Homily Twentieth Sunday of the Year.. Year C - Sunday, August 18, 2019
First Reading. Jeremiah 38:4-6,8-10. Jeremiah is punished for criticizing the wealthy for their corruption and their injustice to the poor.
Responsorial Psalm. Psalm 40:2-4,18. A prayer for God's help. "Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own".
Second Reading. Hebrews 12:1-4. Let us persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Gospel Reading. Luke 12:49-53. Jesus has come not only to bring peace but also division.
Image: Licensed by shutterstock - ID: 770558059
++++Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Twentieth Sunday of the Year.. Year C - Sunday, August 18, 2019 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/20c-faith-hope-and-love-ep-173/s-UmSQG (EPISODE: 173)
+++++
Prologue: We believe that the Lord is the King of Peace... the Lord of Love.... His Kingdom values are about compassion, service, self-forgetting love, mercy and inclusion. which is why the readings this weekend seem more than a little jarring...
Our Lord says, he has come to start a fire... and wishes it were blazing already... he warns of divisions in even the closest relations...
But of course, it is not Our Lord who desires divisions and strife... yet, he needs to warn his followers that the conflict in values will lead to terrible persecution and estrangements - (The price of peace would be watering down God's message... and telling people what they want to hear instead of the truth, and that is unacceptable). But the values Christ represents are life-giving and beautiful and well worth the cost... +++
++++
Poor Jeremiah, the prophet! It could not get any worse for him. The enemy is holding his people to siege. There is no way out. God tells his faithful prophet Jeremiah: "This is what you must tell the people// and also tell the King - Surrender! Leave the city, or you will surely perish !"
This is definitely NOT what the King and his people want to hear. They want to keep resisting. They want to win. But Jeremiah will not tell them what they want to hear. there are plenty of others who will tell them what they want to hear, if not to save their own skin and so as not to annoy, but in order to climb up the ladder of influence, or so they think.
Jeremiah, however, only speaks God's word and he does so at a great cost. So, what do they say about him for doing his job faithfully? "Let Jeremiah be put to death: he is unquestionably disheartening the remaining soldiers in the city, and all the people too, by talking like this. The fellow does not have the welfare of these people at heart so much as its ruin." // It makes one wonder how often people have been accused of disloyalty and lack of care for the welfare of others just because they see a major disaster resulting. The problem for poor Jeremiah is that he can do nothing else but speak the truth, irrespective of the response. And so, he gets thrown down a muddy well for his troubles, and sinks deep into the mud and becomes hopelessly stuck. he will die there unless someone helps him. As it is, someone does indeed feel sorry for him manages to drag him out of the muddy well.
There is a name in the Bible for people who tell others only what they want to hear: They are called "false prophets." False prophets get pretty short shrift from God.
Then, by contrast, we see the likes of Jeremiah, who steadfastly and devoutly speaks God's word, in season and out of season, irrespective of popularity or whether or not people want to hear it. he simply MUST speak the truth…//
But just as there are "false prophets," who tell people things they want to hear even when the truth is quite different, there are also "false critics." These are people who go around telling people unpleasant things and "telling things like it is" in a way that divides and hurts. These too are not necessarily real prophets just because they are getting rejected and causing divisions. That would be a grave mistake too.
There may be people walking around with a 'kick me' sign on them whose words and behaviour almost provokes or invites rejection or uproar. The test of whether a person is speaking prophetically is not that they are causing trouble and having to hire security guards, nor merely because they have ruffled others feathers. Such people may be self-defeating stirrers.
The true test of a prophetic person is the consistency of their words and behaviour with that of Christ and his Kingdom, and the whole picture, not just selectively chosen elements. Jeremiah spoke what God asked him to speak and not just his own hobby-horse or for his own adulation (or for his own rejection, for that matter). That is a major difference.
I also think to myself, if we are tempted to be challenging, we ought to start with ourselves, and challenge and unsettle the deep-seated pride and selfishness and enmeshment that we find in our own hearts, before starting on changing the world and getting others offside.
And also, no matter how "true' something is, no matter how much we might want to "fix up" a situation or a person, (which is probably an unhelpful way of approaching matters), if we do not act with love, or speak with love, it will (as Saint Paul says) "do me no good whatsoever." I doubt our words would have any effect if we spoke the truth without love.
True prophets are not self-proclaimed nor are they self-appointed. And really, I think we need to live the gospel more than go around pointing out errors. Putting the gospel values into action by our lives, which is one of the greatest acts of discipleship: proclaiming the Gospel by our actions.
It has always struck me that Jesus went around doing good and living the gospel and it was most often others who followed behind him saying "why did you do that?" or "stop doing that." Meanwhile, Our Lord had already moved on to the next project for the building up of the Kingdom and the next set of good work and actions. He indeed preached but even more, he acted; and mostly it was others who were doing the questioning and the finger-wagging.
A light example of this: Martha was rushing around busily getting the meal ready and getting steamed up that Mary was sitting at Our Lord's feet listening to him instead of helping her. Martha got flustered and asked the Lord to tell Mary to come and help her. He gently declined, saying Mary had chosen the better part. Martha's request could very well have been irritating and unpopular but she was not speaking or acting prophetically by speaking out, even though she felt strongly about it. Just because we feel strongly about something and speak up to the annoyance of others does not make us a prophet and nor does it make us right.
This theme continues in the gospel, which seems to be one of those really challenging and confounding scriptures. For the most part of the gospels, we see Jesus as the Good and gentle Shepherd. He usually tells the wonderful parable of the foolishly doting and forgiving father of the prodigal son, and yet now in this passage, there seems a real shock. Our Lord says the surprising words: "Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather a division." this seems rather surprising to say the least and out of character. Surely we are not mistaken when we understand Jesus as loving, forgiving, gentle, peace-loving, and fore-bearing??// In other situations, Jesus speaks of Peace, and "turning the other cheek" and putting down one's sword. So what is all this talk of "division" and "fire" and setting one person against another and families against each other?
This is not the first passage where Jesus warns his would-be disciples to be very clear about what it means to follow him. Jesus has warned his disciples…. Be aware of the cross… COUNT THE COST of what it means to follow him…… There is indeed a high personal cost to be paid for being a faithful servant of God. It is a very difficult role. Following Christ will lead to times of rejection, ridicule and opposition. Being a faithful follower of God's values will sadly lead to divisions, and even the real possibility of alienation between family members and social structures, and so much more.
However, Jesus is really just warning his followers to be aware of what they are getting into. Jesus is absolutely not encouraging and desiring conflict, opposition, and division, but, rather, he KNOWS that there are no "fence-sitters" in the Kingdom of God. You are either with him or against him. Jesus is declaring the sad reality that he and the Good news he is proclaiming, and the Kingdom of God that he is establishing will become like a "lightning rod" to all who hate what the Kingdom represents. Despite deeply desiring peace and love, he KNOWS that people will line up on one side or another. This division (based on conflicting values) will not fall along political, religious or even filial (family) lines, but will tragically mean that people of the same social standing or people who belong to the same household could quite likely find themselves opposing each other in their values and actions. Even the closest of family members might find themselves standing for different sides. Jesus wants us to know the cost……
As the great scripture commentator, William Barclay writes: "Jesus' coming would inevitably mean division; --- in point of fact it did!! That was one of the great reasons why the Romans hated Christianity--it tore families in two. Over and over again a person had to decide whether he loved better his kith and kin or Christ and his Gospel. The essence of Christianity is that loyalty to Christ has to take precedence over the dearest loyalties of this earth. One must be prepared to count all things as loss, but for the excellence of Jesus Christ."
You know the irony of all this? The divisions were over values we cherish so deeply. The divisions occurred because Jesus taught us to be gentle, to reach out to the outcast and offer the hand of forgiveness to the sinner and the outcast. The conflict and division occurred because Jesus was really LIVING the message of true peace… and the fullness of the new image of God's Kingdom, which included all people. This led to the most virulent opposition by those whose interests were not served by such an otherworldly world-view. Jesus turned on its head the unjust and "un-Kingdom-like" standards which kept some on the 'inner' and a lot of people hopelessly left on the 'outer,' with no way of inclusion. Those few who were the 'inside' wanted things to stay just the way they were. It was very cosy and profitable for them as things were. No wonder Jesus went to great lengths to prepare his disciples for trouble. He taught them to be as "wise as serpents but as gentle as lambs."
As Jesus reminds us in the Gospel, neither family ties nor fear of submitting to rejection, ridicule or persecution should stand in the way of salvation which comes from an uncompromising and costly proclamation of the good news, and of standing up for the truth as taught by Christ. **
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF LUKE. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.
**Joel Schorn: PrepareTheWord.com. PrepareTheWord.com, ©2012, TrueQuest Communications, LLC. 20th Sunday of the Year. - C. 18th August, 2013.
Image: Licensed by shutterstock - ID: 770558059
+++Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love, A time of Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul W. Kelly
Texts used in this programme are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
Prayers and chants are taken from the English Translation of the Roman Missal, edition three, © 2010, The International commission on English in the liturgy.
Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same. [{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation" ©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]
Prayers of the Faithful are adapted from Robert Borg's 1993 book " Together we pray". Published in Sydney Australia By E.J. Dwyer. (out of print).
{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -published 2011, Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski
Featuring the….Gloria, The Creed, The Kyrie, The Mass parts, Psalms: http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/ ]]] ] COPYRIGHT @ 2018 CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. www.ccwatershed.org/vatican/Ralph_Sherwin_Videos/
"Faith, Hope and Love" theme Hymn: Words, based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, set to original music © 1996 by Paul W. Kelly.
For more details please visit http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au/
Contact us at paulwkelly68@gmail.com
Production by Kelly Enterprises Resources.
May God bless and keep you.
Twentieth Sunday of the Year.. Year C
(Sunday, August 18, 2019)
(EPISODE: 173 )
The Lord be with you.
+++++++++++++{{May Our Lord's empathy abide in you.}}
Coming together as brothers and sisters, with confidence let us ask the Fathers forgiveness, for he is full of gentleness and compassion
Lord Jesus, you healed the sick:Lord, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you forgave sinners:Christ, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us and bring us strength: Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Memorial Acclamation
When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sundays Ordinary II
Euch Prayer One
Communion side. pwk: RH
++++
{I am very grateful for you joining us for this special time of prayer and reflection. }
Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
First Reading. Jeremiah 38:4-6,8-10. Jeremiah is punished for criticizing the wealthy for their corruption and their injustice to the poor.
Responsorial Psalm. Psalm 40:2-4,18. A prayer for God's help. "Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own".
Second Reading. Hebrews 12:1-4. Let us persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Gospel Reading. Luke 12:49-53. Jesus has come not only to bring peace but also division.
Image: Licensed by shutterstock - ID: 770558059
++++Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Twentieth Sunday of the Year.. Year C - Sunday, August 18, 2019 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/20c-faith-hope-and-love-ep-173/s-UmSQG (EPISODE: 173)
+++++
Prologue: We believe that the Lord is the King of Peace... the Lord of Love.... His Kingdom values are about compassion, service, self-forgetting love, mercy and inclusion. which is why the readings this weekend seem more than a little jarring...
Our Lord says, he has come to start a fire... and wishes it were blazing already... he warns of divisions in even the closest relations...
But of course, it is not Our Lord who desires divisions and strife... yet, he needs to warn his followers that the conflict in values will lead to terrible persecution and estrangements - (The price of peace would be watering down God's message... and telling people what they want to hear instead of the truth, and that is unacceptable). But the values Christ represents are life-giving and beautiful and well worth the cost... +++
++++
Poor Jeremiah, the prophet! It could not get any worse for him. The enemy is holding his people to siege. There is no way out. God tells his faithful prophet Jeremiah: "This is what you must tell the people// and also tell the King - Surrender! Leave the city, or you will surely perish !"
This is definitely NOT what the King and his people want to hear. They want to keep resisting. They want to win. But Jeremiah will not tell them what they want to hear. there are plenty of others who will tell them what they want to hear, if not to save their own skin and so as not to annoy, but in order to climb up the ladder of influence, or so they think.
Jeremiah, however, only speaks God's word and he does so at a great cost. So, what do they say about him for doing his job faithfully? "Let Jeremiah be put to death: he is unquestionably disheartening the remaining soldiers in the city, and all the people too, by talking like this. The fellow does not have the welfare of these people at heart so much as its ruin." // It makes one wonder how often people have been accused of disloyalty and lack of care for the welfare of others just because they see a major disaster resulting. The problem for poor Jeremiah is that he can do nothing else but speak the truth, irrespective of the response. And so, he gets thrown down a muddy well for his troubles, and sinks deep into the mud and becomes hopelessly stuck. he will die there unless someone helps him. As it is, someone does indeed feel sorry for him manages to drag him out of the muddy well.
There is a name in the Bible for people who tell others only what they want to hear: They are called "false prophets." False prophets get pretty short shrift from God.
Then, by contrast, we see the likes of Jeremiah, who steadfastly and devoutly speaks God's word, in season and out of season, irrespective of popularity or whether or not people want to hear it. he simply MUST speak the truth…//
But just as there are "false prophets," who tell people things they want to hear even when the truth is quite different, there are also "false critics." These are people who go around telling people unpleasant things and "telling things like it is" in a way that divides and hurts. These too are not necessarily real prophets just because they are getting rejected and causing divisions. That would be a grave mistake too.
There may be people walking around with a 'kick me' sign on them whose words and behaviour almost provokes or invites rejection or uproar. The test of whether a person is speaking prophetically is not that they are causing trouble and having to hire security guards, nor merely because they have ruffled others feathers. Such people may be self-defeating stirrers.
The true test of a prophetic person is the consistency of their words and behaviour with that of Christ and his Kingdom, and the whole picture, not just selectively chosen elements. Jeremiah spoke what God asked him to speak and not just his own hobby-horse or for his own adulation (or for his own rejection, for that matter). That is a major difference.
I also think to myself, if we are tempted to be challenging, we ought to start with ourselves, and challenge and unsettle the deep-seated pride and selfishness and enmeshment that we find in our own hearts, before starting on changing the world and getting others offside.
And also, no matter how "true' something is, no matter how much we might want to "fix up" a situation or a person, (which is probably an unhelpful way of approaching matters), if we do not act with love, or speak with love, it will (as Saint Paul says) "do me no good whatsoever." I doubt our words would have any effect if we spoke the truth without love.
True prophets are not self-proclaimed nor are they self-appointed. And really, I think we need to live the gospel more than go around pointing out errors. Putting the gospel values into action by our lives, which is one of the greatest acts of discipleship: proclaiming the Gospel by our actions.
It has always struck me that Jesus went around doing good and living the gospel and it was most often others who followed behind him saying "why did you do that?" or "stop doing that." Meanwhile, Our Lord had already moved on to the next project for the building up of the Kingdom and the next set of good work and actions. He indeed preached but even more, he acted; and mostly it was others who were doing the questioning and the finger-wagging.
A light example of this: Martha was rushing around busily getting the meal ready and getting steamed up that Mary was sitting at Our Lord's feet listening to him instead of helping her. Martha got flustered and asked the Lord to tell Mary to come and help her. He gently declined, saying Mary had chosen the better part. Martha's request could very well have been irritating and unpopular but she was not speaking or acting prophetically by speaking out, even though she felt strongly about it. Just because we feel strongly about something and speak up to the annoyance of others does not make us a prophet and nor does it make us right.
This theme continues in the gospel, which seems to be one of those really challenging and confounding scriptures. For the most part of the gospels, we see Jesus as the Good and gentle Shepherd. He usually tells the wonderful parable of the foolishly doting and forgiving father of the prodigal son, and yet now in this passage, there seems a real shock. Our Lord says the surprising words: "Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather a division." this seems rather surprising to say the least and out of character. Surely we are not mistaken when we understand Jesus as loving, forgiving, gentle, peace-loving, and fore-bearing??// In other situations, Jesus speaks of Peace, and "turning the other cheek" and putting down one's sword. So what is all this talk of "division" and "fire" and setting one person against another and families against each other?
This is not the first passage where Jesus warns his would-be disciples to be very clear about what it means to follow him. Jesus has warned his disciples…. Be aware of the cross… COUNT THE COST of what it means to follow him…… There is indeed a high personal cost to be paid for being a faithful servant of God. It is a very difficult role. Following Christ will lead to times of rejection, ridicule and opposition. Being a faithful follower of God's values will sadly lead to divisions, and even the real possibility of alienation between family members and social structures, and so much more.
However, Jesus is really just warning his followers to be aware of what they are getting into. Jesus is absolutely not encouraging and desiring conflict, opposition, and division, but, rather, he KNOWS that there are no "fence-sitters" in the Kingdom of God. You are either with him or against him. Jesus is declaring the sad reality that he and the Good news he is proclaiming, and the Kingdom of God that he is establishing will become like a "lightning rod" to all who hate what the Kingdom represents. Despite deeply desiring peace and love, he KNOWS that people will line up on one side or another. This division (based on conflicting values) will not fall along political, religious or even filial (family) lines, but will tragically mean that people of the same social standing or people who belong to the same household could quite likely find themselves opposing each other in their values and actions. Even the closest of family members might find themselves standing for different sides. Jesus wants us to know the cost……
As the great scripture commentator, William Barclay writes: "Jesus' coming would inevitably mean division; --- in point of fact it did!! That was one of the great reasons why the Romans hated Christianity--it tore families in two. Over and over again a person had to decide whether he loved better his kith and kin or Christ and his Gospel. The essence of Christianity is that loyalty to Christ has to take precedence over the dearest loyalties of this earth. One must be prepared to count all things as loss, but for the excellence of Jesus Christ."
You know the irony of all this? The divisions were over values we cherish so deeply. The divisions occurred because Jesus taught us to be gentle, to reach out to the outcast and offer the hand of forgiveness to the sinner and the outcast. The conflict and division occurred because Jesus was really LIVING the message of true peace… and the fullness of the new image of God's Kingdom, which included all people. This led to the most virulent opposition by those whose interests were not served by such an otherworldly world-view. Jesus turned on its head the unjust and "un-Kingdom-like" standards which kept some on the 'inner' and a lot of people hopelessly left on the 'outer,' with no way of inclusion. Those few who were the 'inside' wanted things to stay just the way they were. It was very cosy and profitable for them as things were. No wonder Jesus went to great lengths to prepare his disciples for trouble. He taught them to be as "wise as serpents but as gentle as lambs."
As Jesus reminds us in the Gospel, neither family ties nor fear of submitting to rejection, ridicule or persecution should stand in the way of salvation which comes from an uncompromising and costly proclamation of the good news, and of standing up for the truth as taught by Christ. **
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF LUKE. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.
**Joel Schorn: PrepareTheWord.com. PrepareTheWord.com, ©2012, TrueQuest Communications, LLC. 20th Sunday of the Year. - C. 18th August, 2013.
Image: Licensed by shutterstock - ID: 770558059
+++Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love, A time of Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul W. Kelly
Texts used in this programme are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
Prayers and chants are taken from the English Translation of the Roman Missal, edition three, © 2010, The International commission on English in the liturgy.
Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same. [{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation" ©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]
Prayers of the Faithful are adapted from Robert Borg's 1993 book " Together we pray". Published in Sydney Australia By E.J. Dwyer. (out of print).
{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -published 2011, Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski
Featuring the….Gloria, The Creed, The Kyrie, The Mass parts, Psalms: http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/ ]]] ] COPYRIGHT @ 2018 CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. www.ccwatershed.org/vatican/Ralph_Sherwin_Videos/
"Faith, Hope and Love" theme Hymn: Words, based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, set to original music © 1996 by Paul W. Kelly.
For more details please visit http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au/
Contact us at paulwkelly68@gmail.com
Production by Kelly Enterprises Resources.
May God bless and keep you.
Twentieth Sunday of the Year.. Year C
(Sunday, August 18, 2019)
(EPISODE: 173 )
The Lord be with you.
+++++++++++++{{May Our Lord's empathy abide in you.}}
Coming together as brothers and sisters, with confidence let us ask the Fathers forgiveness, for he is full of gentleness and compassion
Lord Jesus, you healed the sick:Lord, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you forgave sinners:Christ, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us and bring us strength: Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Memorial Acclamation
When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sundays Ordinary II
Euch Prayer One
Communion side. pwk: RH
++++
{I am very grateful for you joining us for this special time of prayer and reflection. }
Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
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