Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time--Liturgical Cycle C

Reading I: Isaiah 66:10-14c
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
Reading II: Galatians 6:14-18
Gospel: Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
Texts of Lectionary Readings

Homily

Luke presents Jesus “on the road.” It is not a static figure but one “on the move,” this Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem. All along the way, Luke is presenting the teachings and the values of Jesus—values to which we, the believers, give a solid, absolute assent. We want those values in our lives, in the lives of our loved ones, in the way our society lives, in our world. We believe that these values are what establish peace and justice. And this is exactly what Jesus means when he speaks about the “reign of God” as he does in our gospel today: “The reign of God is at hand.”

When our countrymen gathered at Independence Hall on this date in 1775 and signed their names to that grand document and launched our liberty, they knew and accepted the real possibility of death to themselves, the loss of their hard-earned property, the suffering of their family and friends. They knew, yet they put their lives on the line. They were men of passion, of vision, and they believed in the concept of self-determination and liberty. Watching and reading the news from China this past week helps us understand Patrick Henry’s outburst in that Philadelphia hall, “Give me liberty or give me death.”

It makes me wonder about my own passion for the “reign of God” in my life and in my world. Today is a good time to ask ourselves that question. How passionately have we accepted the values of Jesus, his way of life, in our hearts and minds? How much are we willing to pay for the “reign of God,” for these values, for this “way of life”?

Luke continues to present Jesus as teaching this cost of discipleship, of being a follower of Jesus, a Christian. Luke’s rendition makes three points:

1. The “Reign” must be established for each of us in our own hearts and in the situation in which we ourselves live.

2. The establishment, the coming, is urgent. It is for the disciples to act NOW, not tomorrow or the next day.

3. The disciple can expect to be misunderstood, even openly opposed and ridiculed.

Thus it is within our own hearts and within our own places of life that the “Reign of God” (Jesus’ way of life) is to be present: those values of peace and harmony, fairness, honesty, good will. It is in our families, among our friends, on the job that this “Reign” must come.

It is urgent. No one else can do it for us. We are the disciples. Only each one of us touches others and other lives in exactly the way each of us alone can do. In the history of the world, if each of us does not do it, no one ever will; for only each lives where we live, touches what we touch in exactly our own unique way. Each moment, each new opportunity, will never come again!

No one says the coming of the “Reign” will be easy. The cost of discipleship can be enormous. Like liberty itself, the Way of Jesus, those values, can cost even death. As Paul said today,

May I never boast of anything but of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Reminds one of Patrick Henry. God’s reign is the narrow path. The one pointing it out will be opposed, ridiculed, and discriminated against.

We need to put an edge on our passionate declaration, our decision for Christ and his Way. Like those heroes of Valley Forge, we must renew our commitment to go the last mile.

Near the end of the second World War, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was invited to give the commencement address at a university in England. The story has it that after he was introduced by the headmaster with the pomp his status deserved, the Prime Minister walked to the podium and cleared his throat. In the manner of great orators, “My dear graduates,” he began in his very British accent, “I say to you, ‘Never, NEVER, give up’. “ I say to you again, ‘Never, NEVER give up’.” Then the great man walked to his place and sat down!

It is the conviction of what is right, what is truth, what is of value, what is of Christ, that sustains the disciple. The Reign of God will come to each, and when the each’s become the many, it will come to our world.

“Never, Never,” I say, “Never give up.”
--Fr. Pat

Excerpt from "A Catholic's Companion: Liturgical Cycle C" (c)2000 C. Patrick Creed
Published by Watchmaker Press. Maggie Hettinger, editor