Homily for the Week of August 31, 2008

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time August 28, 2008
Jeremiah 20,7-9
Psalm 62,2.3-4.5-6.8-9
Romans 12,1-2
Matthew 16,21-27
Football is one of the Fall sports that attract thousands of persons both on the high school and college level. Some years ago, Gene Stallings coached the University of Alabama to a 22 –game winning streak and number-two rating in college football, and then the Dallas Cowboys. But it was not this event—but another one—that had the greatest impact on his life. It was the birth of his son, Johnny.
When the doctor told Stallings and his wife that their son Johnny had Down’s syndrome and would probably not live beyond the age of four, Stallings fainted. Thirty years later Johnny still had Down’s syndrome and was still living. In his book Another Season he describes the impact Johnny has had on his life, Stallings said: “He’s special! All his love is unconditional. He doesn’t keep score. He’s totally unselfish.” On many occasions Stallings has said if he could reverse things and start over with a child who didn’t have Down’s syndrome, he and his wife would not do it. What Stalling thought would be an enormous cross in his life turned out to be an enormous blessing.
The readings of today's Mass all give the same message. They tell us that our blessings in life may also involve crosses. We may decide for whatever reason to go against God. If and when we do the price we pay is not being true to our deepest self. God and Jesus are to be trusted absolutely. God will stand at our side.
Our first reading is a section from Jeremiah. It is one of the most moving passages of the Old Testament. But as any biblical text it must be placed in its context to be understood. The passage quoted expresses in vivid detail how difficult it can be to follow God. God had ask Jeremiah to be one of his prophets; that is, a person chosen to speak for God. Jeremiah feels that God "duped" him. Jeremiah does speak for God, but when he does, he gets insulted. Everyone laughs at me, he says. But inspite of that, Jeremiah still keeps on living as God wants him because it becomes like fire burning in my heart. Isn't this a powerful description of how we suffer when we obey our conscience. Our conscience is the voice of God within each of us who keeps telling us: you are being good or you are being bad. No matter what we try to do to deny or stifle that voice, it is always there.
Jesus at one time used the example of a coin. On one side of the coin is the cross and on the other side is a crown. If we try to embrace one side, the glorious side, and reject the other, the suffering side, we falsify the gospel. The same Jesus who said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest,” also said, “If any of you want to be my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Do we come to Jesus then to be freed from our burdens or do we come to Jesus to take on the cross? We come to Jesus to be freed from our meaningless and futile burdens and, in its place, take on the cross that leads to salvation and glory.
Today’s gospel challenges us to say no to the very attractive but one-sided gospel of instant glory, a sugar-coated gospel that offers the false promise of “all crown and no cross”. Often we followers of Jesus may think: “Only believe and it will all go well with you.” It didn’t all go well for Jesus; he still had to endure the cross. It didn’t all go well with Mary; a sword of sorrow still pierced her soul. It didn’t all go well with the countless men and women saints who have gone before us. Why then should it all go well with you and me? In the face of disappointment, bereavement, sickness and failure, our faith response should be, not to question “Why me?” but to recognize that these crosses and contradictions are the necessary condition for our future glory.
Each day we are tempted to abandon God and do things that our consciences says we should not do. It is so easy for us to pick and chose parts of the bible or our Catholic faith, and accept those parts and practices that make our religion painless. It is so easy to yield to peer pressure, which is one of the most powerful social forces in the world. It is so easy to stifle the voice of our conscience when we see other people apparently stifling theirs. But that is not what today's readings urge us to do. For Jeremiah, for Paul, and for Matthew, God calls us to a difficult vocation. Unless we constantly remind ourselves of this we will fail to be the kind of disciples that Christ expects us to be.
If we pick up our cross and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, our cross can also become a blessing and a stepping stone to greater things.