A believer responds

Here is the text of the homily I shared with the community gathered in prayer for the Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time.

A different kind of discipleship

Three years ago, the first stirrings of dramatic encounters including demonstrations and protests, riots and even civil wars in the Arab world began to rear their ugly heads.  It’s difficult for those who are not in the know to fully understand the intricacies of the decisions and actions which led to these disturbances, but in short they have become known as the Arab spring.  Rulers in many parts of the Middle East and North Africa have been deposed and protests continue even today in other places, each side trying to anticipate the next move that their opponent will undertake.  As we watch the images of these encounters unfold on our television screens, I can’t help wondering whether the world we live in is so different after all from the world in which Jesus himself once lived.  I can’t help wondering whether anyone is truly listening to the words he spoke, or whether any of those in places of authority and power truly believe that the gospel of peace and forgiveness is still applicable today.

Last month, we heard reports of the possibility that chemical weapons were used in Syria, and ever since that news broke, efforts have been under way to determine whether or not such a claim bears any truth.  At a moment in time when decisions being made around the table at the G20 meetings in Saint Petersburg, Russia and at other tables in various parts of the world have the increasing possibility of leading to dire consequences, it is all the more important that the voice of mercy should be raised, that appeals for the good of the innocent should be spoken aloud and that all attempts at promoting a culture of dialogue should be undertaken.  How else are we to discern the best course of action if not to learn the counsel of our God who gives wisdom and has sent us the gift of the Holy Spirit?

Saint Luke tells us that Jesus counselled his hearers to sit down and estimate the cost before undertaking a major venture.  This wisdom applies equally to the world of finance and construction as it does to life itself.  In the case of Syria and the rest of the Middle East, the cost involved is measured in terms of human lives. More than 110,000 lives have already been lost in Syria alone; more than four million people in that country have been displaced to other parts of their country, and there are currently more than two million refugees in neighbouring countries, all of them having fled their homeland because it is no longer safe.  What a terrible tragedy this is – when the place we call home is no longer safe, our entire lives are in turmoil.

There are those in our world who have it within their power to engage discussion in an effort to consider alternatives before the consequences ensnare not only the ones who have perpetrated injustice, but unfortunately far too many of the innocent as well.  From our vantage point, we must trust that the discussions currently underway will indeed bear fruit.  In the meanwhile, let us never lose sight of the possibility that peace may indeed find its place.

In a real sense, those of us who are far removed from the immediate effects of decisions and actions being undertaken in the Middle East might consider ourselves not so unlike the apostle Paul, who was imprisoned and powerless, yet even from behind bars, he never stopped looking for ways in which he could give of himself in service to others.  This generosity led him even to the point of sending one of his young followers to a place where Onesimus would have the possibility of knowing the joy of friendship with other believers.  This too was a great sacrifice for Paul, since Onesimus was probably his only source of food and compassion, yet Paul preferred to sacrifice this earthly pleasure so that others would benefit.

You and I are not being asked to deny ourselves the comforts of friendship and food.  None of us here today is being threatened with the harsh conditions of imprisonment, yet each of us is being invited to pray for those in our world who are being subjected to hardship.  In his Angelus address last weekend, Pope Francis invited the entire Church to observe a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East and throughout the world.  The day chosen for this fast is today (was yesterday) but since it would have been difficult for us to communicate this news to all the faithful before this weekend, the Bishops of Canada agreed to observe the day of fasting and prayer next Saturday, September 14.  In North Bay, there will be a period of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament at Holy Name church on Memorial Drive next Saturday from 10:00am to 2:00pm.  If you cannot be present there, find some other way to fast and to pray for peace.

Tomorrow (today), the Church commemorates the Feast of the Nativity of Mary.  Let us ask the Queen of Peace to pray with us for the sake of all those who suffer.  May she also intercede on our behalf and implore the true gift of wisdom, so that the paths of all people may be set right and that peace may prevail.