St. Mary of the Angels OT 23 A 9/10/17
Ezek. 33.7-9; Rom. 13.8-10; Mt. 18.15-20
My Brothers and Sisters,
Labor Day has come and gone. Summer has ended; Autumn is here.
But the storms of summer have not ended, neither the nature-made storms of Harvey and Irma, nor the human-made storm of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Harvey and Irma flattened buildings and flooded the streets. But, Charlottesville continues to plague and poison the nation with prejudice.
Recently, President Trump, in announcing his military policy for Afghanistan, said, “Loyalty to our nation demands loyalty to one another. … When we open our hearts to patriotism,” he said, “there is no room for prejudice, for bigotry, and no tolerance for hate.” The words sound noble – and are certainly a significant change from his words after Charlottesville – but they are also disturbing. Fr. Matt Malone, SJ, editor-in-chief of America magazine, correctly points out that Mr. Trump attributes to patriotism what actually is the work of grace, the work of God. Conversion of heart is the work of grace, not patriotism.
There was a time when we recognized that we live in a fallen world and that our redemption comes from God as a merciful gift. We turned to God for our salvation in Jesus Christ—and our churches were full!. Now, we seem to have exchanged our “fallen world” for an “imperfect society” seeking to become perfect through human effort and new ideologies. We have exchanged “sin” for “mistakes”. We have exchanged, over the past century, Jesus as the source of our salvation for various “isms” as the source of salvation, whether capitalism, socialism, Neo-Nazism, fascism, communism, etc. – each promising to bring about the perfect society – and all necessarily failing. Patriotism is a noble virtue, but when it takes the place of God and grace, it is simply another “ism” offering false hope, and how many have been killed in its name?
Patriotism cannot save us from prejudice; only God’s grace can. Only God can bridge heaven and earth. Only God can bring forgiveness and reconciliation to wounded people. And God chooses to work through the faith community. In the Gospel today, Jesus keeps putting emphasis on the community. When he speaks of just one other or two, he is speaking of community. He says: Take one or two with you to win over your offending brother or sister. He says, “If two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.” And he says, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Jesus is present and acting, in a special way, in the faith community.
Remember that at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus, at his birth, was called Emmanuel, i.e. “God with us.” Remember that Matthew ends his Gospel with Jesus saying, “I am with you always until the end of the world.” He will be Emmanuel -- forever. Now, he is affirming the same when he says, ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” He is Emmanuel, God with us, here and now.
Fr. Jose Pagola writes: “The first task of the Church is to learn to “gather in the name of Jesus. To nourish his memory, live in his presence, renew its faith in God, open new paths for his Spirit.” And he concludes saying, “If we are not doing that, all our efforts may be defeated by our mediocrity.” Those are strong words, but the task is daunting and the times are dangerous. In a Church that is divided, in a nation that is divided, in a world that is divided, we cannot bring about healing and wholeness except by gathering together in the name of Jesus, praying in his name, conversing in his name, and especially acting in his name –together.
This is why we are here this morning and every Sunday morning. We need Jesus and we need one another. We need to receive the body of Christ in the Eucharist, so that we can be the body of Christ, both for one another and for all others. We offer forgiveness because we have been forgiven. We offer reconciliation because we have been reconciled. We bring healing because we have been healed. It is all the work of God through Christ Jesus who is here among us now gathered in his name.
Kenneth J. Hughes, S.J.
Brighton, Mass. 9/10/17
Ezek. 33.7-9; Rom. 13.8-10; Mt. 18.15-20
My Brothers and Sisters,
Labor Day has come and gone. Summer has ended; Autumn is here.
But the storms of summer have not ended, neither the nature-made storms of Harvey and Irma, nor the human-made storm of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Harvey and Irma flattened buildings and flooded the streets. But, Charlottesville continues to plague and poison the nation with prejudice.
Recently, President Trump, in announcing his military policy for Afghanistan, said, “Loyalty to our nation demands loyalty to one another. … When we open our hearts to patriotism,” he said, “there is no room for prejudice, for bigotry, and no tolerance for hate.” The words sound noble – and are certainly a significant change from his words after Charlottesville – but they are also disturbing. Fr. Matt Malone, SJ, editor-in-chief of America magazine, correctly points out that Mr. Trump attributes to patriotism what actually is the work of grace, the work of God. Conversion of heart is the work of grace, not patriotism.
There was a time when we recognized that we live in a fallen world and that our redemption comes from God as a merciful gift. We turned to God for our salvation in Jesus Christ—and our churches were full!. Now, we seem to have exchanged our “fallen world” for an “imperfect society” seeking to become perfect through human effort and new ideologies. We have exchanged “sin” for “mistakes”. We have exchanged, over the past century, Jesus as the source of our salvation for various “isms” as the source of salvation, whether capitalism, socialism, Neo-Nazism, fascism, communism, etc. – each promising to bring about the perfect society – and all necessarily failing. Patriotism is a noble virtue, but when it takes the place of God and grace, it is simply another “ism” offering false hope, and how many have been killed in its name?
Patriotism cannot save us from prejudice; only God’s grace can. Only God can bridge heaven and earth. Only God can bring forgiveness and reconciliation to wounded people. And God chooses to work through the faith community. In the Gospel today, Jesus keeps putting emphasis on the community. When he speaks of just one other or two, he is speaking of community. He says: Take one or two with you to win over your offending brother or sister. He says, “If two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.” And he says, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Jesus is present and acting, in a special way, in the faith community.
Remember that at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus, at his birth, was called Emmanuel, i.e. “God with us.” Remember that Matthew ends his Gospel with Jesus saying, “I am with you always until the end of the world.” He will be Emmanuel -- forever. Now, he is affirming the same when he says, ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” He is Emmanuel, God with us, here and now.
Fr. Jose Pagola writes: “The first task of the Church is to learn to “gather in the name of Jesus. To nourish his memory, live in his presence, renew its faith in God, open new paths for his Spirit.” And he concludes saying, “If we are not doing that, all our efforts may be defeated by our mediocrity.” Those are strong words, but the task is daunting and the times are dangerous. In a Church that is divided, in a nation that is divided, in a world that is divided, we cannot bring about healing and wholeness except by gathering together in the name of Jesus, praying in his name, conversing in his name, and especially acting in his name –together.
This is why we are here this morning and every Sunday morning. We need Jesus and we need one another. We need to receive the body of Christ in the Eucharist, so that we can be the body of Christ, both for one another and for all others. We offer forgiveness because we have been forgiven. We offer reconciliation because we have been reconciled. We bring healing because we have been healed. It is all the work of God through Christ Jesus who is here among us now gathered in his name.
Kenneth J. Hughes, S.J.
Brighton, Mass. 9/10/17
