Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest
I had a professor in seminary who liked to look for good examples and ideas for homilies in nearly everything: films, poetry, walks in the woods, and especially the difficult material we would read for his classes. Whenever he discerned something that would make a good homily, he'd excitedly tear off his glasses, peer at us with wonder, and exclaim, "That'll preach!" If it would inspire people to follow Jesus - "that'll preach!" If it was true, and beautiful, and difficult to live out, that would be the moment when he would make his cry: "That'll preach!"
What would help proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and stir up God's people to be good witnesses for his love and mercy? What will preach? As Christians, we are always called to search out the good news in scripture and seek to witness that good news to others. We are called to be "preachers" - not necessarily with words, but with our lives.
Today's scriptures discuss some of the ways good news can "preach" in our daily lives. In the first reading (Nahum 2:1, 3:1-3, 6-7) the prophet draws a stark contrast between God's people (Israel) and Israel's captors (the Assyrians, especially in the city of Ninevah). This is a difficult passage because God clearly seeks revenge on those who have harmed his people - and it is hard to think of God in those terms. But what also comes through in this passage is that what God most desires for us is peace, and to treat each other with peace.
In the gospel (Matthew 16:24-28), Jesus describes what it means to be his follower. Jesus proclaims that we should not grasp for things, nor let them take too much precedence in our lives - but instead should realize that the stuff of this world, including our very lives matters less than living life dedicated to God. I am thinking here of the ways that social media and desires to buy stuff can both be things that prevent us from following Jesus because they cause us to forget ourselves. Jesus hopes that we will turn away from whatever keeps us from living lives of love to God and neighbor, so that we can follow him.
Both of these are difficult to do - but also beautiful and true. They can "preach" in the sense of witnessing to other people in our lives about Jesus if we let them.
I'm thinking about preaching today as we celebrate the memorial of Saint Dominic, who is so well known for founding the Order of Preachers (also known as the Domenicans). They are known as the Order of Preachers because in addition to living an austere life, they preach with both words and actions. Saint Dominic especially aimed to combine good intellectual life with finding ways to connect to contemporary life.
Today, let us seek to be good proclaimers of God's Word, especially the way we live our lives. A life that constantly bears witness to God's love - well, that'll preach!
- Jana M. Bennett