7 July 2013 – 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Shared Homily Starter
First Reading: Isaiah 66.10-14
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 62
Second Reading: Galatians
6:14-18
Gospel: Luke
10.1-12, [13-16], 17-20
Today’s gospel is
about evangelization. The word, “evangelization”
has become, for many of us, a word that sends up red flags. This is because, unfortunately, for almost
two millennia, evangelization has been used more as a weapon than as an
invitation to follow Christ’s example of peace and love. Let’s examine evangelization from Jesus’
perspective. He knows there are plenty
of people out there who would be open to hearing the Good News. He also knows that there are plenty who don’t
want to hear it. But Jesus sends out his
disciples like lambs into a sea of wolves.
We live in a
culture of ravenous consumption and accumulation. We seek to accumulate more and more money,
more and more power and more and more ad nauseam. The more we have, the more we want and more
we have to get; the more we get the more we have to have. It is a gluttonous and seemingly endless
spiral.
Jesus didn’t want
his ambassadors to emulate the predators of his day. No, He tells them to “Carry no purse, no bag,
no sandals; and greet no one on the road.”
That means to carry themselves with humility and simplicity and not to
engage people or situations that would hinder them in their mission.
But─ Jesus doesn’t send his followers into the
world empty-handed. They go bearing one simple message. “Peace.” Jesus tells
them: “Into whatever household you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this
household.’” Peace. Is
the great message he is asking them – and asking us – to carry into the
world. Carry no bag, no money, no
sandals. Carry, instead, peace.[1]
Peace is the
message and gift of Jesus but we Christians don’t have the best track record in
practicing peace. Perhaps it’s because
peace is not an integral part of our prayer lives. I don’t mean that we don’t pray for peace in
this or that part of the world. Rather
that we don’t pray for peace in a way that promotes inner peace. Peace, like love, begins at home.
Perhaps we could
learn something from the Buddhists in this regard. The Buddhists cultivate compassion through a
form meditation called metta or loving-kindness. In loving-kindness meditation one prays for
freedom from hostility and danger, from mental and physical suffering, and for
the happiness and well-being, first for oneself, then for loved ones, then
acquaintances, for adversaries, and for all sentient beings. For example,
May I be free from hostility and danger
May all my loved ones be free from hostility
and danger
May all my acquaintances be free from hostility
and danger
May all my adversaries be free hostility and
danger
May all sentient beings be free from hostility
and danger
This is repeated
for freedom from mental and physical suffering, then for happiness and
well-being. This type of prayer really
helps us to change. A study by
researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have said that cultivating
compassion and kindness through meditation affects brain regions that can make
a person more empathetic to other peoples' mental states. They say that thinking about other people's
suffering and not just our own helps to put everything in perspective[2]. However, the researchers and Buddhist
teachers emphasize that learning compassion for oneself is a critical first
step in loving-kindness meditation.
Peace with and
within ourselves makes it easier for us to cultivate detachment. Detachment can be thought of as preventative
medicine against the societal pull towards over consumption and
accumulation. Peace within ourselves
also helps us to be detached from the outcomes of our efforts. The serenity prayer illustrates this point,
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage
to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." This prayer asks us to accept that there are
things that we can't change. We must
come to an inner peace about them─
wipe the dust off our feet and move on.
The cultivation of
inner peace and detachment are necessary prerequisites to evangelization. I think the success of the New
Evangelization that the Church is promoting depends on a radical and
intentional change of focus. A focus on
enhancing the depth in spiritual growth of all its members rather than the
growth by numbers is imperative. Jesus
warns his emissaries against flitting from house to house. He tells them “Whenever you enter a town and
its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are
there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom
of God has come near to
you.’”
Put in a modern
context this means don’t go barging into a situation and start demanding the
best of everything. It means we are
called to develop mutual relationships with those who welcome us. We are to be of service as well as respectful
of the people who welcome us and their cultures. It means preaching that God is love and
everyone is loved by God.
All of us are called
to preach and teach the universality of God’s love as well as the virtues of humility,
simplicity, peace, and compassion. We
can not do this if we have not developed these qualities within ourselves. Evangelization, then, begins interiorly, so
that exteriorly our actions match our words.
If we don’t evangelize ourselves, we are like Chorazin, Bethsaida,
and Capernaum, who
heard but did not heed the Word and─
woe to us! We cannot be new or true
evangelists if we have not first evangelized ourselves.
What are your thoughts on evangelization?
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