Link to today's readingsNumbers 11 25-29
+ Psalm 19 + James 5:1-6 + Mark 9:38-48
Delivered at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Mustang, Oklahoma
What a remarkable week this
has been and what an incredible time to be Catholic! This weekend our Holy Father,
Pope Francis, wraps up his visit to the United States by participating in the World
Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.
He has spoken throughout this
week on the importance of the family. But in an even larger
context, Pope Francis has challenged us to reflect upon what it means to be a member
of the human family.
He has done so by preaching
the Gospel with joy, in a way which many people
have not heard the Gospel
message before. In a very clear and engaging
manner, the Pope wraps his flesh around the Mercy of God; he embodies this
attribute of God, he extending the merciful touch of the Lord Jesus to those who are broken,
forgotten, and considered disposable by the world. Where others only focus on
statistics about poverty or mass migration, Pope Francis always sees the
human faces behind the numbers, each one with their only
particular hopes and dreams, joys and sorrows.
Reporters try to label Pope
Francis, to put him into a certain political category,
but his loving service to Christ
suffering in the broken ones transcends all labels and
categories. What he preaches, he
does. What he says flows into
action, whether by breaking bread with the homeless of our nation’s capital, or
visiting those who are forgotten because they are locked up behind iron bars,
or driving about town in a little Fiat instead of a grand limousine. Our Pope preaches the Gospel
not only with his encouraging and challenging words, but also by humbly pouring
out his life in service to all humanity, especially the forgotten ones
who live outside the mainstream.
One of the striking images from
his visit took place when he welcomed little 5-year old Sofie Cruz to his Pope-mobile
while on the parade route through D.C.
Sofie had broken through the
security barrier, and was making her way toward the Pope, and the security
detail thought to prevent her, but like Jesus, the Pope made clear that no one should hinder a
child from coming to him.
In that one image, a thousand
powerful words were spoken, and something beyond words
happened---the Vicar of Christ showing us what it means
to welcome and receive the
little ones, those without power or prestige,
those who have no standing in
our land.
Francis is a Pope who
includes the excluded; who teaches us, like Christ,
that the way to greatness is
to serve the least ones; who is more at home in a
humble abode of a poor family than in the Vatican Palace, and who would rather rub
elbows with the forgotten of this world than with the famous.
One of the more formal titles
for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church is
“Pontifex Maximus,” or the
great bridge-builder. We have seen in this short
window of time how this Pope has built bridges, bringing people together of
all faiths, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, and way of life. From the chamber of the joint
session of Congress to the great hall of the United Nations, this Pope not only
brought people who are very different from one another together, but also challenged them to
end divisions and find new ways to strengthen their ties.
In his recent encyclical,
“Laudato Si” and by his strong words this week, Pope Francis reminds us that
we need to care not only for one another but also for our common home,
the Earth, which is God’s good gift to us.
The very inclusive nature of
Jesus, as seen in Pope Francis, confronts attitudes of
division and privilege For there can be no coming of
the Kingdom of God while we insist on being separate, different, or special,
expecting privilege or power or positions of influence over others. God our Creator has made us
to be “for” each other, not “over” or “against.” To be “for life for all”, as
Thomas Groome would say.
So the challenge becomes
cutting out of our lives those attitudes and behaviors
which pit us against one
another. The rub of the Gospel comes
in removing those things from our lives which divide us and work
against being for others and for life.
Jesus talks about
self-mutilation not in a literal sense, but speaks in hyperbole
to wake us up to those attitudes
and behaviors which have to be removed from our lives if we want to enjoy the reign
of God. Those things that we consider
to be as important as a hand or foot.
We as Catholics have to cut
out the attitude that we have all the answers,
and enter into dialogue, along
with our Holy Father, with all the children of this world, to discover the way forward
together. We are to cut off our absolute
allegiance to a political party and its platform, and cut out demonizing those who
are not members of our particular party. There is something more
important than being a Republican or a Democrat, and that is being an American
who works for liberty and justice for all. We have to cut out the
attitude that our country is always right and that we have the right to do
whatever we want to advance our agenda, and accept the truth that we are citizens of the
world, and that we as a nation must work together with other nations to further
peace and prosperity for all people in corner of our common home. We are more than one nation
under God—we are one human family under God.
Christ’s teaching is not
easy, for it is a radical call to change the way we think
in order to change the way we
act. It is a call for a change of
heart in order to love as He loves. We have to cut off the feet
that lead us away from others
and instead walk together and
work together “for all for life.” We cut off the hands that are
grabbing everything we can get, and instead give all we have
for the betterment of others and this planet. We cut out eyes which look
only inward in self-absorption and instead look outward toward the needs of
others and see the face of Christ, especially in those who are hurting.
We must move beyond the
comfort of our own groups, move beyond thinking in terms of insiders and outsiders,
and see that we are all in this great adventure of life together. Jesus would have us his
disciples always “thinking outside the box”:
always ready and willing to embrace new ways and new partners in the
work of the Reign of God. The Spirit of the living God
blows where it will and it blows upon everyone.
We are called to strive for a
higher goal than only what’s best for me, or for my group, or for my party, or
for my nation---for the goal for which we strive is the Kingdom of God. Our Pope and the social
teachings of our Church challenge us to go beyond the borders we place on our
lives, and realize that just as Jesus is for all, so we shall be. So we serve and help and lift
up other people, not because they are Catholic, or because they profess to
believe in Christ or because they have an ID card, but we serve and help and
lift up others because we are Catholic.
The theme for the gathering
of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia is,
“Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive!” Love was Jesus’ mission, and
it is our mission as well. We are most fully alive when
we reach out over the gaps
that separate us from one
another to grasp another’s hand in friendship. We are most fully alive when
compassion breaks down the barriers which separate us.
When we love one another, we
are fully alive; when we are truly concerned
about the well-being of others and give ourselves on their behalf, we are
filled with peace and joy.
So we might have the strength
to build bridges between peoples, we are reminded at every Mass that God in
Christ has bridged the distance between heaven and earth. So we might have the strength
to live for others, the Crucified and Risen Christ gives us a share in divine
life at this Eucharist. He gives himself to us so we
can give ourselves for all for life.
Listen carefully to the words
of Jesus and vow to make them your own:
“This is my body, given up for you. This is my blood poured out for you.”
Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi
