Homily Notes - Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2018
16th Sunday of Ordinary time. “Walls Will Not Help Us Love our Neighbor”
The Great Wall of China is 13,170 miles long. The wall took 2,000 years to build. The great wall has been called the biggest military project ever. Also, it was called the longest cemetery in the world. A million people died constructing it. The wall was built because the Chinese feared being conquered by the Mongol hoards. The Mongols did ultimately conquer China, so the wall was an expensive failure. Walls have seldom kept people completely safe. Walls can be physical, but they also can be conceptual. Humans often divide themselves. Trying to bring people together who have walled themselves off from others is harder than breaking down the Great Wall of China. What is sad is to see people who have a lot in common start to divide up.
St. Paul sees that in the Christian Community at Ephesus. Christian tradition says that Paul was writing from behind prison walls to the community of Ephesus. Someone once said that whenever a religion begins, it is not long before people begin deciding who’s in and whose out. Unfortunately, it seems like that’s how religious people expend a lot of energy?
We see that looking back at the Christian community at Ephesus. The division was between the Jewish Christians and the Greek Christians. The Jewish Christians thought they were better people because they were part of God’s chosen race. Also, they followed Jewish religious customs. The Hellenist Christians (Greek Christians) were considered inferior. All this led to a lot of hard feelings in the Christian church at Ephesus.
What does St. Paul say to the factions in that church? He says that Jesus came to unite us. Christ is our peace, he says, he has made us one. Paul, says, we need to remember our Christianity 101 class. If we really say we believe the Sermon on the Mount we realize that our identity first and foremost comes from our Baptism. If the first label we stick on ourselves before any other is that we are Christian, then the baptized person next to us is our brother or sister in Christ. We have found a new identity. We are not Jewish first. We are not Greek first. We are not Roman first. We are not Samaritan first. We are followers of Christ first.
Christianity calls for forgiveness. Christianity calls for turning the other cheek. Our Christian vocation calls on us to love. We pray in the Our Father every time we recite it, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” St. Paul said Jesus is the one who has the power to break down any walls. But is this true? Agnostics and atheists like to say that religion divides. Religions cause conflicts. But Jesus can help us end conflict.
A story is told about Archbishop Elias Chacour of Haifa. He is one of the most respected religious leaders in northern Israel. Early in his career Father Elias was sent to a small village in Palestine. The parish church was falling down. Little cooperation took place between the villagers even though most were Christians. When Fr. Elias arrived, there was no one to greet him. As in many small towns, everyone was related. You would think that this would have led to unity, but when the people gathered in church his first Sunday he could detect four distinct groups. The groups each sat in their quadrat of the church. Grim faces were all around. Obviously, they were there because of religious obligation, not because they wanted to be.
Fr. Elias found out that there was an old quarrel between four brothers. Even when their mother died the brothers were not drawn back together. Fr. Elias preached forgiveness. He tried to bring healing, but nothing worked. Finally, one Palm Sunday he took desperate measures. After the readings were proclaimed about Jesus sad death on the cross there was once again stony silence in the church. Fr. Elias walked to the doors of the church. He padlocked the doors, so no one could get out. He came back to the pulpit and said, “Sitting in this building does not make you a Christian. You hate one another. Your religion is a lie. If you cannot love your brother who you see. How can you love the God you do not see?” I can’t bring you together only Jesus can. I will be quiet and allow him to move your hearts to forgive. We will stay in this church. If you want to kill each other go ahead. I will bury you for free.
The silence lasted for what seemed like hours. No one knew afterwards how long it was. Finally, one of the brothers stood. He said, “I am sorry. I am the worst of all. I have hated my own brothers. I have wanted to kill them. I need forgiveness. Will you forgive me Father?” The two embraced. Fr. Elias said, “Now forgive your brothers.” The four brothers came together and tearfully forgave each other. The church then broke into bedlam as people began embracing and forgiving each other all over the congregation. Fr. Elias shouted. “Now friends we celebrate Easter. We need not wait to next week. You were dead. You are alive.” The doors of the church were opened. People went from house to house the asking forgiveness.
No one needs to tell us that our country is divided today politically, ethnically, economically. We are said to be tribal. Our loyalty to our tribe is the all-important thing. Our church is divided as well. What if all Christians in our society tried to practice the basics of Christianity? What if we trusted in the power of Christ to heal? Maybe the walls we have created would come tumbling down.