Homily the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time “Come and See”
Homily the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time “Come and See”
The conversation that we have between Jesus and some of his first apostles in John’s Gospel tells us a lot about how we learn the most important lessons of life. In the Gospels we read many of the words of Jesus. We hear about his movements through Galilee. We also read stories of his miraculous deeds. But did those things attract people to him? Or would they intimidate people. What human science tells us is great projects that succeed are all about relationships.
When the disciples of John the Baptist visit Jesus the conversation they have with him seems kind of strange. He asks them the question, “What are you looking for?”
We would think those first inquirers would have said, Teacher, where are the RCIA classes. When do they meet? How long will it take to be a full-fledged disciple in your movement? But they do not ask that question. No, they ask, “Teacher, where are you staying?”
The disciples where not looking for an hour-long teaching session once a week. We would probably picture classes in Christianity the way we were taught, lecture class where we were to memorize certain bromides. Once we have the information down, then we are ready for to celebrate sacraments.
Whenever people fall away from the faith, the usual response from the church is that they just don’t know the right information. If they were taught the fullness of the faith, they would believe. You would think Christianity is an intellectual exercise but it’s not. Christianity is much more.
“When the disciples asked, “Where are you staying?” they wanted to move in with Jesus. Instinctively, they knew that they could only believe if they developed a deep relationship with the Lord. When they lived with Jesus, they experienced his charity from moment to moment. We can only surmise that Jesus was not intimidating but he was a great human being and friend.
When we live with people our attitudes change. If I could get personal for a moment I can share from my own experiences. When I was a deacon, I lived in a rectory that hosted Vietnamese boat people. I did not know anything about people from the Far East. We had no Orientals in the town that I grew up in. Vietnamese were people who I had seen on television in grainy photographs from the war the United States fought in Vietnam. We had a few Vietnamese in seminary, but I did not know them all that well. When I lived in the same house with Vietnamese, ate their food, talked to them about the horrifying experiences they had escaping Vietnam after the war, when they shared about their families, when I saw how hard they worked, only then did I understand them.
Another experience I had was in campus ministry. At the Universities I worked we had people from all over the world. One day an Indian priest came to live with us. For me Indians were immigrants who came to this country for a better life. Some bought up businesses, others were in the medical field. I just felt like maybe they were taking jobs away from “real” Americans. The Indian priest that moved into our home and I became fast friends. He is one of the brightest, most hard-working men I have ever known. He is also one of the sincerest ministers. He loves the priesthood. He is now pastor of a huge parish in Chicago.
A third experience has happened the last twenty years. I have lived with a series of African priests from Ghana, Togo, Tanzania, Uganda and Liberia. Again, I had little contact with Africans before living with them. I assumed that all Africans are the same. But they all have different cultures and attitudes. The experiences they share of living in countries during revolutions, health crisis, and other trauma makes me think. All of them love their home countries. All of them try to send aid back home as much as they can. The dream they have is to transform their countries into more democratic places. For that reason, what is going on in the U.S. right now is huge disappointment.
Living with all the people I have, from so many different places, has taught me more about Christian living then any academic book. I thank God for these eye-opening experiences. I have been shaken out of my rigid way of seeing things. Where can we go to find Jesus in our life? We hear often that we need to get know Jesus personally. The best way is to live with flesh and blood people who don’t look like we do, for they can show us who Jesus truly is.
Reflection Questions:
- Have I ever lived with a person from a different culture? Would I be open to that?
- Would I be comfortable having Jesus move in with me? Why or why not?
Dear Parishioners,
January is Respect Life Month. We will have a candle burning by the Blessed Virgin Mary statue with a rose next to it throughout the month. This candle reminds us that we must be ever vigilant in protecting all human life. The rose reminds us of how fragile life is. All human life is to be protected from the fetus in the womb to the elderly person drawing their last breath. We can’t say that some lives are sacred, and others are not.
One thing that we notice is that there will be no pro-life march in Washington this year. Part of the reason is the COVID 19 pandemic. The mishandling of the response to COVID 19 and the loss of almost 400,000 lives should give us pause. The other reason there is not a march is because of the riot that took place at the capital on January 6th. The rioters have created a situation where it is unsafe for people to come to Washington and peacefully protest. It may be a long time before we can go and lobby our congressional representatives in person for any reason.
Peaceful protest is a democratic right. Violent protest is an aberration. Jesus is our model of what it means to be prolife. Jesus was non-violent. He asked us all to be peacemakers. He ended his life as convicted criminal who was put to death. Prolife issues touch many parts of life not just one. Let’s pray that more people will come to recognize this.
May Our Lady and All the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark