24 Sunday B

We live in an age where many, many people seem indifferent, even hostile to religion, rejecting God and his Word.  Many people think that Christianity is something people made up and that if someone wants to practice it, they should keep it to themselves.  The values of Jesus like the sanctity of life from womb to tomb, compassion for the poor, traditional marriage, non-violence, care for the environment are personal matters and should never be brought into the public forum.  Religion private and personal and people should keep quiet about what they believe and how they see right and wrong.  People have no right to be public about those things.

I remember a time when it was not that way.  While people may have disagreed about what exactly God’s Will was, still there was a God, there was right and wrong for everyone and God would hold us accountable for our behavior.  It’s not that way anymore.

In the Gospel today, Jesus reprimands Peter.  Jesus had just predicted his mistreatment by the Jewish authorities and the sentence of death he would soon receive from them.  At the same time, he told them he would rise from the dead.  But Peter had other ideas about what should happen to the Messiah.  As a Jew, Peter believed the Messiah would be the invincible King of the whole world, beginning with Jerusalem.  He would be protected by God and rule with complete success.  But Peter was thinking like a human being.  God thinks differently.  So Jesus scolded him and said, “If you want to follow me, you have to change your thinking and you have to be prepared to suffer what I will suffer.”  No one like to hear that.

But we are having an experience today of how difficult it is to follow Jesus.  We believe in Jesus and the truth he spoke.  We know that we cannot keep silent about God’s way for our human family and the world.  But we see more than ever that when we speak, we get in trouble immediately.  People don’t want to hear that there is a God who has spoken the truth to us in Jesus and that God will judge each of us one day about how we have lived our lives.   People don’t just close their ears to the message.  They try to block Christians from the public profession of their life and even try to eliminate them.

When Jesus said that we need to renounce ourselves, he is saying that we must put the truth first and accept the negative consequences that will come to us.  If we want to protect ourselves from criticism and persecution, we cannot be his disciples.  As he gave himself out of love even to death, so we must be ready to do the same for others.  Of course, we are afraid of losing our comfortable life.  But if we do not act on our faith publicly, then, in the end, we shall lose everything, including eternal life.  This is not easy for us.  It was not easy for Jesus and for Christians down through the centuries.  It will not be easy for believers in the future.  The situation will only change when Jesus returns again.  Until then, we are called to take up our cross and follow him.

When we come together for Mass, we are coming from our daily lives, where we experience not only the joy of being in Christ, but also the conflicts and tension that being a believer bring with it.  At the Sunday Eucharist, we gather to remember again the death and resurrection of Jesus and be fed with the Bread of Heaven.  The Eucharist is a moment of encouragement for us, encouragement from God as we listen to his Word, encouragement from the brothers and sisters who are suffering the same things that we suffer for being Christians.  All of us are invited at Mass check our thinking, to make sure that we are thinking like God.  We are invited to make our commitment again, to leave the church and walk back out into a world that is not kind to us and would just as soon see us disappear.  But we know that what we bring to the world is good and right and that our message will bring peace and joy to all.  Professing and living our faith will give our children, our friends, the whole world the chance for a more abundant life.  We cannot and will not remain silent because, if we do, everybody loses.

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Is 35:4-7a; Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10; Jas 2:1-5; Mk 7:31-37

The word of God this Sunday focuses us on healing. It reveals a whole theology of healing.

In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah, we see that God heals comprehensively. He heals persons in difficulty: people who are frightened, the deaf, the lame, the mute. We see that God also heals creation in the references to water flowing into burning sands and onto thirsty ground. In our second reading from the book of James, we see that God heals community, correcting discriminating behavior between rich and poor.

How does God accomplish the healing? In our Gospel reading today, Christ gives us the "how to." First of all, the work of God's healing requires that the healer not make a spectacle of him or herself. Jesus knows who does the healing through him. For that reason he "looked up to heaven" as he healed. And he orders the crowd "not to tell anyone" to keep his ministry free from inappropriate interpretation of his purpose and role.

Secondly, Jesus establishes relationship to do the healing. He welcomes and companions. He took the deaf mute "off by himself away from the crowd." Jesus is not mechanical or clinical in his approach.

Finally, Jesus keeps it really personal. What could be more intimate than putting his finger in the deaf-mute's ear or touching his tongue. Jesus also spits, perhaps to show his contempt for the evil that has caused the deaf mute's suffering, perhaps to underline the mid-eastern belief that human saliva has medicinal effect. And Jesus groans, revealing deep personal feelings. All very personal.

According to the prophet Isaiah today, to heal is God's way of taking revenge on the devil, the spirit of evil. The Word says God comes with vindication, with divine recompense. Healing  is God's way of getting evil with dark forces that cause human suffering.

And so is revealed our own mission of healing as Christians in the world. With God's power on us, we, too, take vengeance on evil. We are not victims who are impotent in the face of suffering. In the midst of suffering humanity, every one of us can calm the fright of others. We can touch ears to hear and tongues to speak in many ways. We can empower people who are under the burden of whatever handicap. Each of us is in a unique position to heal the persons around us, the creation which is our home and the communities in which we live.

We can heal in the spirit of Christ, not making spectacles of ourselves, establishing relationships and keeping it personal. Through healing, we can exercise God's power of vengeance over evil. We can change the world for the better.

Healing professions always require residency. Our Sunday Eucharist can be seen as an experience of residency, associating us with the Healer par excellence, helping us to learn the art of healing and empowering us to do the service. The Word supervises us and we ourselves are healed.  At Eucharist, we mentor one another. We learn the dynamics of "Ephaphtha!"to open up others to a more abundant life.