He Continues to Call Followers
January 25, 2009, 3rd Sunday Ordinary Time
Jonah 3:1-5 I Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1: 14-20
To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to you, Lord.
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
The opening theme
Introduction
The opening theme
The feast of the Lord’s baptism on January 11 brought the curtain down on what liturgical lingo designates as the Extraordinary Time of the Advent/Christmas season. On Monday, January 12, we returned to Ordinary Time which continues through Tuesday, February 24, the day before Ash Wednesday which opens the Extraordinary Time of Lent in preparation for Easter, April 12, 2009. As the curtain falls on the Christmas drama, we are dismissed not to business as usual but to the unusual business of following Him who came to us on Christmas Day. The following of Jesus is always the opening theme of Ordinary Time in all three liturgical cycles of A, B and C.
Mark: evangelist for 2009
The liturgical cycle this year is B, and the evangelist for cycle B is Mark. In his first chapter, he writes that as Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee, He sees Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets. He calls them to follow Him. They leave their nets behind and follow Jesus. Walking a little farther He sees James and his brother John in a boat, mending their nets. He calls them also, and they leave their father Zebedee behind and follow Jesus.
The call of Magdi Cristiano Allam
He, who in times past called people to follow Him, continues to call people today. He called Magdi Cristiano Allam to follow Him. Allam left all and followed Jesus. Allam was born in Egypt on April 22, 1952. He was a non-practicing Muslim who moved to Italy in 1972 and became an Italian citizen in 1986. He earned a degree in sociology and became deputy editor of the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Allam infuriates many Muslims by his writings in which he strongly condemns Islamic extremism. (He goes so far as to maintain there is no such thing as moderate Islam.) He speaks of Islam as being “physiologically violent and historically conflictive.” He particularly infuriated Muslims with his book entitled Long Live Israel. For six years he has been confined to a life under guard, with permanent surveillance at his home in a secret location in the north of Rome, where he lives with his wife Valentina and their little son Davide.
Deciding to make a clear-cut, courageous and costly break with a faith which, he said, placed hatred and intolerance for the “infidel” (non-Muslims) over love and respect for the neighbor[3], Allam converted to Catholicism in 2008. He was not baptized secretly in some catacomb in Rome in order to protect him from Islamic extremists who had pronounced a fatwa against him.[4] He was baptized in conspectu omnium by Pope Benedict in St. Peter’s and at a peak moment in the church’s liturgical calendar – the vigil of Easter. Speaking of his historic baptism at the Easter Vigil of 2008 he said, “I took the simplest and most explicit Christian name of all: Cristiano. Since yesterday evening, therefore, my name is Magdi Cristiano Allam.”
Allam infuriates many Muslims by his writings in which he strongly condemns Islamic extremism. (He goes so far as to maintain there is no such thing as moderate Islam.) He speaks of Islam as being “physiologically violent and historically conflictive.” He particularly infuriated Muslims with his book entitled Long Live Israel. For six years he has been confined to a life under guard, with permanent surveillance at his home in a secret location in the north of Rome, where he lives with his wife Valentina and their little son Davide.
Deciding to make a clear-cut, courageous and costly break with a faith which, he said, placed hatred and intolerance for the “infidel” (non-Muslims) over love and respect for the neighbor[3], Allam converted to Catholicism in 2008. He was not baptized secretly in some catacomb in Rome in order to protect him from Islamic extremists who had pronounced a fatwa against him.[4] He was baptized in conspectu omnium by Pope Benedict in St. Peter’s and at a peak moment in the church’s liturgical calendar – the vigil of Easter. Speaking of his historic baptism at the Easter Vigil of 2008 he said, “I took the simplest and most explicit Christian name of all: Cristiano. Since yesterday evening, therefore, my name is Magdi Cristiano Allam.”
The call of Mohammed Beshoy Hegazy
Jesus called Mohammed Beshoy Hegazy to follow Him. Hegazy left all and followed Jesus. Hegazy is an Egyptian who converted from Islam to Christianity in 1998 and at his baptism took the name Beshoy[5] after an Egyptian monk. He is the first convert from Islam to seek official recognition of his conversion from the Egyptian Government. His wife, Um Hashim Kamel, also converted from Islam to Christianity several years ago, and at her baptism took the name Katarina. They have a daughter, Miriam, who was born while in hiding. He reports that he converted after comparative studies in religions. "The major issue for me,” he said, “was love. Islam does not promote love as Christianity does."
Hegazy reports that after his conversion was discovered, he was detained for three days and tortured by police. In 2007, he sued the Egyptian court to change his religion from "Islam" to "Christianity" on his national ID card. He said he wants to do this so that his child can be openly raised Christian, be given a Christian birth certificate, and be married in a church. He also stated that he wants to set a precedent for other converts from Islam who are too afraid to declare their new faith.
Sheikh[6] Gad al-Ibrahim told Al-Quds al-Arabi (a newspaper in London) that, "The Egyptian government should apply shari'a[7] to Mohammed Hegazy and give him three days to reconvert, and then kill him if he refuses." (!) Other fatwas have been issued, declaring that Hegazy's daughter Miriam should be killed at the age of 10 if she does not choose Islam! He and his wife have been ostracized by their own families and are currently in hiding. Katarina's own family have sworn to kill her because she married a non-Muslim against the family's wishes. In spite of the various fatwas issued against them, Hegazy and his wife have courageously decided to remain in Egypt and proceed with their case. Jesus’calling Hegazy asked a lot from Hegazy and his family.
The call of Mosab Hassan Yousef
Jesus called Mosab Hassan Yousef to follow Him. Yousef left all and followed Jesus. Yousef, 30, was raised as a Muslim by his politically powerful family. His father, Hassan Yousef, a highly respected sheikh born in the West Bank near Ramallah, is a founding member of Hamas,[8] whose military wing has instigated dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israel since it was formed in 1987.
When Yousef was 18, he was arrested by the Israelis. In an Israeli jail under Israeli administration, Yousef said he saw Hamas leaders torturing their own people whom they suspected of being informants for the Israelis. “They didn't torture me,” he said, “but it was a shock for me to see them torturing their own, pounding needles under their nails, applying fire to their bodies and even killing many of them.” Yousef was eventually freed from his Israeli jail. It was after a chance encounter nine years ago with a British missionary that Yousef began exploring Christianity. He said he found it exciting and began secretly studying the Bible. He was struck by Christianity’s central theme: love -- love not only for one’s neighbor but even for one’s enemy.
Yousef decided to leave the West Bank and arrived in America 18 months ago. Recently he made "the biggest decision of my life." He went public about his conversion to Christianity and his baptism. His going public has exposed his family to persecution and has endangered his own life. "I knew from the beginning,” he said, “that my family would face an impossible situation. It wasn't their choice but they have had to carry it with me. It's difficult for my mother; she's crying all day long. Every time I talk to her, she's crying."
What the mission is not & what it is
Jesus called Allam, Hegazy and Yousef to follow Him, and He sent them on mission, as He called and sent twelve apostles and seventy-two disciples on mission. (Lk 9:1; 10:1) But what, we ask, is the mission Jesus sends His followers on? Is it to make the whole world Christian? No, it is not! The New Testament does, indeed, present Jesus as commanding the apostles to go forth and make disciples of all men, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Mt. 28: 19) But scholars agree that that command with its very explicit trinitarian formula (which reads like an excerpt from a ritual manual) is more the command of the early church community “on the roll” than of the historical Jesus.
We remind ourselves that the avowed mission to make the whole world Christian wrote some very dark pages of church history. Such a mission is as omnious as the mission to make the whole world Islamic. We remind ourselves that the deadly event of 9/11 in 2001 (in which Islamic extremists drove two 747s into the Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan, killing 3000 innocent human beings) was nothing less than Islam “on the roll.”
If the mission is not to make the whole world Christian, then what, we ask, is it? Matthew says Jesus sent forth the twelve to “Announce the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out the demons.” (Mt 10:7- 8) That’s the mission! Jesus sends His followers forth not to do something to people (convert and baptize them) but rather to do something for people – heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out the demons.
We remind ourselves that the avowed mission to make the whole world Christian wrote some very dark pages of church history. Such a mission is as omnious as the mission to make the whole world Islamic. We remind ourselves that the deadly event of 9/11 in 2001 (in which Islamic extremists drove two 747s into the Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan, killing 3000 innocent human beings) was nothing less than Islam “on the roll.”
If the mission is not to make the whole world Christian, then what, we ask, is it? Matthew says Jesus sent forth the twelve to “Announce the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out the demons.” (Mt 10:7- 8) That’s the mission! Jesus sends His followers forth not to do something to people (convert and baptize them) but rather to do something for people – heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out the demons.
A great missionary who baptized everyone
Mission as a frantic effort to do something to people (to convert and baptize them lest they be eternally lost) was singularly embodied in the legendary missionary St. Francis Xavier. Born in the Basque area of Spain in 1506, he joined the Jesuit Order, and became the greatest of all Christian missionaries with the possible exception of St. Paul. He is called the Apostle of the Indies and Japan. As so many notches in his belt he could count hundreds of thousands of people whom he converted and baptized. He died in 1552, and his body was buried in Goa, India, and lies there to this very day. But his right arm, which baptized so many thousands of converts and carved out so many notches in his belt, is preserved in a glass reliquary in the church of the Gesù in Rome for all to see!
A little missionary who baptized no one
Mission as a loving effort to do something for people (especially for lepers) was singularly embodied in Mother Theresa of Calcutta – foundress of the Missionaries of Charity. If St. Francis Xavier was a great missionary of the past who converted and baptized everyone, Mother Theresa was a little missionary of the present who converted and baptized no one!
When she died twelve years ago on September 5, 1997, a Hindu gentleman at her funeral called this devout Roman Catholic nun "the Daughter of God" and remarked that her religion “was not important to her!” It was a strange remark to make. It was, however, a profound compliment. Her religion, he was saying, did not stand in the way of her love being universal. It, in fact, inspired her to love Hindus. It especially inspired her to embrace those whom others were afraid to embrace -- lepers.
That Hindu gentleman was praising Mother Theresa who did nothing to the Hindus she found dying in the streets of Calcutta (she did not convert nor baptize them), but she did everything for them. She and her sisters gathered them up and carried them off to her hospice for the dying where they bathed and fed them. Then without pouring one drop of baptismal water over their heads, Mother Theresa kissed them all and sent them off to heaven, but not before healing them of the worst malady imaginable: the leprous thought of not being worthy of respect and love. That, indeed, is mission marvelously accomplished.
When she died twelve years ago on September 5, 1997, a Hindu gentleman at her funeral called this devout Roman Catholic nun "the Daughter of God" and remarked that her religion “was not important to her!” It was a strange remark to make. It was, however, a profound compliment. Her religion, he was saying, did not stand in the way of her love being universal. It, in fact, inspired her to love Hindus. It especially inspired her to embrace those whom others were afraid to embrace -- lepers.
That Hindu gentleman was praising Mother Theresa who did nothing to the Hindus she found dying in the streets of Calcutta (she did not convert nor baptize them), but she did everything for them. She and her sisters gathered them up and carried them off to her hospice for the dying where they bathed and fed them. Then without pouring one drop of baptismal water over their heads, Mother Theresa kissed them all and sent them off to heaven, but not before healing them of the worst malady imaginable: the leprous thought of not being worthy of respect and love. That, indeed, is mission marvelously accomplished.
Conclusion
He continues to call followers today
The cases of Allam, Hegazy and Yousef are identical. All three are recent. All three are about Islam. All three are about Christianity. All three are about the following of Jesus. All three are about the attractiveness of a religion which loves not only one’s neighbor lying by the side of the road but also one’s enemy. All three invite us, born and baptized Christian, to renew our faith and lay hold of the same pearl of great price[9] which these three newcomers happily discovered in Christianity. That pearl of great price strengthened and inspired them to leave even family behind and follow Jesus. All three remind us that He, who called Simon, Andrew, James and John in times past, continues to call followers today.
[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church institution but those whom the institution has left!
[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church institution but those whom the institution has left!
[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24
[3]If Allam’s comments on Islam seem extreme, it is because they arise out of the fact that he needs to be protected 24/7 from Islamic extremists who are out to kill him and his family.
[4] A fatwa is an Islamic juridical verdict. In the case of a Muslim who apostatizes and converts to another religion the verdict is death!
[5] Saint Beshoy was born in the Egyptian Nile Delta in 320 AD.
[6] A sheikh is a revered elder in the Islamic world.
[7] Shari’a is Islamic law based on the Koran
[8] HAMAS is an Islamic resistance movement against Israel with military and political wings. HAMAS is an Arabic acronym for "Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamia."
[9] Mt 13:45-46
