“Offended, Obstinate or Open?”

Homily for July 5, 2015 (14th Sunday in Ordinary Time)—St. Leonard Parish, Berwyn
Ezekiel 2:2-5; Psalm 123 (vv.); 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Mark 6:1-6

“Offended, Obstinate or Open?”

Even before the Holy See released Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’:  On Care for Our Common Home, critics outside and inside the Church were quick to attack or dismiss it.  Had they carefully read the document, however, they would have noticed that, at its core, it’s not a scientific treatise, an economic policy statement, or a political manifesto.  While the Pope doesn’t shy away from those dimensions of our lives, his central concerns are spiritual and relational.  What bothers or even frightens some people—particularly those who may benefit the most from the status quo—is that those concerns do have implications for how we deal with issues like climate change, the development of biotechnology, capitalism and globalization, and giving the poorest and most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters a greater voice in the decisions that most affect them.  Laudato Si’ is a call to conversion.  In that sense it is a prophetic as well as a magisterial document…and a more dangerous one, too.

In various ways—official and unofficial, subtle and startling, eloquent and crude, symbolic and direct—the Holy Spirit continues to send us prophets.  Are we open to receive them?  Two of today’s scripture readings provide us with portraits of those who resist the prophets in their midst, and the pictures aren’t pretty.  When God called Ezekiel to be a prophet to the people of Israel and remind them of their obligations to the LORD and the poor, widows and orphans, the prophet was warned that he would be coming to a “rebellious house” that was “hard of face and obstinate of heart.”

When Jesus returned to his hometown synagogue to teach after proclaiming the reign of God, casting out demons, and healing people elsewhere, many gathered there weren’t ready to listen.  Instead, they questioned his credibility.  After all, didn’t they know him and his people?  The NAB translation that we use for our Lectionary says that “they took offense at him.”  However, the original Greek verb is eskandalizonto.  In other words, they were quite literally scandalized by him!  Because they couldn’t get past the messenger, they weren’t able to receive the message. Jesus, Mark notes, “was amazed at their lack of faith” and couldn’t do much there.

As sinners as well as disciples who are part of a pilgrim Church, we receive a daily invitation to conform our minds, hearts, thoughts, words and actions to those of Jesus.  The Penitential Rite that we celebrate at the beginning of Mass and the Sacrament of Penance are two ways that we do this ritually; and in his vivid and moving reflection in 2 Corinthians 12, St. Paul describes another way:  our thorns in the flesh.  These are those persistent sins and difficulties we face that remind us of our human weakness and need for the grace of God.  It may be a poor habit—that bag of chips that we mindlessly munch on while watching late night TV.  It may be an addiction to alcohol, prescription drugs, gambling or online porn.  It may be indulging in office gossip or nursing a now-ancient grudge.  It may involve a relationship with someone we love.

When we are willing to own our weaknesses, St. Paul says, we are paradoxically empowered.  Similarly, when we are willing to hear the voices of those who call us to conversion and to embrace the values and virtues of Christ instead of the sometimes illusory and ephemeral promises of technology or an unfettered market, we grow closer to each other and to the God who created us.  As we continue to reflect on Laudato Si’, may be open and not obstinate. +