A Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C), 2007
["The sending of the Twelve" by Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1282-1339. I tried to find a decent painting of the sending of the seventy-two, but found nothing. Of course the sending of the seventy-two flows from the authority that Jesus gave the Twelve]
In what do you boast? Recently the New York Times had an article that boasted in the “fact” that science had disproved the existence of the soul, and therefore there was no need to believe in God. According to the New York Times, which was reporting on an article that had appeared in the journal Nature, all behavior can be explained by brain physiology, which is basically the same for a human and a dog. Of course this just demonstrates their erroneous, dualistic thinking, that things are either physical or spiritual so if something can be shown to be a physical process then they conclude that the spiritual does not exist.
As Christians we see the error of this type of thinking, for we do not see things in such a narrow “either/or” way. Rather we recognize that the Truth is “both/and” — that God, who is Spirit, loved us so much sent His only-Begotten Son to save us. Jesus is the perfect model of this “both/and” thinking, for He is the Word made Flesh. In the Incarnation, God who is Spirit took on our human, physical flesh.
Boasting in merely human achievements – while minimizing, forgetting or denying God’s grace – is nothing new. In today’s first reading we hear from the final chapter of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. The Book of Isaiah covers a period of nearly 250 years of Israel’s history, and the constant theme is a call to the people of Israel to remember the Lord. It seems that the kings of Israel had started to rely too much on their own wisdom and knowledge, and had forgotten that it is the Lord who is the source of nourishment and life. Isaiah pointed out how their pride was a great sin, that their sins had “become red as blood,” but that if they returned to the Lord their sins would be forgiven and they would become the just and righteous People of God they were called to be. In today’s passage from the last chapter of Isaiah we hear God speaking passionately to His children in beautiful imagery, “as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.”
This image of God comforting His children as a mother comforts her child was the favorite of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, better known to us as the Little Flower. In 1997, Pope John Paul II declared St. Theresa of the Child Jesus to be a Doctor of the Church. Why? Because he wanted to recognize not only her extraordinary holiness, but also to emphasize the special relevance of her teaching of humility and boundless confidence in God for our times. Yes, we have made incredible scientific and technological progress in our own times, but we should never think that we can supply our own happiness and stability in life. Despite what the New York Times says, scientific progress has not eliminated our need for God. Only God is all-powerful, and only His friendship and grace can fully satisfy the human heart. The Church has emphasized, in a special way for our culture, the need to foster a childlike simplicity and dependence on God’s goodness. This is the spirituality of the Little Flower – her “little way” — and this is the message of the Prophet Isaiah.
The Church pairs this passage from Isaiah, which we heard today, with today’s Gospel reading that tells of the sending of the seventy-two disciples, because both speak about the kingdom of God. When Isaiah says, “in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort,” he is not speaking about the city of Jerusalem on this earth. Rather, it is a metaphor for the heavenly kingdom. Our destiny is heaven, which is our true home. That Truth is the message that Jesus tells the seventy-two to proclaim, “The kingdom of God is at hand for you.” Notice that sends Jesus them out in pairs, not alone, “to every town and place HE intended to visit.” Like St. John the Baptist, they are to “prepare the way” for the coming of the Lord, for Jesus Himself will come to all who accept the message of the kingdom of God.
Do you recall that I asked you, in what do you boast? St. Paul in today’s second reading gives us his answer, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” That’s right, we are all called to boast in the Lord Jesus! Jesus has not limited the preaching of the Gospel to just the ministerial priesthood that He established (namely the Apostles). No, the seventy-two disciples that He sent out on mission in today’s Gospel, represent all His followers. During the Baptism Rite the priest or deacon touches the ears and mouth of the child and says, “The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.” ALL the baptized share in the responsibility of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. Pope John Paul II said, “For the disciple of Christ the duty to evangelize is an obligation of love” (Ecclesia in America, #1). Let me emphasize this point, to evangelize – that is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ – is an OBLIGATION of love. In other words, it is NOT loving to not witness our Faith in Jesus to others. While this witnessing must certainly be done in words and deeds, we must keep in mind that it is BOTH – words and deeds. Just doing acts of social justice without making it clear by our words that it is our love of Jesus Christ that impels us, is not sufficient. Further in his letter to the Church in America, Pope John Paul II says, “In accepting this mission, everyone should keep in mind that the vital core of the new evangelization must be a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the person of Jesus Christ, that is, the preaching of his name, his teaching, his life, his promises and the kingdom which he has gained for us by his Paschal Mystery” (Ecclesia in America, #66).
We call this “giving our personal witness.” We give our personal witness to the goodness of God by declaring to those around us what God has done for us. This is how we introduce people to the Risen Christ. Remember what we learned from the sending of the seventy-two; first we are not alone, we have the support of the Christian community, the mystical Body of Christ, and secondly, we are just making the introductions. Jesus will come to visit those who hear our witness with an accepting heart. He will offer His friendship to them, and enter into a personal relationship with them, sharing with them His mercy and grace.
So I encourage you to boast – boast in the Lord!
July 17th, 2007 at 11:03 am
“Let me emphasize this point, to evangelize – that is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ – is an OBLIGATION of love. In other words, it is NOT loving to not witness our Faith in Jesus to others.” — Father Garrett
Thanks, Father, for another great homily. I am very fortunate — blessed, really — to be able to read your words each week. This week’s homily was no exception.
That said, I want to ask a question of you, Father, that speaks to the topic of evangelization that you touched upon in this particular blog/homily. Before asking that question, however, I feel almost obligated to preface what I am about to ask by saying that I consider myself to be a conservative, orthodox (small “o”), Roman Catholic. A very proud Catholic, I am 100% loyal to The Magisterium of the Catholic Church, the “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church” that Jesus Christ himself founded. I honestly pray that should I ever err in speaking of the Church or what the Church teaches, that I will be disabused quickly and with considerable authority.
I mention this for a reason: It is with the utmost respect and admiration for The Holy Father, Cardinal Levada and yourself that I proffer the question that I am about to ask. Please do not think that I am trying to be disrespectful or unloyal in anyway whatsoever by asking the question(s) that I do. I ask the question because I am sincerely interested in your answer and NOT because I am trying to be critical of the Church by asking the question in the first place.
That said, and as I am sure that you, Father, are all too aware, William Cardinal Levada, the Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and with the approval of the Supreme Pontiff, recently published the following the following document on the Vatican web site:
RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS
OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH
(And on a personal note, I wholeheartedly agree with everything contained in the document referenced above.)
For better or worse, various media outlets, particularly here in the United States, have looked to that document and written articles such as the following:
Pope: Other Christians not true churches
That being the case, my question is how do we as individual Catholics, eager to evangelize, go about doing just that, particularly when we are speaking to Protestants, all too many of whom are deeply offended by the notion that The Holy Catholic Church does not believe them to be members of “a church” in the first place? As a Catholic that enjoys discussing his love for the Catholic Church with, for example, his co-workers, I’d be less than honest if I said that evangelizing has been made slightly more difficult ever since the media began writing about Cardinal Levada’s statement. In many ways, I feel like I am fighting the Reformation a second time when discussing our faith with non-Catholic Christians.
As always, I am grateful for any advice that you can offer to me and to others. Please forgive the rambling nature of this blog post.
July 26th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Jim, sorry it took me so long to respond. Hopefully this link, http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200707 26/OPINION05/707260330/1006/OPINION
will show up in this comment. It is written by an Orthodox man, who defends the CDF’s and Pope Benedict’s position. While he respectfully disagrees with the specific theological points, he praises the Pope for not “sugar-coating” just to play “nice-nice” what the Catholic Church teaches.
The short of it is; the document was written for Catholic theologians. Like any group of professions, they have “jargon,” specialized language which other theologians understand, but those not trained in theology might find odd. I remember the first time I read in a patient’s medical file “SOB”. At first I thought it very inappropriate for the doctor to be calling the patient a “son-of-a-b…” Then I nurse enlightened me, SOB = shortness of breath.
What does VCII describe as the “source and summit” of the Christian life, of the Church? The Eucharist! Thus, to be a “Church” (in Catholic theology, which of course we believe is right, if we thought that Lutheran theology was right we should become Lutherans) you must have the Eucharist, and to have the Eucharist you must have validly ordained priest, which requires Apostolic Succession. The Orthodox Church has that, thus they are a Church, though we say they are “defective” because they lack the key element that ensures unity, namely the Petrine Office (the Pope). Protestant denominations have broken Apostolic Succession, thus do not have a valid Eucharist, thus are not “Churches”.
We just have to be courageously Catholic. The document does acknowledge that Christ sometimes works through these other denominations, and that we must respect their freedom of religion, even the freedom to be wrong about God. It is in the Catholic Church that the fullness of the faith, and the instruments of Grace and Salvation — given to us by Christ Jesus — is found.
July 31st, 2007 at 10:27 am
Thanks so much, Father, for both the link and your response. God bless.