Homily for 22nd Sunday – Will you be a Christian prophet?

Twenty-second Sunday

Jack and Jill are good people and very concerned about the turmoil in our nation today. There are many issues dividing society of which abortion is one. Their small town does not currently have any centers that provide abortion on demand; however, there is unrest and there is talk. Everyone in town is aware that women go elsewhere to procure an abortion. There is talk that some would like to make it easier for women to have the procedure in town rather than having to travel many miles to the bigger city.

 

Some of the local Christian congregations want to sponsor a peaceful demonstration against abortion on demand. Jack and Jill decided to take part and join others in the demonstration knowing that violence could break out. They are willing to chance it. The weekend for the demonstration came and they went not knowing just how divided their town is.

 

There was hymn singing, prayers with clergy, and talks from those who planned the event. All was going well until a small group of outsiders showed up and started heckling the demonstrators. There was shouting back and forth and then the violence began. Jack was in the middle of it all and was not backing down. A club landed on his back knocking the wind out of him and a fist found his nose drawing blood.

 

Jill was scared, not too sure what to do. She just wanted to get out and go home. Later that evening, she and Jack had a serious talk about what happened and what Jesus would do and what was their responsibility as Christians. They sought the advice of their pastor who suggested they look at the treatment given to the prophet Jeremiah and what Jesus told his disciples who didn’t understand why their messiah was telling them about his coming arrest, beating, crucifixion, and resurrection. They did not fully comprehend what Jesus was trying to tell them. Nevertheless, Jack and Jill did take a stand, realizing that as Christians they would have to expect the unexpected. What would you have done? Let’s take a closer look at the prophets (Jeremiah and Jesus) and their experience.

 

Health addicts have a saying: no pain, no gain which can become a Christian principle: No cross, no crown! The prophet Jeremiah quickly found out the meaning of no pain, no gain; no cross, no crown. Prophets most often reminded people they were failing in their responsibilities to God and to the covenant. Jeremiah was called to chastise the people for their frequent lapses into idolatry and faithlessness. For this he was attacked, beaten, and put into stocks. His life was threatened several times, he was imprisoned, and even thrown into a cistern. After the humiliation of being put in stocks, Jeremiah openly lamented the consequences of his faithful service to God. You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped; you were too strong for me, and you triumphed. … All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me. … Whenever I speak, I must cry out. … Violence and outrage is my message; the word of the Lord has brought me derision and reproach all the day.

 

 But Jeremiah is so keen on doing God’s will, that, like it or not, he cannot help but remain a mouthpiece for God’s unsettling word. I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones, I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it. So, the prophet submits to God’s will. Jack and Jill realize that they are called by Christ to be prophets today. As we all are. No cross, no crown. No pain, no gain.

 

In Matthew’s sixteenth chapter of his gospel, Jesus asked the disciples who people say the Son of Man is. Peter spoke up and said that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus blessed Peter indicating that his heavenly Father revealed this to Peter. Consequently, Jesus put Peter in charge of the Church and give to him the keys to the kingdom of heaven. A few days later, Jesus tells his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes; and be killed, and on the third day be raised. Peter is beside himself and immediately reprimands Jesus for proclaiming such nonsense. Jesus, in turn, rebukes Peter, declaring him to be Satan. Peter would need to learn the lesson: no cross, no crown; no pain, no gain!

 

So, Jesus teaches about discipleship as the way of the cross. Contrary to almost everything the disciples were striving for, Jesus emphasizes that discipleship is about shedding the old life aimed at acquiring power, glory, fame, and fortune. It is only when one sheds oneself of that phony inauthentic, but ever-attractive life, that one will find real life. Yes, Jack’s back is sore and his nose bloody; but no pain, no gain; no cross, no crown. He and Jill now realize that they are doing the right thing as Christian prophets.

 

Now we must learn the lesson as well. This real life offered by Jesus is life lived by self-giving, through service to others, in imitation of the life of Jesus. It is a life rooted in Jesus and not in self-promotion. For us, authentic life is modeled on the way of the cross. The good news is that the cross does not end in death. The cross leads to new life – unlike anything a person could earn or procure for oneself.

 

The life that a disciple is being encouraged to lose is actually no life at all. But it is only when one has the faith to abandon that inauthentic life that one can experience real living. This was not an easy lesson for Jeremiah, for Peter or any of the disciples of Jesus to hear and understand. It went against almost everything they had been taught. In many ways, we all find ourselves in the same situation with Jack and Jill, the prophets and Jesus’s disciples. One of life’s mysteries is that a grace awaits us if we carry our cross, just as resurrection awaited Jesus after he died.

 

The crucified, glorified Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist. It is here especially that we can receive the grace, the strength, to carry our crosses. It is here that we grow in faith, hope, and love – convinced that the cross leads us to new life. It is here that we learn: no pain, no gain; no cross, no crown.