INTRODUCTION
The prophet, Jeremiah lived in Israel about 600 years before Christ. The
Babylonian destruction of Israel was immanent. The Babylonians came from
modern day Iraq. Their capital, Babylon, was located just 100 miles south
of Baghdad. Jeremiah was warning God’s people that they could avoid the
destruction that was on its way if they started living according to God’s
laws (most of which were being flagrantly ignored or violated. The people
didn’t like the message, so they decided to kill Jeremiah. His words in
today’s first reading reflect the pain and misery he experienced for being
faithful to his mission. We should not be shocked when we hear him pray
that God take vengeance on his persecutors. After all, he was human and
not as perfect as Jesus who was able to pray for those who crucified him.
Our first reading leads into the gospel. As we heard last Sunday, Jesus
had just chosen his twelve apostles. In today’s gospel he prepares to send
them out as missionaries. He is warning them their message will not always
be well received, they may even suffer and die for it, but they must
preach with courage and not be afraid of what might happen to them if they
meet rejection.
HOMILY
Pope John Paul II had as his motto: “Be not afraid.” Of course, he was
quoting our Lord whom we just heard give the same mandate to his apostles
in today’s gospel, “Do not be afraid.” Since God knows how many hairs are
on our head and is aware when even a little sparrow dies, then he’s aware
of every detail of our own lives. Although he is aware, and cares, he does
not guarantee us that bad things will not happen to us. Ups and downs are
part of our existence and they even happened to God’s holy prophets and to
Jesus himself. Because God is aware and he cares he tells us not to fear,
for he is in control and will make everything turn out right for those who
are faithful to him.
“Be not afraid.” Sometimes that’s easier said than done. Fear is built
into us and we feel it when we feel threatened. If fear were not a part of
our nature, we wouldn’t even exist today, because long ago our ancestors
would not have had sense to get out of the way of charging wild animals,
saber tooth tigers or poisonous snakes. Nor would we be moved to get out
of the way of cars and trucks coming at us 50 miles an hour. Fear enables
us to survive, to know when to fight, to know when to run. But sometimes
it gets out of control and takes over our life, whether that fear comes
from a real threat or an imagined one. Faith is a big help to deal with
fear, and sharing our fears with a trusted friend can be helpful, but
sometimes fear is so controlling that counseling or medication is
required.
I think when Jesus tells us not to fear, he’s not talking about the
spontaneous reaction we feel when we are threatened, he’s telling us not
to worry and to put on trust in him that things will come out alright in
the end. The words of St. Paul, “We know that all things work for good for
those who love God” (Rom 8,28), have been a constant help to me to stay
together during very trying times. One thing Jesus does tell us to fear is
God! “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the
soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in
Gehenna.” In Old Testament times Gehenna was a place of human sacrifice to
pagan idols. At the time of Jesus it was a garbage dump, which was
constantly burning. Thus Gehenna became the symbol of evil and hell.
Jesus’ words confuse some people! Aren’t we supposed to love God, but if
we fear him, how can we love him? Doesn’t St. John tell us “perfect love
casts out fear?” All of that is true. For those who have a “reward and
punishment” view of life, a little fear might help them stay on the
straight and narrow. For those who have moved beyond the “reward and
punishment” stage, this fear that Jesus talks about is the fear of being
unfaithful to God or having a sense of awe, respect and reverence when we
approach God. Those who fear God in this way will approach him with awe,
respect and reverence frequently. In either case, a little healthy fear of
God will greatly reduce our fear of other things in life, including death
itself.
I know from many years of dealing with people that if we are at peace with
God and know the Lord is with us, there will be fewer things in life that
can upset us or frighten us. Amen.
Feast of St. Peter & St. Paul
June 29, 2008
INTRODUCTION: At 4:00 Mass:
Christ continues to feed and guide his people through the apostles. We see
today how he does this through two of them, Peter and Paul. Peter, in
today’s first reading, shows us Jesus at work through him and John in
healing a person crippled from birth. Peter’s position as leader and chief
shepherd of God’s people is recognized in today’s gospel. This was written
long after Peter had been put to death, so it is not just Peter who is
appointed chief shepherd, but those who would succeed him. We hear from
St. Paul in the second reading. Paul was a powerful teacher and his
mission was, to a large part, to the Gentiles. He recognized that fidelity
to Christ did not require Gentiles to observe all of Jewish law with its
feasts and rituals and sacrifices and dietary requirements. In today’s
second reading he is assuring his readers that he teaches with divine
authority and has received backing from Peter (Cephas) and the other
leaders of the early Church.
At Sunday Masses:
A society cannot survive without structure, organization and authority.
Today’s feast of the apostles, Peter and Paul, especially today’s gospel,
reminds us of the way Christ structured his Church with Peter as the head.
When we hear this gospel, it might be worth knowing that it was written
after Peter had already been put to death. St. Matthew wants us to know
that it was a leadership position Jesus was creating when he made Peter
the rock and gave him the keys of the kingdom. It was not just a personal
prerogative of Peter’s. If it were personal only to Peter, who was dead by
the time Matthew was writing, why would St. Matthew have made so much of
it in his gospel?
I would like you to notice also in today’s readings the theme of God
helping those who put their trust in him. The first reading tells us how
God rescued Peter from prison. The psalm that follows is the prayer of a
person praising God for rescuing them from fear and danger. We could
easily imagine Peter praying this psalm as he left prison. In the second
reading Paul realizes he is approaching the end of his life and he praises
God for all the ways he has been protected during his ministry.
HOMILY:
Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. It is a very
ancient feast going back to around the year 250 A.D. The two are honored
because they are the two apostles about whom we know the most. They were
the greatest influence on the Church at its beginning. Tradition has it
they died together in Rome during the persecution of the Emperor Nero.
Most historians suspect that Nero himself started the fire that burned
most of Rome in order to clear out old houses and buildings to make room
for his own ambitious building projects. Then he blamed the fire on the
Christians in order to take suspicion off himself.
Peter was crucified upside down, again tradition has it that he did not
consider himself worthy of dying in the same way his Master had died. Paul
was beheaded. Although he was a Jew, he also was legally, by birth, a
Roman citizen. Roman law decreed that Roman citizens could not be
crucified because it was such a horrific way to die and being exempt from
crucifixion was one of the perks of being a Roman citizen.
This year the spotlight is on St. Paul because the Holy Father proclaimed
that the rest of this year and the first six months of next year be a year
in honor of St. Paul. No one knows when he was born exactly, but scholars
figure it was roughly 2000 years ago (give or take three or four years).
So we are celebrating his 2000th birthday as closely as we can figure it.
We don’t know if Paul ever saw Jesus in the flesh. Paul was born in
Tarsus, a city in Asia Minor, which is now modern day Turkey. He spoke
Greek and Aramaic and wrote all of his letters in Greek. He was a Pharisee
and 1000 % dedicated to observance of Jewish law and traditions. Sometime
after the death and resurrection of Jesus, he began persecuting the early
followers of Christ. He was present at the martyrdom of St. Steven, the
first martyr. He viewed those who believed in Jesus as heretics. He was
such a zealous devotee to the Jewish Law that he would go looking for
believers in Jesus to arrest them and prosecute them. It was on such a
journey to Damascus that the Risen Christ spoke to Paul. Paul was
enveloped in a bright light and fell to the ground. There is no mention of
a horse, although people are used to saying he was thrown off his horse.
This idea came from a painting of the event. I rather believe Paul was
walking or riding a donkey, which was the usual means of transportation.
He heard someone call him, and when he asked who was calling him, Jesus
answered: “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” Then Jesus said: “Now get
up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.” Paul got
up but he was a new man. He was ill and blind for a few days until he was
healed by one of Jesus’ followers and was baptized. In his encounter with
Jesus, he discovered Jesus was not a heretic and condemned criminal, but
the glorified Lord who has risen from the dead and lives in his Church. He
would learn that his mission would be to the Gentiles and that the good
news Jesus proclaimed was to be preached to all people. This is when Paul
became an Apostle for the word Apostle means one who has been sent. He
would come to understand how we are saved by Jesus’ death and resurrection
and by our incorporation into this saving event through three things: 1)
faith, 2) the sacraments, especially baptism and the Eucharist and 3) our
love for one another.
Paul wrote more than any other New Testament author. One could keep on
talking about him because he wrote so much. There is an insert in today’s
bulletin that says more about Paul. But to put everything succinctly,
Paul’s life and mission can be summed up in the one sentence Jesus spoke
to him on the way to Damascus: “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”
As I conclude, we might recall the most famous lines Paul wrote: “love is
kind, love is patient, love is not jealous, it is not pompous, etc.”
ending with the sentence: “love never fails.” The kind of love Paul talks
about is a love that is rooted in Christ. We express that love as we
gather here in faith today, giving God our time and worship and praying
for one another. May we continue to express that same love for one another
throughout the coming week.
