Jesus Christ-Faith-Christian life

HOMILY WEEK 07 03

Living and Loving in Jesus’ Name

(Sir 4:11-19; Ps 119; Mk 9:38-40)

**************************************

Years ago, I received the gift of a small book entitled “What’s In A Name?” It described the origin of the names of all the communities in my home province of Saskatchewan. It was enlightening, interesting and somehow even affirming to learn that my small home community of Highgate was officially listed as Highgate Siding, named by a railway engineer who hailed from Highgate, England where Karl Marx is buried. It was named “Siding” because the train powered by a steam engine (which I faintly remember) did not come to a stop – it only slowed down so a hook could grab the mail bag as the train crawled through our hamlet of two grain elevators, Frank’s General Store and Post Office, one room White Cap School and about forty residents.

The readings today encourage us to be wise and rely on the name of Jesus to live our lives to the full as his followers, proud to be Christians.

The late Serge LeClerc, a motivational speaker, recounts how he was born of a young mother deemed unfit to raise a child, so he was taken away from her and placed within the foster care system. That early rejection, abandonment and subsequent lack of love led him into joining a gang and living a life of crime, drug trafficking and violence. Throughout his talk, he stressed how he was looking for identity, and found he could manipulate successful business people because they were also craving identity. He underwent a conversion experience while incarcerated, gave his life to Christ and spent the rest of his life living out his new identity as a Christian, trying to help other youth not end up on the path he took.

In today’s gospel, Jesus reassures his disciples who are upset because someone else, not part of their group, was working miracles in Jesus’ name. The extravagant, magnanimous love of the Father present in Jesus was not contained by our human categories. There is power in the name of Jesus that not only we as his disciples, but others as well, can claim.

The name of Jesus usually includes the title “Christ” or anointed one – the Messiah. Jesus, in Caesarea Philippi, was very interested in his identity, in whom people thought he was, and especially, whom his disciples thought he was. Peter stepped up to the plate with his beautiful proclamation of faith – “You are the Christ, Son of the living God.” He was matched later by Martha, before Jesus raised her brother Lazarus back to life, who proclaimed to Jesus she had come to believe “You are the Christ, the Son of God who was to come into the world.”

Over the years, the identity of Jesus for me has evolved and grown into almost a litany with which I begin my daily holy hour: “Lord Jesus Christ, totally receptive to the Father’s love; humble, obedient, pure and faithful in response to that love; Son of God, Son of Man, Son of David; Savior, Redeemer, Word made flesh; sinless one, free from addiction, the Way, the Truth, the Life; the resurrection, suffering servant, crucified Messiah, sacrificial victim, risen Lord, victorious king.” That is who Jesus is for me, and I would encourage each one of us to formulate our own litany.

As the Messiah, Jesus had a two-fold mission – to redeem and to sanctify, to forgive and to heal. We can come to him for forgiveness of all our sins and failings, and even more important, for healing of our sinfulness (that which makes us sin) – our painful emotions, negative attitudes and even our addictions.

Part of that extravagant, magnanimous love of God present in Christ is that when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room after his resurrection, he breathed the Holy Spirit on them, and sent them out just as the Father had sent him, with the same mission, to forgive and to heal. He empowered them to forgive, telling them (and us as his Body, the Church) that what we forgive here on earth is forgiven in heaven, but that what we refuse to forgive here on earth is actually held back in heaven. In other words, we have been given the authority and power to foster, or hold back, in Jesus’ name, the growth of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. That is mind-boggling when we ponder the implications – how we have been so totally entrusted to collaborate with the Holy Spirit in building up the Reign of God here and now.

To be with Jesus, as Paul would say, to be “in Christ” is to become like Christ, to be his hands and mouth and ears and feet for the world. We are to do his will and live out his commandments to love God, love others, love ourselves, love others as he has loved us, and above all, to love our enemies by forgiving them.

Velma is an example of someone who did just that. She called me one day to share how she had just been viciously, verbally abused by her ex-partner over the phone. Knowing the healing journey she had accomplished, and her strong faith in Jesus, I encouraged her to deal with this hurtful event as she had learned – to try to forgive by communicating with love according to what Jesus teaches in Matthew 18:15. She readily obliged and wrote him a letter sharing her painful emotions with him with love (no attempt at revenge, getting even or punishment) and went to his home community to give him the letter with her daughter. He read the letter, stood there with his mouth open, muttered “Okay” and went back to his meeting. Her daughter exclaimed with surprise, “Mom!” and they drove back to town. She called me to excitedly report what happened, to which I replied she was living the gospel of Mark in which Jesus lists the signs that will accompany his disciples who minister in his name: casting out demons, picking up deadly snakes and drinking poison without harm, speaking a new language and healing the sick.

When Velma decided to forgive her ex-partner instead of fighting, fleeing or freezing, she cast out the demons of anger, bitterness and revenge. When she wrote the letter, she picked up a deadly snake and it did not hurt her. When she delivered the letter, she drank poison and it did not harm her. And when she communicated her hurt with love, she was speaking a new language her daughter noticed, because she had never seen her parents relate in that peaceful way before – it had always been a fight. And years later, when he was dying of cancer, Velma was there to care for him, as he had alienated himself from his own family. She was healing the relationship.

The first reading extols the virtue of wisdom. I think Velma is a very wise person, putting her faith in Jesus Christ and his teachings, and living them out, ministering in his name.

The Eucharist is a very wise way of acting in Jesus’ name – listening to his word, receiving his forgiveness and healing, and being transformed into his Body, the Church.

May our celebration empower us to be more and more Christlike and live out our identity as Christians, as followers of Jesus, by loving others as he has loved us.