After our commemoration of the holy seasons of Lent and Easter, after our celebration of the solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity and the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ the last two weeks, this Sunday finds us back in Ordinary Time. In addition, this is my last weekend here at St Jude after having served here for five years. That certainly is hitting home to me.
In looking at our readings today, I thought about the Constitution of the Church in the Modern World issued by the Second Vatican Council titled Gaudier et Spes in Latin. That document famously states that “the Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel.” We as Christians are called to dialogue with our modern world in a language that can be easily understood, to respond to the questions that are asked about our life on earth and the eternal life that is to come. In his letter to the Galatians, St Paul states that for freedom, Christ has set us free. Yet, in freedom, as followers of Christ, we are not to choose to be enslaved to the things of this world or the ways of the flesh. Thus, we Christians can have an interesting discussion about freedom in the modern world, for when some in our world hear the word “freedom,” they might see this as an excuse for unlimited self-indulgence & self-absorbed pleasure. But, to be truly free, we are not try to escape from the reality of life, but rather, to face reality. To be free, we take responsibility for life and for our actions, not trying to find a scapegoat or to put blame for our personal struggles and difficulties on others. In freedom, it can be easy to cling to external securities, such as money or achievement or pleasure or material things. The true freedom St Paul wants us to embrace as Christ’s disciples leads us to follow the truth, to care and share with others, to strive toward inner peace and security. In the freedom God gives us, we are to live in the Spirit, to love and serve our neighbor, to live in the light of God’s love and commandments.
The heart of our Gospel today contains responses to the invitation that Jesus makes to each of us. In Jesus responding to the man who wants to bury his father and the man who wants to say goodbye to his family, Jesus isn’t saying that we shouldn’t love and respect members of our family. In this Gospel message, Jesus asks us to look at where we place our priorities. If we wish to be his disciple, we cannot make our own plans first, and then, only when we decide we are ready, we then go and follow him. The demands of God’s Kingdom, the kingdom of truth, compassion freedom and peace, must come first. Yet, so often, we want to put other things before God, before the call to discipleship. Jesus calls us in the here and now. We don’t wait to answer that call only when it is convenient. We are to respond fervently with joy, enthusiasm, and haste.
Last Wednesday, we began religious freedom week on the feast day of St John Fisher and St Thomas More, two Catholic men of integrity and faith who stood up to King Henry VIII in 16th century England; as a consequence, they both were put to death for not compromising the values of their faith. Last Thursday, we commemorated the nativity of St John the Baptist. John spoke God’s truth to King Herod in the midst of the mighty Roman Empire. John, too, was made a martyr for standing up for the faith. As a priest, I spend so much time preaching the values of the faith, talking about the lives of the saints who exemplify these values, and trying to promote a culture of life in our Church and in our society. It really stunned me to hear the Supreme Court ruling from the Mississippi case vs the Jackson Women’s Health Clinic, of the overturning of the Roe vs Wade abortion decision. Yet, this does not in any shape or form mean that we can sit back thinking that our work is done. We always need to proclaim the Gospel message, which contains the Gospel of life. In our very divided country, where there are so many wounds and so much anger, there is much work of healing and reconciliation to do. The theme of religious freedom week this year is life and dignity for all. What a wonderful theme that very simply says what religious freedom is about.
I want to leave you with a story of a saint, which you know I love. Junipero Serra, whose feast day we celebrate this upcoming Friday, was born in Majorca, Spain in 1713. Becoming a Franciscan priest, he spent more than 30 years as a prefessor teaching philosophy both in Spain and in Mexico. When he was 53 years old, he was appointed to establish mission up the coast of the present-day state of California. At this time, he was in very poor heath, which included a badly infected leg from a spider bite that never healed. Imagine traveling everywhere by foot with a bad leg! He ended up establishing 9 of the 21 California missions. Against the colonial Spanish military and government, Junipero Serra was a big advocate for the native people that lived at the California mission sites. Missionaries like Father who were so dedicated to spreading the Gospel message throughout the world should be a inspiration for all of us Catholics. Junipero Serra’s motto as a missionary was “siempre adelante” - always moving forward. He left his parents, family, and friends on the Spanish island of Majorca to become a missionary in the Americas, never to see them again in this life. He valiantly went forward, never turning back on the path that the Lord opened for him, not matter what the struggle or challenge or hardship. Siempre adelante - let us always move forward with Jesus on our journey of faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment