HOMILY WEEK 14 04 – Year I
Go and Announce the Good News of Reconciliation:
Optional Memorial of St. Henry
(Gen 44:18 – 45:5; Ps 105; Mt 10:7-15)
******************************************
David Wells, a well-known educator from England, spoke at the Los Angeles Religions Education Congress recently. His talk focused on the two words that begin today’s gospel: “Go” and “Announce.”
His message echoed that of today’s readings: Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ that includes healing and reconciliation.
“Go.” With this word, Jesus calls for action on the part of his disciples. Wells stressed the importance of movement in our lives, noting that water without any movement goes stale. The prime example of that is of course the Dead Sea, which has no outlet. Our faith in Jesus without action to accompany it is like stale water from the Dead Sea.
The action that Jesus calls for is to “Announce” the good news. However, there are two different meanings of this word “announce.” On the one hand, it could mean simply to proclaim something. On the other hand, it could mean to make manifest or witness – a much deeper meaning with much greater implications.
Wells offered two examples of just announcing or proclaiming. One was the usual lonely but loud protesters at the LA Congress who are basically a nuisance to the participants, denouncing all Catholics. The other was a lone protester Wells observed while attending an event in Rome in St Peter’s Square, shouting out loud to no one in particular that Francis was not his pope.
Then Wells snuck in an example of witnessing. Two high school girls next to the protester were puzzled by his “proclamation” and then offered him part of their lunch, as they knew he must be hungry. Their witnessing of their humble faith moved Wells deeply, almost to tears, compared to the loud but lonely proclamation by the protester.
Wells shared other examples of witnessing that influenced his life. A priest whom he admired actually gave his shoes to a street boy whom they met one day. Wells never forgot his example that helped him become a better Christian. He also spoke of feeling resentful when a hungry boy in a developing world grabbed the half-sandwich he offered to him without a thank you, until he saw the boy share the half sandwich with a group of his friends. Then Wells felt small and abashed, for he had just seen charity that was truly witnessed, not just announced.
The Good News Jesus wants his disciples and us to announce by witnessing to it, is that a crucified Messiah has risen from the dead to a new kind of life, a new way of relating to God, others, ourselves and all of creation. This is the core of the “good news.” The Reign of God is near; through faith in Jesus and by living that faith, new life, forgiveness, healing and freedom is possible. We are to share our faith and give away our love and compassion without counting the cost, seeking only to be bearers of peace and reconciliation.
The first reading offers us an Old Testament example prefiguring that of Jesus the savior in the person of Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. Through the grace of God, he became the powerful head of affairs for the Pharaoh of Egypt and in a position to save the lives of people. Joseph forgives his brothers and begins a process of reconciliation with them. He even encourages them to forgive themselves for what they had done to him, pointing out how God turns everything to the good for those who love him.
Joseph also witnesses to us today how to navigate the tumultuous time we are in because of the uproar over unmarked graves near former Indian Residential Schools in our country. That issue has erupted like a wild-fire, both in the church and in our society. Certainly, it was a flawed colonial system put in place by the government of the time seeking to assimilate the Indigenous peoples into Canadian Society. The real cancer in that system was uprooting the family by separating children from their parents, as well as their language, spirituality and culture.
That the Oblates and the church were complicit in this system is a deplorable fact, as is the reality of many unmarked graves that were actually a reality in many communities, even to this day. In times of trauma, it is easy to find a scapegoat, and that may be happening to the church and the Oblates, as the media and many others focus only on the worse aspects of the issue and ignore and suppress other possible more positive historical narratives.
It is here that Joseph can guide us. He saw God’s hand at work in every incident in his life, and always cooperated with God. He maintained his faith even after his brothers threw him down a well and sold him into slavery. He held on to his integrity when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him. He humbly pointed to God when interpreting dreams for Pharoah. In the end, he recognized that God made him chancellor of Egypt to help his family and to prevent his people from starving to death.
Like Joseph, we can let go of being defensive, trying to change a negative narrative that has a life of its own, and instead, simply trust that God is at work in all this darkness that threatens to overwhelm us at this time. We need to accept this dark reality and our responsibility in it, while quietly speaking our truth, and trusting that in the end, God will bring about a humbler, more purified and stronger church, more able to journey compassionately with the Indigenous people through this painful moment of their history as well.
As Brian McClaren writes, “More than ever before in our history, we need a new kind of personal and social fuel. Not fear, but love. Not prejudice, but openness. Not supremacy, but service. Not inferiority, but equality. Not resentment, but reconciliation. Not isolation, but connection. Not the spirit of hostility, but the Holy Spirit of hospitality.”
St. Henry II
St. Henry II, whom the church honours today, was renowned as a just and clement ruler, a man of prayer and a humble ascetic. He was canonized in 1146 by Pope Eugene III and is a patron of Benedictine oblates, childless couples, dukes, kings and the physically challenged.
The Eucharist is a foretaste of that heavenly banquet that involves forgiveness, healing and transformation. May our celebration empower us to go and announce that the reign of God is near by our lives and our ability to see God at work in the present circumstances, as did Joseph.
