A Model of Priesthood Based on the Model Priest
Homily Starter for October 17, 2021
This homily starter is an update to a previously posted homily. Today I look at Jesus’ example of priesthood as a call to us to live what we are baptized into. We are all baptized as priest, prophet and king.
In the first reading we are told that through the work of the Suffering Servant, the will of God shall be accomplished. The Psalm tells us that God loves what is just and what is right. In the second reading, we hear Christ, as High Priest, is not unsympathetic to our weaknesses because he, too, has been tested in every way yet without sin. That is, Jesus was subject to the same temptations as us. Although he did not succumb—he understands when we do. Further that he is always there, an example through his words and deeds to give us help. Today's readings tell us that doing what is just and right may entail suffering and to follow the gospel, we do need help. Jesus says in today's gospel, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; “whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Today's gospel tells us that we are to be of service to all, especially those most in need.
In today's world, those most in need are the environment, the refugee, the racialized and the marginalized. But I'm going to focus on refugees and racialized peoples. Why? Because of a currently internationally circulating conspiracy theory. This theory contends that there is a plot to replace Europeans and people of European descent with none-white populations. This adds to the already present xenophobia and white supremacy adherents, which are on the rise in Europe, the US and Canada. Exacerbating all this is the terrible increase in refugee-making situations around the world.
According to UNHCR, in 2020 an unprecedented 82.4 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are nearly 26.7 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. There are also an estimated 10 million stateless people, who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment, and freedom of movement.[1]
Most of us have heard of the rise in anti-immigrant and anti-refugee sentiment in Europe and the United States but it is also growing here in Canada, Maxime Bernier and his new People's Party of Canada want to limit immigration with such policies as reducing family reunification and reducing refugee intake by ninety percent by no longer working with the United Nations for refugee selection.[2] Closer to home, we have Immigration Watch Canada (IWC), a Vancouver-based anti-immigration organization. They blame immigrants for everything from traffic congestion to the high prices housing in the Lower Mainland. In 2014, the director related group, Putting Canada First (PCF) used fake identities in social media accounts and email addresses to promote an anti-Asian agenda, targeted specifically Meena Wong, who was then running for Mayor of Vancouver.[3] This May IWC posted a bulletin on their website casting doubt on the veracity of the finding of 215 unmarked graves of Indigenous children.[4]
As Christians, our faith calls us to counteract the fear caused by extreme patriotism with love and welcome for the stranger. Robert Rubsam writes the following in Commonweal Magazine:
As Christians, we are commanded to see these desperate refugees as we would want to be seen—and, when they arrive on our own shores, to treat them as we would want to be treated. To love the other as one loves oneself is to pass beyond all the common barriers of language, race, and culture [and I would and affectional orientation]. Seeing refugees only as a threat to the comfort and security of the West is not an option for anyone who professes to follow Christ. We are all of the same breed, all children of God, all vulnerable to misfortune.[5]
While I agree with Rubsam’s statement, like most North Americans, he forgets about the Indigenous Peoples, who first welcomed settlers. The gospel calls us to work for justice for Indigenous people; and calls us to treat Indigenous People as we would like to be treated.
It is not just those in the political sphere that target people. There seems to be a growing global feeling of licence to attack visible minorities and the vulnerable. In Vancouver, using corona virus as an excuse, Asian people, some of them elderly have been physically attacked in stores and in our streets.
You may ask, why am I preaching about these issues. Well, Karl Barth advised pastors to preach using the Bible in one hand a newspaper in the other. Because when we know what is going on in the world and what is happening to our neighbour, we can look at the state of the world and decide what we should do in light of what scripture teaches us.
“For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” For us to be of service to refugees or racialized people, in most cases, does not require that we give our lives. In the case of refugees, it may be as simple as paying attention to the policies advocated by those asking for our vote or by supporting refugee aid organizations. When it comes to racialized people, the gospel calls us to be more than bystanders. We must intervene and speak out. It is an opportunity to live the gospel we profess. It is an opportunity to serve our neighbour. Today's gospel tells us that we are to be of service to all. Therefore, whatever affects people, their communities, and the environment is by that very nature not just a political or a legal issue. It is for the followers of Christ, a Christian issue. Let all live into the priestly call of our baptism.
[2] https://www.peoplespartyofcanada.ca/canada_s_immigration_policy_must_aim_to_fulfill_our_economic_needs
[4] https://immigrationwatchcanada.org/2021/07/11/archaeologists-very-skeptical-about-conclusions-being-drawn-about-residential-school-graves/
[5] Rubsam, Robert. "Everyone a Cosmos." Commonweal Magazine Online. October 5, 2018. Accessed October 9, 2018. https://goo.gl/YsUJaV
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