Homily Thirty-Fourth Wednesday of Ordinary Time (Lk. 21:12-19) “Go Get in Trouble”
Homily Thirty-Fourth Wednesday of Ordinary Time (Lk. 21:12-19) “Go Get in Trouble”
When representative John Lewis died, he was remembered for many of the things he said. One thing he said was, “Go out and get into good trouble.” What did he mean? What he was referring to, was the fight for peace and justice. If we want to change things, then we are going to get into to trouble. Many leaders have said similar things.
We hear Jesus say something like what John Lewis said in the Gospel today. He said that if you live the Gospel, if you speak about the truths of the Gospel, you will more than likely get into trouble.
What are some of the things that we might say that could get us into trouble? One thing Jesus often spoke about was not being judgmental. What did he say in Matthew 7:5? He said, “Why look at the speck in your brother’s eye when you have a plank in your own.”
Why would anyone take offence at what Jesus said? Yet we have many religious people right now who want to condemn others. In fact, some have even declared certain actions a mortal sin that are not covered by the Ten Commandments or even spoken of by Jesus. If we don’t agree with such people, often, we can be insulted and denigrated. There are a host of things that Jesus said about non-violence, sharing resources, being good stewards and loving our enemy that others can get very offended by.
Jesus says that we should expect to get into arguments and be ridiculed if we seek to follow his footsteps. Many saints sought to follow religious vocations for example and their families were very angry. Consider St. Francis of Assisi or Toman Aquinas or Rose of Lima.
Jesus tells us that we should take heart if we suffer persecution because of living the Gospel. In the end he says, all things will be rectified. We must take the long view.
- Have I ever gotten ridiculed for quoting Jesus? Did I back away or did I hold my ground?
- Can I invest in the future? If I do the right thing do I worry about how things work out in the short term?
Dear Parishioners,
Advent begins this weekend. This means that the missalettes will be changing. Many of you have been using your missalettes at home or bringing them with you to church. If you do not attend Mass, you can pick up a new missalette by the front door of our office at the Lee Parish Center. They will be in tub there. We also will be distributing little blue books for Advent reflection. There is a reading for each day of Advent.
I also would invite you to bring a can of food for the food pantry for our Thanksgiving Mass. You can deposit it at the door in the baskets that will be provided.
May Our Lady and All the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark