Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Over the last few months, much data has been revealed about the state of Catholicism in the archdiocese of Cincinnati. The data offers little comfort. Catholicism is on the decline. We can assume that the data applies to the rest of the United States. When the data was first revealed at the priests gathering, my initial reaction was pure shock. I was prepared to hear news that Mass attendance was declining, but it was the extent of the decline that made it shocking. Those of you who attended the Beacons of Light Town Hall meeting, either online or in person, perhaps, had the same reaction. To be honest, I am not only shocked, but sad and afraid. The implications of the data are unnerving.
Administratively too, these have been the most harrowing days, weeks, and months. There is so much change happening so rapidly that one cannot but feel unnerved and afraid. For me, it has been about many, many meetings between the parish staff of our three parishes, between parish leaders, and the archdiocesan directors. I have also encountered the uncertainties and fears of people in the pews. Everybody is afraid for their communities and uncertain about the future.
Whereas these are all real questions, my focus today is not on the answers, but the place from which to approach our uncertainties and fears.
Here are my three points for today:
"Be Strong, Fear Not!"
In today’s first reading, Isaiah says to the people of Judah, “Be Strong, Fear not!” (Is 35:4). During this time in history, the people of Judah had every reason to be in fear. The Assyrians had laid siege to the capital city of Jerusalem. For various reasons, this time the Assyrians did not succeed in overrunning Judah. For Isaiah, however, the danger still loomed. For him, the danger was hardly the external enemy. Judah’s enemy was its own leaders who were succumbing to fear. Isaiah wanted the leader of Israel to operate from a place of faith. Instead of making questionable alliances with alien nations, Isaiah invited them them to rely on God’s ability to rescue them from every foe.
Today, we have our own fears, uncertainties, and questions. The pandemic, changing weather patterns, the division in our nation and in our church, the upcoming changes in the Archdiocese, and in our parishes – these come with their share of fear and uncertainties. Today, we hear Isaiah say to us, “Be strong, fear not!” I hear Isaiah inviting us to operate from a place of faith than a place of fear. Fear makes us respond irrationally, but faith makes us move forward knowing God will never abandon us; that God is with us.
Faith and Action
What does faith mean in these times? Perhaps James has an answer for us in today’s second reading. James, like Isaiah, was inviting his reading to translate their faith in God into real action. He noticed a contradiction in their way his community welcomed the rich as opposed to the poor. He saw a disconnect between faith and works. For him, faith in Jesus Christ must necessarily lead the believers to treat the rich and poor equally. According to James, showing partiality toward the rich compromises the God given dignity that God had given every human person.
Today, James is inviting us to translate our faith into action. Could our faith make us overlook our differences and focus on being the people of God? Could our faith lead us to heal the division in our nation and our church? Could our faith help us to be a family of parishes? Could our faith help us embrace our brothers and sisters who we do not know or are alien to us? Could our faith come to the aid of those who seek our embrace? Could our faith make us hold the poor in the same estimation as the self-sufficient or celebrities? If we listen to James, then faith must lead to action and our actions must originate in faith.
Faith and Reconciliation
I would like to take the time to reflect a little deeply on the miracle recounted in today’s gospel reading. On a superficial level, this is yet another miracle that Jesus performed. As Mark tells the story, though, there is a deeper reality in play. Jesus performs this miracle in the district of the Decapolis. Decapolis refers to the ten districts in the Gentile territory. This means that the deaf man who was brought to him was a Gentile. Jesus performs unusual actions for the healing. By touching this Gentile, Jesus violated the Jewish purity laws. But Jesus did not merely touch him. He took him aside alone, put his fingers in his ears and spitting and touched his tongue. And then Jesus also looked up to heaven before he healed the man. This means that Jesus was not merely performing a personal miracle. Jesus was making a divine statement. Jesus was reconciling peoples who considered each other enemies. In other words, Jesus came not only to reconcile us to God, but Jesus also came to reconcile us to one another.
Mark’s narration of the miracle of the healing of the man hard of hearing and speech impediment has implications for us. In our world that is racially, economically, religiously, and culturally divided, faith in Christ has the power to unite us. Christ brings people together – the rich and the poor, traditional and progressive, people of every nation, color, tongue, and culture, people of different parishes and neighborhoods, even people of different religions, faith traditions.
I pray that our faith in Christ may have the power overcome our fear of the other and bridge differences. When we do so, we participate in the deeper kind of miracles that Jesus worked. May we have the faith the courage to work with Jesus. This is the time for miracles.
The best way to “Fear not” and “be strong” is to give ourselves to God and to one another as Christ gives himself to us in this Eucharist. If we commit ourselves to living like Christ, then we have nothing to fear. Christ has already secured our destiny.
- Fr. Satish Joseph