that food tasted better cooked, that flames tempered metal tools, and that the kiln’s heat hardened pottery. People also knew firsthand the danger of uncontrolled fire. Homes regularly burned to the ground because of an overturned lamp or a carelessly maintained kitchen fire. Well into the nineteenth century, devastating fires shaped communities. In fact, fire may spur on the next urban renewal. So, how was Jesus using the image of fire in this Gospel? This Gospel recalls an ancient belief that fire is the manifestation of God. Jesus is reminding us of the radical nature of His ministry and is demanding we step up to the plate.
12) St. Bartholomew of the Island: The Romans had perfected torture and death, and Bartholomew’s martyrdom is an example of that combination. Tradition has it that he was skinned while still alive; thus, one symbol for Bartholomew is a skinning knife. Another legend has it that he was flayed alive with a whip that would strip the skin from one’s flesh, but knife or whip, his death must have been excruciatingly painful and horrible – almost too much of a price to pay for committing one’s life to Christ, don’t you think? But people still die painful and horrible deaths as martyrs, laying down their lives for the Lord and the world. A thousand years ago, a Church was built on a little island in the Tiber River where it flows past the city of Rome. Fittingly, the Church replaced – and was built on the ruins of – an ancient temple dedicated to the art and science of medicine, the Temple of Aesculapius, which had stood there at least three centuries before Christ was born. People visited that temple, a sort of spa, to seek cures for various illnesses as well as relief from pain; the temple was elaborate. The Church that replaced the temple was named San Bartholomew all’ Isola – St. Bartholomew of the Island. After it was built, a hospital was added; Church and hospital still exist in close proximity to that small island. Today there is also a home for elderly Jews close to the Church; it is close to a monastery, too. And there seems to be a message in that complex of buildings that declares that St. Bartholomew’s death – like the death of Christ – has some meaning in terms of the commitment and love that prompts us both to follow Christ, telling his story and preaching the Gospel to all people, and to show compassion, kindness and care for the sick, the suffering, and the elderly. There can be no better way to follow and serve Christ, or to celebrate the commitment and death of St. Bartholomew and of all those others who have paid the ultimate cost of commitment to Christ by laying down their lives to bear witness to Him.
13) Forest fire and Jesus’ fire: Stretching south for hundreds of miles from Glacier National Park lies a majestic mixture of valleys, rushing streams, and gargantuan mountains called the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Backpackers have hiked there for decades looking for elk, grizzlies and golden eagles. Fortunately, the grizzlies stay up in the high country, but a golden eagle may be spotted, and the elusive wolverine may be tracked. The Bob Marshall Wilderness hosts some 90,000 packers and hikers each year, most of them in the months of July and August. They must come in either on foot or on horseback. No motorized vehicles are allowed. The forests on those rugged mountain slopes are thick with Lodgepole Pine, a tough, hardy tree with cones so thick that only extreme heat can burst forth the seeds. That’s where fire comes in. For thousands — oh, millions — of years, lightning has cracked the big sky out there down to the forests below. (Often the lightning will hit the Douglas Firs, less rugged than the Lodgepole Pines, and a forest fire will begin.) For years, of course, the United States Forest Service fought furiously to put out these fires. More recently, they have adopted a policy of managed fires. They have learned these fires have a purpose. Without them, the seeds of the Lodgepole Pines are never released. Without them much of the underbrush and plant life there does not regenerate. The earth needs a fire cast on it, or it will die. Jesus, speaking to Peter, that blustery, Lodgepole Pine kind of a man, said, “I have a fire to cast over the earth, and how I am constrained until it be kindled!” What did Jesus mean? He knew that Peter, like all of his disciples, was a wilderness that needed fire, or he would die. Peter needed the fire of God’s Word to keep his heart from freezing over and to keep the passion of his soul from cooling down. Like the Lodgepole Pine, we all need the fire of God’s Word in our lives, or we will grow cold. We will be ice capped. Our job will cease. Our friendships will cease. Our marriages will cease. Our very lives will cease, because human nature is so prone to the freeze, so susceptible to an ice cap on the heart. God knows this. That’s why He sends His lightning to strike into our lives lest we stop and regenerate no more.
14) “This is champagne! You cannot drink it.” Jesus is the one to whom the highest forms of commitment are to be made – regardless of the cost. And he expects us to make that commitment – and pay that personal cost at all times – if we dare to call ourselves his disciples. An incident in the life of Pablo Casals illuminates the nature of the total commitment that Christ demands of his followers. U Thant once held a reception for the famous musician when he was ninety-four years of age. Robert Muller, in his Most of All, They Taught Me Happiness (New York: Dutton, 1981, p. 164), describes how he was talking with Casals in a room on the thirty-eighth floor of the United Nations Secretariat building when a waitress came by with filled glasses. In the bright light, Casals asked, “What is it?” She answered with a smile, “Lemonade.” Before he could taste it, his wife intercepted the glass and tasted it: “This is champagne! You cannot drink it.” Thereupon Casals told Muller the following story: “When I was young, I once went to see my doctor and told him I was feeling a kind of laziness in my fingers. After a thorough examination, he asked me: ‘Do you drink?’ I answered negatively but added that like all Spaniards I had a glass of wine at luncheon and dinner. He then said: ‘Well, if you want to become a great, renowned artist and avoid that laziness in your fingers, you must never touch a drop of wine or alcohol.’ I obeyed him faithfully all my life.” Jesus, you see, never calls us to ministry and mission under false pretenses. When the disciples wanted places of honor next to him, he asked, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?” and “Are you able to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” Mark reports that He answered their enthusiastic, “We can!” with, “You will be baptized …” – die for the faith – and with the exception of John, they were all martyred for the Gospel’s sake. To follow Christ is a costly venture. It may mean expulsion from the family circle, ostracism by friends, or death – even in this age.
15) Challenge to feel-good Christians: Seminary professor Stanley Hauerwas opens one of his classes by reading a letter from a parent to a government official. The parent complains that the family was paying for the very best education for their son. Then the young man got involved with a weird religious sect. The parent pleads with the government to do something about this group that was ruining his son’s life. Dr. Hauerwas ends by explaining that the parent is not complaining about the Moonies, the Hare Krishnas, or some other group. The professor had assembled snippets from different letters written to the Roman government in the third century about a weird religious group called the Church of Jesus Christ. [Pulpit Resources, Volume 23, No. 3, (July-September 1995), p. 34.] How that differs from the claims the Church makes on people’s lives today! Instead of high demands and radical changes, we think Christianity is to make us feel good about ourselves.
16) Fiddler on the Roof: An example of the opposition that that Faith brings about in a family occurs in the play Fiddler on the Roof. The story takes place in Russia in 1905 and the plot centers around a man named Tevye, the father of a poor Jewish family. He has five daughters but no son. His eldest daughter marries a tailor who was not chosen for her by the traditional matchmaker. After a struggle with his conscience Teyve accepts the marriage. His next daughter marries a college student who has broken with many Jewish traditions. After another struggle with his conscience, Teyve accepts this marriage too. Finally, his third daughter, Chava, marries a non-Jew, a young Russian soldier. When Golde, Teyve’s wife breaks the news to him, Teyve, says, “Chava is dead to us! We must forget her.” Alone, Teyve, sings a beautiful song called “Chavalah”. In it he pours out his heart to God. He can’t understand why Chava did what she did. At that moment Chava appears and pleads with Teyve to accept her and her husband. Teyve looks up to heaven and says: “How can I accept them? Can I deny everything I believe in? On the other hand, can I deny my own child? (But if I deny everything I believe in,) if I try to bend that far, I will break. No Chava!” -When Jesus invited people to follow him, he realized what he was asking. For them it meant doing what Chava had to do. It meant leaving father and mother and family. (Mark Link in Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
17) Fire and division: – The very mention of this word, ”fire,” stirs fear in the human heart. Indeed, so horrific is the potential of fire to destroy life and reduce to ashes even the most solid and sturdy of structures that it is a crime to shout this word irresponsibly in a public place! Every year, forest fires, fed by powerful desert winds, burn a wide swath of destruction across miles and miles of land. Every year, through carelessness and maliciousness, lives are lost, homes are leveled, and many lose their means of livelihood to fire. So dreaded is the mere specter of fire that it has, since ancient times, been associated with the retribution to be suffered by the evil and unrepentant after death. Given the ordinary human regard for and experience of fire, it seems strange (if not shocking!) that Jesus would claim that he had come to light a fire on earth and, that he wished for the blaze to be ignited (Gospel). Strange, as well, is Jesus’declaration that he had come among us not for peace but for division. Divisiveness, like a canker, erodes the social, political, emotional and psychological bonds that bind us, one to another. Divisiveness is spawned by antagonism, distrust and hostility and it often erupts into war. Divisiveness eats away at the viable network of human society, leaving lonely, disconnected isolates in its wake. Why then would Jesus choose to characterize his purpose and mission in terms of fire and division? (Patricia D Sanchez).
18) A pope on fire: Photo of Pope Francis boarding the plane with a black bag that had gone round the world. One Journalist asked him (1) why he carried his bag? and (2) what was in it. Here is the translation of his response: Pope Francis: “There was no key to the bomb inside! Well, I carried the bag because I have always done so: when I travel, I always carry the bag myself. And inside, what is there? There is a razor, there is the breviary, there is the agenda, there is a book to read – I brought one of St. Therese of Lisieux to whom I am devoted. I always travel with my bag: it’s normal. But we must be normal … I don’t know … it’s a bit ‘strange’ what you are telling me, that that picture has been going around the world. But we have to get used to be normal. The normality of life. I do not know, Andrea, if I answered your question…” Pope misses step & falls: https://youtu.be/tGLmSm_3tpo
19) Comforting the afflicted in a Brazilian Favela: Shortly after his election to the papacy, Pope Francis called for a “Church that is poor and for the poor.” During his momentous visit to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day 2013 in Brazil, Pope Francis visited the community of Varginha in the favela of Manguinhos. The slum-like neighborhood was once blighted with violence, drug crime, and gang fighting. This community offers a vivid example of the crushing poverty, uneven development, and profound class divisions that plague Brazil, even as it attempts to turn itself around. Pope Francis spoke to a huge crowd of favela residents who gathered in a football field of the violent slum. Portions of Pope Francis’ address to them give flesh and blood to today’s Gospel: “The Brazilian people, particularly the humblest among you, can offer the world a valuable lesson in solidarity, a word that is too often forgotten or silenced, because it is uncomfortable. I would like to make an appeal to those in possession of greater resources, to public authorities, and to all people of good will who are working for social justice: never tire of working for a more just world, marked by greater solidarity! No one can remain insensitive to the inequalities that persist in the world! Everybody, according to his or her particular opportunities and responsibilities, should be able to make a personal contribution to putting an end to so many social injustices. The culture of selfishness and individualism that often prevails in our society is not what builds up and leads to a more habitable world: it is the culture of solidarity that does so, seeing others not as rivals or statistics, but brothers and sisters…..”Pope Francis, like Jesus, demands a decision either for or against his message. The Bishop of Rome does not seek harmony and a middle way in every situation of extreme poverty, injustice, and violence. He is not afraid to enter into the midst of great conflicts of our time and he is willing to make tough decisions for the sake of authentic reconciliation, true justice, and a lasting peace among peoples. Let us learn from the example of Jesus of Nazareth and Francis of Buenos Aires. (Salt & Light Media).
20) A Weird New Religious Cult: A sociology professor every year begins his course on “The Family” by reading to his class a letter, from a parent, written to a government official. In the letter the parent complains that his son, once obedient and well-motivated, has become involved with some weird new religious cult. The father complains that the cult has taken over the boy’s life, has forced him to forsake all of his old friends, and has turned him against his family. After reading the letter, the professor asks the class to speculate what the father is talking about. Almost without exception, the class immediately assumes that the subject of the letter is a child mixed up with the “Moonies,” or some other controversial group. After the class puts out all of the possible conclusions they can think of, the professor surprises them by revealing that the letter, was written by a third century father in Rome, the governor of his province, complaining about this weird religious group called “The Christians.” (William H. Beljean, Jr., An Interesting Letter).
21) Trouble-Makers: Thank God for those free thinkers throughout Christendom who have brought fire upon the earth, the early Church and the Catholic Church which has prevailed for almost 2000 years holding the banner of Christ: Martin Luther called the Church back to a Gospel which emphasized grace rather than works. John Wyclif and William Tyndale, against the wishes of church leadership produced the Bible in the language of the people. William Wilberforce, against the will of many within the Church, fought the evil ravages of the institution of slavery. Hudson Taylor dared to adopt the customs and culture of the people to whom he was a missionary. He converted people to Jesus, not to Western culture. He changed the focus of foreign missions. Men like John and Charles Wesley, Charles Finney, and Spurgeon, called upon their churches to reform. They woke the world with their fiery preaching. These men were troublemakers. Thinkers. Applecart shakers. Men who muddied the water just like Jesus. Heroes of the Faith, we now call them, because they were not afraid of division. They knew Jesus did not come to bring peace but a sword. In other words: Truth. God’s truth is like that. It is a double-edged sword. What sounds like peace, the peace that Christ gives, really isn’t peace as the world would have it. It is peace as God would have it. And what kind of peace is it that God wants? He wants the peace that exist between you and Him when the weight of your sins no longer is a snare and you can run with endurance the race set before you. Brett Blair
22) “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth? No, I tell you , but rather division.” A Hindu came to England for his education. He was already married. At Oxford he became interested in the Christian religion, was converted and baptized. He was a young prince, and his first duty on his return to his native land was to tell his father of his new Faith. His parents’ rage and grief were great. He was turned out of the house into a cowshed, and there left, hungry and sad. His mother brought him a dish of the favorite curry he had often longed for amid the strange meals of foreign lands, but before he might eat, she had a condition – “Say, I am not a Christian.” He refused and the plate was taken away. Hungrier and thirstier he grew, and at length, hearing a scratching outside, he found a low-caste man, a sweeper (whom in the olden days, to touch was defilement) offering him water. Now, in spite of his ingrained repugnance, he was thankful to receive it. The next morning, he heard sounds of mourning – it had been given out that he was dead, drowned in the courtyard well – therefore his girl wife was widowed. From the cow-shed he could see her being led across the courtyard in her bright clothes and jewels, then she was thrown down, and they were torn from her, and the rest of the cruel treatment that a Hindu widow receives was dealt out to her; while the boy husband watched, powerless to help. That night, with the help of the friendly sweeper, he escaped to a mission station nearby; later the poor little ‘widow’ was also discovered, and was brought to Christianity, and the husband and wife were reunited in Christian marriage. This is what Jesus says in today’s Gospel Reading from St. Luke – “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth? No, I tell you , but rather division. … a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, … a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” Christ comes to us as a challenge. Everyone who follows Christ and keeps his eyes focused on Jesus and the truth of his message in all its integrity, everyone who lives it to the full, will find the world opposes him. Christ himself suffered, as did all the prophets, and we must follow in his footsteps. (Fr. Lakra).
23) A family divided: The Cardinal of Paris, Jean-Marie Lustiger, (this homily was preached before he died in 2007) has a most interesting story to tell. He was born a Jew in 1926 to a Polish family living in Paris and running a store. His first name was Aaron. His family considered any Jew who converted to Catholicism an abomination. Although there was a lot of anti-Semitism, he was well aware that many Christians were not anti-Semites. His best friend in school was a Christian. When war between France and Germany was threatening during the Second World War his parents decided for his safety to send him to a Catholic family in Orléans south of Paris. The Catholic family hosting him did not try to convert him, but their example inspired him as did also the churches in Orléans which he visited merely out of curiosity at first. When he read a Catholic Bible, he was very impressed by how the Old Testament continued into the New Testament and the links between the suffering Messiah and suffering Israel. On Holy Thursday he visited the Cathedral in Orléans but did not know what was being celebrated there. He returned the next day, Good Friday. The Cathedral was empty, and he experienced that emptiness also. There and then he decided that he wanted to be baptized. Just before the German invasion of France in 1940 he told his parents he wanted to be baptized a Catholic. Cardinal Lustiger says “it was an unbearably painful scene when he told his parents. He explained that he was not abandoning being a Jew but discovering its real meaning. His parents did not understand, and he suffered greatly from their pain. He took the step only because he felt it was absolutely necessary for his soul. Finally his parents, after having brought him to a rabbi to whom he explained why he thought Christ was the Messiah, consented not only for Aaron but also for his sister, who wanted to follow her brother…” (Bread From Heaven
edited by Ronda Chervin, published by Remnant of Israel © 1994 page 54.) During the persecution of the Jews in France his father left Paris to look for a place elsewhere for the family. Unfortunately, his mother was denounced as Jewish by a neighbour and sent to Auschwitz where she was killed. The Lustiger family is an example of a family being divided because of Jesus. This is precisely what Jesus meant in the Gospel today when he said he came not to bring peace but division (Luke 12:51). (Fr. Tommy Lane). L/19
edited by Ronda Chervin, published by Remnant of Israel © 1994 page 54.) During the persecution of the Jews in France his father left Paris to look for a place elsewhere for the family. Unfortunately, his mother was denounced as Jewish by a neighbour and sent to Auschwitz where she was killed. The Lustiger family is an example of a family being divided because of Jesus. This is precisely what Jesus meant in the Gospel today when he said he came not to bring peace but division (Luke 12:51). (Fr. Tommy Lane). L/19