Homily originally presented on Sunday, September 25, 2016
An exciting American War Movie came out 50 years ago called. The Dirty Dozen”. It starred Lee Marvin as the Army Major who must get behind enemy lines in France to take out a German stronghold in preparation for the D-Day landing. The Major selects 12 men from Death Row in prison promising them commuted sentences if they take part in this highly dangerous mission and come through alive. So he puts this Dirty Dozen through rigorous training to get them ready. And there’s a scene in the movie where Lee Marvin wants to train them in hand to hand combat. And, the Major picks on the biggest guy first ... the handsome actor, Clint Walker. The Major gives him a knife and tells him to attack him. But the soldier is reluctant to attack. So the Major asks him, “What exactly did they put you in prison for? The soldier says, “I killed a man with one punch ... but I didn’t mean to. He pushed me. And I don’t like to be pushed.”
So, the Major chides him, “So you killed a man with your bare hands because he pushed you!”
And the Soldier says, “Yeah, I don’t like to be pushed.”
So the Major gives him a shove. The soldier is surprised but still will not attack with the knife. So the Major shoves him again, “So you don’t like to be pushed? How about that ... I just pushed you!"
Well, the Soldier is getting angrier and angrier and finally after about the fourth shove, the soldier is so mad that he raises the knife to attack and the Major grabs his arm, drops him on the ground, takes the knife away and holds him until he calms down.
It’s a great scene ... it’s a scene about being pushed. Do you like to be pushed? I don’t like to be pushed No one likes to be pushed. And yet all of us are being pushed. Who’s pushing us? You might say ... well it’s the Devil. And yes, the Devil pushes our buttons ... but someone else is pushing us. Actually ... it’s someone who is very good and holy.
And that someone is ... The Pope!
Yes, from the beginning of his Papacy three years ago ... and in a continuing way ... Pope Francis has been pushing us to see things ... from a different perspective ... from the perspective of ... Jesus Christ the Lord! All of us come into this world with the perspective that we are important and we need to take care of ourselves. When we were babies ... we were the center of attention ... and everyone took care of us. Then as we grew older, we realized that we needed to do things to take care of ourselves. So we got an education and a job and a home and a car and stuff. And there’s the tendency to think that perhaps we’re done growing. But that’s not the case ... we’re not done growing when we get to that level! There’s yet another level that we need to grow into. And that’s to grow to realize that we need to take care of others. And not just others who are immediate family members ... but others who we don’t even know. Why?
Because they ... like us ... are in the One Family of God. Yes, there is only one Father ... God ... and all of us are His children. So, we all belong to one family ... the Family of God.
And according to God, the Father of us all, we’re to take care of each other. This is the message that Pope Francis has been giving to us ... and for many ... including myself ... it’s a message that challenges us ... and can make us feel like ... we’re being pushed. Pope Francis’ message is nothing new ... in fact it’s the same message that God has been giving us all along.
In our First Reading from the Old Testament, God says through Prophet Amos: “Woe to the complacent ... lying ... comfortably on ... couches, eat(ing) lambs ... and calves ... drink(ing) wine... and anoint(ing) themselves with ... oils ... yet (you) are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph.”
Who was Joseph? One of the 12 tribes of Israel ... people they were related to ... because they were all Israelites ... members of the Chosen People of God. So their brothers and sisters in God were at risk of being conquered by the enemy ... and they went along and did nothing to help them out. That would be like us in Tuscaloosa saying to the people in Baton Rouge last month, “Gee, sorry for all the trouble the Big Flood has caused you ... we’re doing fine here in Tuscaloosa ...but good luck getting over your tragedy! How uncharitable and uncaring that would have been! Fortunately there were many people from Alabama cities and churches who rushed to the aid of our neighbors in Mississippi ... rendering care and assistance to them back in August and even to this day. All of you who gave to Bishop’s special collection played a part in helping our Neighbors to the west.
But sadly, back in the time of Amos, there were many Jews living in Judah, who had plenty of possessions and did nothing to help their neighbors in need. God gave them the consequence of this. Speaking through Amos He said, “(You) shall be the first to go into exile and (your) wanton revelry shall be done away with.” And indeed it was! Soon, the remaining 2 Jewish tribes, Judah and Benjamin ... were taken into captivity themselves ... and remained enslaved for 47 yrs! What was their sin? Living their lives seeking only their own comfort ... and doing nothing to help others around them who were in need!
The question is: Are we doing this? Are we living our lives so caught up with ourselves and our immediate family ... that we are not taking notice of those around us who need help? This is the question that the Pope is pushing us to reflect on. His pushes come from his words and his dramatic actions. Back in March ... on Holy Thursday ... Pope Francis knelt in front of Muslim, Hindu, and Christian refugees ... some were men and some were women ... and he washed their feet ... and then he kissed their feet. Wow, that was a big push.
Did it make you mad? Maybe ... maybe not ... but it sure was surprising. He sure got his point across that we are all treasured children of God ... and we need to reverence each other as such! Jesus gives us a similar big Push in our Gospel today. He tells us of the Rich man with fine clothes and sumptuous food, who did nothing to help Lazarus, a poor man in great need. After death, the Rich Man ended up in torment ... while Lazarus ended up enjoying peace and contentment. By this story, Jesus is calling us who have, to share with those who have not. He reminds us that our self-sufficiency must not blind us to see the needs of others.
This is why the Church has always called us to take action doing: Corporal and Spiritual works of mercy.
- Corporal works of mercy are the ways that we feed and clothe and care for ... the bodies of our brothers and sisters in need.
- Spiritual works of mercy are the ways we pray and fast and sacrifice for ... the souls of our brothers and sisters in need.
The key is not to wait and do nothing. The idea is to do good things now on earth for our brothers and sisters rather than suffer later because of our selfishness. Eternity is a long time to regret that we were complacent and only took care of our own needs ... without showing concern and care for the needs of others. The message of Pope Francis ... to reach out to the poor ... is nothing new. It is the message of Jesus Christ.
It’s not something we do naturally. It’s something we do supernaturally ... by listening to the word of God ... being fed with the Bread of Life ... and living with our eyes on Eternal Life. St. Paul encourages us in this today when he says, “You, man of God, ... lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called.”
Do you like to be pushed? I don’t like to be pushed. And yet, we’re all being pushed ... by Amos, by Paul, by Jesus and by the Pope! That’s because we in our humanness need to be pushed ... pushed ... out of complacency ... and into action ... so we become God-like in our care for others.
So listen to the words of our Lord and our Pope feel the push and let it move you ... not to anger ... but to action ... so that you can one day enjoy ... the peace and contentment of Heaven.
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