{"id":2941,"date":"2019-08-18T11:29:14","date_gmt":"2019-08-18T15:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=2941"},"modified":"2019-08-18T11:29:14","modified_gmt":"2019-08-18T15:29:14","slug":"20th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-c-homily-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/20th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-c-homily-2\/","title":{"rendered":"20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

20<\/a>th<\/a><\/sup> Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C<\/a>
Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Psalm 40:2, 3, 4, 18 (14b)
Hebrews 12:1-4
Luke 12:49-53
August 18, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus\u2019 words today may seem strange\nor even disheartening to us.  We are more\ncomfortable when Jesus tells us to love our neighbor (not that we always do)\nthan today\u2019s words that He comes \u201cto set\nthe earth on fire<\/em>\u201d and that He comes not \u201cto establish peace<\/em>\u2019 but \u201cdivision.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every time we celebrate Mass, we\nexchange a \u201csign of peace.\u201d  We do this\nremembering Jesus\u2019s words \u201cPeace be with\nyou<\/em>.\u201d  How are we to recognize \u201clove your neighbor<\/em>\u201d and \u201cpeace be with you<\/em>\u201d with the division that\nJesus speaks of?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Thinking of love, our opening prayer today\nasks God to \u201cfill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love.\u201d  Yet the reality is that there is real\ndivision in the world.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus\u2019 speaks of his baptism that is to\ncome.  His baptism by John the Baptist\nhas already happened.  The future baptism\nthat Jesus speaks of is his Crucifixion, his death that brings new life.  Many accepted Jesus but not all.  There was real division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This division is not new with\nJesus.  We see it with Jeremiah.  There are those who seek to put Jeremiah to\ndeath.  Their reason is that he is \u201cdemoralizing the soldiers<\/em>\u201d and \u201che is not interested in the welfare of our\npeople.<\/em>\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not true.  Jeremiah spoke as a prophet of the Lord to\nlead them to a better life.  They wanted\nto get rid of Jeremiah because he was telling them of their sins and need to\nchange but they didn\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The king consents to their desire\nbecause he \u201ccould do nothing with them<\/em>.\u201d  I think the king consented just to \u201ckeep the\npeace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How often do we choose to keep\nsilence or seemingly consent to actions we do not approve of just to keep the\npeace?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Am I saying that we need to be very\nvocal in speaking up against others\u2019 sin and behavior?  Maybe. \nMaybe not.  What we need to do is to\nlet the Holy Spirit guide us to know what to say and when to say it that\naccomplishes God\u2019s Will.  If all we do is\noffend others so they won\u2019t talk to us, we can\u2019t help lead them to Christ.   On the other hand, if we just keep silent,\nagain, we can\u2019t lead them to Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not easy.  There is division.  Sometimes it is within our own families.  It might be people whose beliefs are\ndifferent than us.  How we to \u201cpersevere<\/em><\/strong> in running the race that lies before us\nwhile keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus<\/strong><\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we need to realize we don\u2019t\nneed to do it alone.  I\u2019ve mentioned\nrelying on the Holy Spirit.  Of course,\nwe also have Jesus who \u201cendured the cross<\/em>\u201d\nand \u201copposition<\/em>\u201d for our sake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also have \u201cso great a cloud of witnesses<\/em>\u201d for our aid.  Who are the \u201ccloud of witnesses<\/em>\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are the saints.  They are the ones who have gone before us and\nare now with God.  Some of them are\nmartyrs who held fast to our faith \u201cto\nthe point of shedding blood<\/em>.\u201d  Of\ncourse, many saints are not martyrs but they strived to live good holy lives as\nwitnesses to Jesus.  Others were not\nalways good disciples but they opened themselves to the Lord and underwent\nconversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the saints our churches are named\nafter, we see a variety.  St. Lucy was a\nmartyr.  St. Thomas Aquinas a scholar who\nlived his whole live in faith.  St.\nPatrick was born Catholic but was an atheist at the point he was kidnapped and\nmade a slave.  It was in slavery he had\nhis conversion experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may have read in the bulletin<\/a> or seen on our parish Facebook page<\/a> that in September I will start a short series of presentations on the saints of our churches.  I\u2019ll start with a general introduction about saints and the misconceptions of how we as Catholics view the saints.  Then, I will talk about each of the saints of our churches.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, know that the saints serve\nas a \u201ccloud of witnesses<\/em>\u201d, to be\nexamples of what it means to follow Jesus even when it means struggles and\ndivisions in our lives.  Know that they\nare interceding for us.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The saints are important to us as\nexamples and intercessors.  First among\nthem is Mary.  Yet, the saints are not\nwhat is most important.  The saints are\nnot \u201cgod.\u201d  They are witnesses.  The saints point us to Jesus who is the one\nwho gave his life for us.  Jesus is the\none who walks with us through division, leading us to the peace of his kingdom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year CJeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10Psalm 40:2, 3, 4, 18 (14b)Hebrews 12:1-4Luke 12:49-53August 18, 2019 Jesus\u2019 words today may seem strange or even disheartening to us.  We are more comfortable when Jesus tells us to love our neighbor (not that we always do) than today\u2019s words that He comes \u201cto set the …<\/p>\n

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