Preaching the Good News, in season and out of season

Homily for 20^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2016

Jeremiah 38:4-6,8-10; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53

Introduction

Prophet of doom, party-pooper, killjoy, wet blanket.  These are some of the names we give to people who spoil other people's fun, by what they say or what they do.  You have the Human Resource person who gives the pink slip, the doctor who announces a diagnosis of cancer the day before your fiftieth birthday, and the priest preaching a challenging message about marriage or immigration.

Scripture and Theology

Actually, the original "prophet of doom" was Jeremiah, whose words we have just read in the first reading.  The Prophet Jeremiah was asked by God to reveal the sins of the people, to tell them of the impending disaster that would befall the nation unless they surrendered.  Naturally, his pessimistic message was denounced by other prophets and by the leaders.  In fact in today's passage we heard him accused of demoralizing the soldiers by suggesting that the nation would fall.  And for his efforts, Jeremiah was tortured and persecuted.

But if the title, "prophet of doom" was imposed upon Jeremiah, Jesus takes it upon himself when he preaches fire and brimstone in the gospel we just read.

·        “I have come to set the earth on fire," he says, "and how I wish it were already blazing!”

·        And then again: “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

Like Jeremiah, Jesus is teaching an unwelcome message of fire and division, rather than the more welcome message of peace and joy.  Such teaching did not make him popular at his time, nor is such teaching any more popular today.  And the reason we denounce Jeremiah and Jesus as prophets of doom, is because we listen to them with the mindset of the world, rather than the mindset of God.

That is why at the Last Supper Jesus tells his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you” (Jn. 14:27).  The world often understands peace to mean merely an absence of war.  This kind of peace is a passive relationship, in which people don't fight, but they also don't love each other. It is the kind of peace borne out of indifference, the peace that sweeps problems under the carpet, the peace that compromises the truth.  If that is what we call peace, Jesus says, he will have nothing to do with it.

But the peace that Jesus brings is an active kind of peace; it involves commitment, faithfulness and love of Jesus and one another.  And since love is caring for the good of another, sometimes such love will point out what is wrong in the other person, and therefore bring about division.  For this truly lasting peace to come about, Jesus must set the earth on fire with his demanding message that also brings life.

• His message is the fire that must destroy the dense undergrowth of the forest, so as to allow new plants to germinate.
• His message is the fire of heat and light that makes plants grow.
• His message is the fire that cleanses and purifies gold and silver, burning away all that is impure and unworthy.
•  His message is the fire of God’s presence that Moses saw in the burning bush, the pillar of fire that accompanied the Israelites in the desert, and the tongues of fire at Pentecost which set the apostles on their mission.

Three years ago, at the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Pope Francis encouraged the youth to return home, go out onto the streets and make noise, bringing the gospel outside of the churches to the world.  Some misunderstood the Pope’s words and suggested that he was encouraging the youth to go out on the streets and start riots and demonstrations.  But the Pope, like Jesus was only encouraging the youth to get out there and be courageous missionaries, on fire for the gospel.  Like Jesus, the Pope was not encouraging war and destruction, but rather an ardent spirit and commitment to the message of salvation.

Christian Life

When you and I as Christians accept Jesus' message of fire, sometimes we experience division in our families that Jesus spoke about.  For example:

·        A father, who runs his business on Christian principles of justice and honesty, will be divided against his son who prefers quick gain.

·        And a son, who chooses to become a priest will be divided against his father who wants him to join the family business and make money.

·        A mother, who upholds Christian sexual morals in marriage will be divided against her daughter who sees sexuality as being only about pleasure.

·        And a daughter, who chooses a career of service to the poor and needy will  certainly be divided against her mother who does not care about them.

Perhaps a good example of this division is the family of St. Monica, her husband Patricius and their son Augustine.  As you probably already know, Monica was the only Christian in the family.  Both her pagan husband and son refused to believe and live according to the Christian faith.  Augustine, for example, not only practiced some strange religions, but he also lived a rather promiscuous life, even having a son out of wedlock.  This sad situation certainly caused Monica a lot of heartache and of course a lot of division in the family.

Perhaps we too have experienced divisions and estrangement in our families as a result of the faith.  Perhaps we have been tempted to give in, so as to escape the same fate that both Jeremiah and Jesus experienced as a result of teaching and practicing the truth.  Let me offer three responses to such situations: truth, charity and prayer.

1.    First, we must never compromise the truth, we must never give in for the sake of an easy peace, we must share the truth of Jesus with others.  People will not respect us, if we approach them with what they already know to be flawed; we shall be giving them only a phoney peace.  Our steadfastness, commitment and even suffering will win respect for us and victory for the Lord.

2.    But secondly, we must present the truth of Christ with charity.  The saying about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar applies here more than ever.  Many people are brought to the faith more by our good example and kindness, rather than by rude, discourteous or hateful things.  St. Monica certainly did convert Augustine by her example.

3.    Third, besides upholding the truth and upholding it in charity, we must also pray for the conversion of others and ourselves.  Let us turn to the Lord, who is the source of all conversion, that he may bring those who have gone astray back to him.  I know many parents who pray for their wayward children daily. That is what St. Monica did.

Conclusion

The gospel of Jesus Christ is also called the Good News; it is good news because Jesus told us about and brought for us the love of the Father.  But it is not a happy-go-lucky kind of good news, which allows us to do whatever we want.  It is challenging Good News, because the Father expects us to reciprocate his love, particularly in our belief, in our worship and in our daily lives.  May this Good News, laced with crosses and commitments, bring us close to God, not only in this life, but also in the life to come, where all division will come to an end.