'A Franciscan Pontificate'

Pope Francis washing the feet of

inmates at Casal del Marmo prison

`A Franciscan Pontificate’

13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 30, 2013
I Kings 19:19-21          Galatians 5:1,13-18          Luke 9:51-62

1^st reading: Following Elijah

Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, plowing with a team of oxen; there were eleven teams ahead of him, and he was plowing with the last one. Elijah took off his cloak and put it on Elisha. Elisha then left his oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will follow you.” Elijah answered, “Go on, but come back, because what I have just done to you is important.” Then Elisha went to his team of oxen, killed them, and cooked the meat, using the yoke as fuel for the fire. Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his helper.

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Glory to you, Lord.

 

Following Jesus

As the time drew near for his return to heaven, Jesus set his face firmly towards Jerusalem. And He sent messengers ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get everything ready for Him. But the villagers would not receive Him because He was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Master, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and destroy them?”But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village.

 As they went on their way a certain man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lie down and rest.”

And to another man He said, “Follow me.” But that man replied, “Lord, I will follow you, but first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus answered, “Let the dead bury their dead. You go and preach the Kingdom of God.”

Another man said, “I will follow you, sir, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” Jesus said to him, “Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Introduction

The 4^th of July

This coming Thursday is the 4^th of July and Independence Day. That national holiday celebrates the historic event when the 13 original colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. On July 4, 1776 the Continental Congress adopted the historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson: The Declaration of Independence. On the 4^th of July the Nation will celebrate its independence with fireworks, parades, barbecues, picnics in parks, concerts, baseball games and family reunions.

Jews and Samaritans

When Jesus - a Jew - sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to get everything ready for Him, the messengers were turned away. Samaritans (who lived in a region called Samaria) despised Jews who looked down on them as half-breeds and heretics. And Jews in turn despised Samaritans who worshiped God on Mt. Gerizim in Samaria, while Jews maintained that the only `right place’ to worship God was in the Temple in Jerusalem. (Jn. 4:20) No wonder then when Jesus sent messengers ahead to reserve rooms for Him and his disciples in a Samaritan village, they were turned away.

Costly discipleship  

Discipleship - the following Jesus - is costly. It asks us to follow “the Son of Man who has nowhere to lie down and rest.” It directs us to “let the dead bury their dead.” It warns us that “whoever sets his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), a German Lutheran minister and theologian , put to death by Hitler in 1945, is known especially for his book entitled The Cost of Discipleship. The context of that book was the Evangelical Church of Germany in the 1920s, 30s and 40s; it was during that Church’s watch that the inconceivable horrors of the Holocaust were spawned, thrived and went unchallenged.

No wonder then that the very first line of Bonhoeffer’s book should read: “Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church; we are fighting today for costly grace.” By` cheap grace’ he meant the sacraments and the consolations of religion given away at `cut prices.’ By cheap grace he meant the conferral of absolution without requiring costly repentance; the bestowal of baptism without requiring costly commitment; the reception of Communion without requiring costly bread-breaking. By cheap grace he meant `discipleship’ that doesn’t cost the church institution or its members one red cent. But by `costly grace,’ however, he meant discipleship which makes costly demands both on the church institution and its members.

`Farming out’ discipleship

It’s natural to dismiss costly discipleship as unrealistic or to water it down to size, or to simply `farm it out’ to others. In his book Bonhoeffer makes an interesting observation which gives Catholics pause. The Roman Church, he writes, felt uneasy about dismissing the call to discipleship as unrealistic or about simply watering it down. So Rome came up with a creative and clever solution: it `farmed out’ discipleship. It entrusted the following of Jesus – holiness of life - to a few chosen specialists in the Church: monks and nuns! To them the Roman Church could point and say, “Look at these heroes of mine! In them I have obeyed Jesus’ call to discipleship.” That creative solution, Bonhoeffer contended, created a double standard in the Roman Church: a maximum one for a few chosen monks and nuns, and a minimum one for the rest of God’s people. But discipleship, he maintained, “is not the achievement or merit of a chosen few people but is a divine command to all Christians without distinction.”

 

Catching up to Bonhoeffer

In Vatican II the Church caught up to Bonhoeffer’s contention that discipleship is a divine command not just to a chosen few but to all Christians. In its stellar document Lumen Gentium, the Council carved out a special chapter entitled The Call of the Whole Church to Holiness [discipleship], and purposely placed it immediately before a chapter entitled Religious (monks and nuns). In that special chapter the Council states, ”The Lord Jesus, the divine Teacher and Model of all perfection, preached holiness of life [discipleship] to each and every one of his disciples, regardless of their situation. “ (Lumen Gentium, art . 40) That put an end, at least on paper, to the Church’s `farming out’ discipleship and holiness to a chosen few.

John revives foot-washing.

Good Pope John didn’t farm out discipleship; rather he practiced what he preached. On the day of his `coronation’ November 4, 1958, he said in his homily that he had in mind for his pontificate the example of the Good Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve. On the very next day after his `coronation’ he went forth to practice what he preached. John sped off through elaborate Vatican gates to serve. He visited aging brother priests in nursing homes. He visited inmates in the nearby Regina Coeli Prison along the Tiber.  “I come to you because you couldn’t come to me,” he told them. When he celebrated his first Holy Thursday as pope on March 26, 1959, he revived an ancient custom of the Church which had fallen into disuse for many centuries:: like Jesus John girded himself with a towel and bent down to wash the feet of 13 young priests.  That was a very new experience for the church institution which had  become very adept at serving itself

Francis washes the feet of the ` right people.’

Neither does Good Pope Francis farm out discipleship; he practices what he preaches. When Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope and chose the name of Francis, he was connecting himself with the world famous 13^th century Saint Francis of Assisi. From the very first minute of his election, Francis chose a new style, unlike his predecessor: no miter with gold and jewels, no ermine-trimmed cape, no made-to-measure red shoes and headwear, no magnificent throne.

Then on his first Holy Thursday as pope, Francis went to the Casal del Marmo prison, a juvenile detention center outside of Rome. There he washed and kissed the foot of a Muslim! Worse than that, he washed and kissed the foot of two young women! That was indeed a very surprising and significant departure from tradition, which restricts the Holy Thursday ritual to males only. No pope has ever washed the feet of a woman before, and Francis' gesture sparked a debate among some conservatives and liturgical purists, who felt he had set a "very questionable example." Liberals, however, felt that Francis had washed the feet of the `right people,’ and they welcomed that as a promising sign.

Francis also washes feet in the `right place.’

Kneeling on the stone floor of the Casal del Marmo prison before 12 young people, the 76-year-old Francis poured water over each foot, dried it with a simple cotton towel, and then bent over to kiss each foot. Some said the Casal del Marmo prison was the `wrong place’ for the foot-washing ritual of Holy Thursday; previous popes always held that ritual in the church of St. John Lateran – the cathedral church of the Bishop of  Rome – the Pope. Others said that Casal del Marmo prison was indeed the `right place’ for the ritual foot-washing.

When John XXIII celebrated his first Holy Thursday as pope on March 26, 1959 he revived an ancient custom of the Church which had fallen into disuse for many centuries: like Jesus John girded himself with a towel and bent down to wash the feet of 13 young priests. And he did the foot-washing in the lofty basilica of St. John Lateran. When Pope Francis celebrated his first Holy Thursday as pope he went even further: he washed the feet of 12 people, two of whom were women! And he did it not in some lofty basilica but in Casal del Marmo prison! That was simply a continuation of his style as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, when he would celebrate the Holy Thursday foot-washing ritual in jails, hospitals or hospices.

Conclusion

`A Franciscan Pontificate’

On Holy Thursday Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of the `right people’ in that juvenile detention center outside of Rome. He also did the foot-washing and foot-kissing of Holy Thursday in the `right place’ – not in John Lateran Basilica (the Pope’s cathedral) but in Casal del Marmo prison. Pope Francis stunned traditionalists by washing and kissing the feet of the `wrong people’ ( a Muslim and two young women) and in the `wrong place’ (a detention center). And that, indeed, is a good sign that ` a Franciscan pontificate’ is dawning upon the Church.

 

Jesus according to the Nicene Creed and Pope Francis

 

Jesus according to the Nicene Creed and Pope Francis

12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 23, 2013
Zechariah 12:10-11; 13:1   Galatians 3:26-29  Luke 9:18-24

Alleluia, alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Glory to you, Lord.

One day when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with Him, He asked them, “Who do the people say that I am?” They said in reply, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others say that you are one of the ancient prophets who has come back to life.’” Then He asked them, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are God’s Messiah.”

Then Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone, and added,

 “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, be put to death, and be raised up on the third day.” And He said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

----------------

Introduction

Many real answers

When Jesus asked his disciples who do the people say that I am, He wasn’t looking for one right answer. He was simply looking for real answers from real people. In the gospel today Jesus received three real answers. "Some say you are John the Baptist; others say you are Elijah; still others say you are one of the ancient prophets." Three real answers from real people, and none of them is wrong and none is right.  They’re all simply real answers, and as such they’re all true.

There are many real answers to the Jesus question. If you ask a good Lutheran who do you say Jesus is, he will answer: “He is the one who saves us not through works but through grace.”  If you ask a good Catholic who do you say Jesus is, he will answer: “He now is his mystical body, the Church, whose head is Peter.” If you ask a social activist who do you say Jesus is, he will answer with Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “He is a man for other people.”If you ask a woman or a gay person or an African American who do you say Jesus is, he will answer: “He is liberator and freedom fighter.”

Simon’s very right answer

After asking “Who do people say that I am?” Jesus looked at the apostles and asked, “Who do you say that I am?”  He was still looking for real answers from real people. Speaking for the others, Simon answered, "You are God’s Messiah." (Lk. 9:20)  Now that was not only a very real answer coming from a hard-working fisherman, it was also a very right answer. And because of it Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter (meaning `Rock’), and made him the rock-foundation and first pope upon whom Jesus would build his Church. (Mt. 16: 17-18)

An even `more right’ answer

Three hundred years later in the Council of Nicea (325), the Church formulated an even `more right’ answer to the Jesus question.  We recite it in the Nicene Creed: Jesus is “true God from true God.” He is “Light from Light.” He is “begotten not made.” He is “consubstantial with the Father.” You can’t get a `more right’ answer than that. But whether we sing it in Latin or recite it in English, at the end of the day most of us really do not know what the words mean. At best we suspect they claim a very extraordinary uniqueness for Jesus the Son born of Mary.  

“The only right answer”

When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he issued a 36-page document entitled Dominus Iesus ( Jesus the Lord). It warned Catholics not to water down the very extraordinary uniqueness of Jesus when dealing with Buddhism and Hinduism. In dialoguing with non-Catholic Christian churches, the document also warned us not to water down the extraordinary uniqueness of the Catholic Church.

The document was heavy with ponderous theology. It was disheartening for ecumenists who for thirty years were laboriously building bridges. At times it seemed arrogant and condescending in remarks like, “Though non-Catholic churches suffer from defects, they by no means have been deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation.” One Catholic gentleman responded very positively to Ratzinger’s lengthy document; he wrote: “With Dominus Iesus the cafeteria is closed! No more picking and choosing. All religions are not created equal. Period! “

But another Catholic gentleman responded very negatively to the same Vatican document; he wrote: “As an American Catholic, I want to apologize to my non-Catholic friends and acquaintances for the arrogance of my Church toward them.”

The answer given by Ratzinger’s document to the question who is Jesus of Nazareth and where is his true Church might well be the one only right answer. But what’s the use of having the one only right answer, if it is too ponderous to understand, or if it tears down bridges laboriously built, or if it angers people with its arrogance and condescension?

Pope Francis kisses a paralytic

On his first Easter Sunday Pope Francis was moving through an enthusiastic crowd of more than 250,000 people in St. Peter's Square following Mass. In a very poignant moment, Francis stopped the `pope mobile’ in order to cradle and kiss a paralytic boy passed to him from the crowd. The child worked hard to hug the Pope. When he succeeded, a great smile of satisfaction suffused the little boy’s face. The boy’s name is Dominic Gondreau. He is eight years old and has cerebral palsy. He is the son of Christiana and Dr. Paul Gondreau. That poignant moment of Pope Francis kissing little Dominic went viral: many of the major television news outlets in America showed the video images in their news reports.

Pope Francis recites the Nicene Creed which declares that Jesus is “true God from true God, Light from Light, begotten not made and consubstantial with the Father.” Though he is a very educated Jesuit and a very smart man, Francis like most of us probably does not really know what those impressive words of the Nicene Creed mean. But he does indeed know who Jesus is: He is the One who was so eager to heal a paralytic man in a very crowded house that He had to let himself down into the house through an opening in the tiles of the roof to get to the paralytic. (Lk. 5:17-26)

Pope Francis breaks bread with a Swiss Guard

One evening (not too long into his papacy) Pope Francis felt sorry for the poor Swiss Guard who stood at attention every night until dawn at the door of his simple and very `unpapal' apartment in the Casa Santa Marta. So he went and got the poor man a chair, and told him: “At least sit down and rest." The guard rolled his eyes and answered: “Santo Padre, forgive me, but I may not sit down! The regulations don’t allow that." The Pope smiled, "Oh, really? Well, I'm the Pope and I tell you to sit down." Then Francis went back to his apartment, and minutes later returned to the Swiss Guard who was still obediently seated in the chair.  Pope Francis was carrying a `panino con marmallata’ (a little Italian bread roll spread with jam) which the Pope had prepared for the hungry guard. Before the guard could say anything, the Holy Father, exhibiting his Argentinean smile, wished the Swiss Guard "Buon appetito."

Again, Francis like the rest of us recites the Nicene Creed which declares that Jesus is “true God from true God, Light from Light, begotten not made and consubstantial with the Father.” Like the rest of us Francis might not know just what the words really mean. But he does indeed know who Jesus is: He is the one who multiplied 5 loaves and 2 fishes to feed 5000 hungry people. (Lk. 9:10-17).

Pope Francis washes the feet of inmates

Just over two weeks after his election, on Holy Thursday Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of twelve inmates of the Casa del Marmo - a juvenile detention center. Many were shocked that two of the twelve young people were women. Even more egregious was the fact that one of them was a Muslim and others were gypsies and North African immigrants.

The Gospel tells us that one day a Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to have dinner with him. And a woman who had a bad reputation in town came to Jesus, bent down before Him, washed his feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and poured perfume on them. This startled the Pharisee who said to himself: “If this man Jesus were a prophet, he would know what kind of a woman is touching him.” (Lk. 7:36-39)  Today’s Pharisee would say, “If this man Pope Francis were a prophet, he would know what kind of people he consorts with: inmates, loose women, Muslims, gypsies and immigrants.”

Conclusion

Pope Francis sheds more light.

At the end of the day, it’s not the recitation of the Nicene Creed that really matters. What really matters is a Pope who, in the name of Jesus, kisses a paralytic, breaks bread with a Swiss Guard, and washes the feet of inmates. By so doing Pope Francis quietly, subtly and wordlessly sheds more light on who Jesus of Nazareth is than does the incomprehensible formula of the Nicene Creed that proclaims Jesus to be “true God from true God, Light from Light, begotten not made and consubstantial with the Father.”

 

 

Justice and Compassion Trumping 'Sex'

“A woman of the street entered the Pharisee’s house. She was crying and bathing Jesus’ feet with her tears. Then she wiped his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them.” (Lk. 7:37-38)

Justice and Compassion Trumping `Sex’

11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 16, 2013

2 Samuel 12:7-10        Galatians 2:16, 19-21         Luke 7:36-50

 Alleluia, alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Glory to you, Lord.

A Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to dine with him, and He accepted the invitation. As they sat down to eat, a woman of the street heard He was there, and brought an exquisite flask filled with expensive perfume. She entered the house and knelt behind him at his feet. Weeping she began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured the perfume on them. When the Pharisee saw this he said to himself, “If this man were really a prophet, he would know what kind of a woman is touching him.” 

Jesus knowing his thoughts said, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”  Simon replied, “What is it, Teacher?”  Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people -- $5,000 to one and $500 to another. But neither of them could pay him back, so he kindly cancelled out their debt. Now who of the two do you suppose loved him more,” Jesus asked Simon. Simon replied, “I suppose the one who owed him more.”  ”Correct,” Jesus agreed.

Then pointing to the woman He said to Simon, “See this woman kneeling here! When I entered your house you did not offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not offer me the customary kiss of greeting, but she has kissed my feet again and again. You neglected the usual courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has covered my feet with rare perfume. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she loved much. But the one who has been forgiven little loves little." Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others sitting at the table said among themselves,”Who does this man think he is, going around and forgiving sins?” But Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
----------------

Introduction

Father’s Day

Today, June 16, is Father’s Day. A laid-back and cavalier attitude about children without fathers infiltrates our culture. At the end of the day, however, fathers are not like luxury options on new cars - - nice to have but you can get along just fine without them. They are not like ice-cube-makers on our refrigerators - - nice to have but you can get along just fine without them. It’s a no-brainer to say that fathers are much more important than luxury options or ice-cube-makers. It’s also a no-brainer to say it’s important for a child to have a father, and for a mother to have a partner to help her bring her new-born infant to full potential. The Child born to Mary had something in common with many children today: Jesus also started out without a father. But even heaven knows how important fathers are; so heaven gave Jesus a father in Joseph. That was more justice than it was judgment - justice to infant Jesus and to mother Mary.

Society’s assumption: ` Sex is the sin of sins.’

The gospels show Jesus as habitually downplaying society’s assumption that `sex is the sin of sins.’ One day the teachers of the Law and Pharisees caught a woman in an act of adultery. They dragged her before Jesus in the Temple. These `religious’ men were out to trap Him when they asked, “What do you think should be done to her?” They knew that Jesus was lenient and understanding when it came to matters of sex. They felt that his leniency contradicted the Law of Moses which commanded that adulterers be stoned. (Lv. 20:10)

 The Master, however, refused to give the woman’s sex sin the same prominence which the teachers of the Law and Pharisees gave it. With a kind of ho-hum attitude, Jesus bent down and began to scribble with his finger in the dust on the floor of Temple. When those self-righteous people persisted, He straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her.” (Jn. 8:1-11)

Prostitutes preceding priests into the kingdom!

Again Jesus downplays society’s assumption that `sex is the sin of sins.’ To the chief priests and Jewish elders He says, “I tell you that tax collectors and prostitutes are preceding you into the kingdom of God.  For John the Baptist came to show you the right path to take, but you did not believe him, though tax collectors and prostitutes did.” (Mt. 21:31-32) Prostitutes preceding priests into the kingdom! That was strong imagery, and it eventually got Jesus into trouble. “When the feast of Passover drew near, the chief priests and teachers of Law were looking for an opportune time to kill Jesus.” (Lk. 22:1-2)

Enters `a woman of the Street’

In today’s gospel Jesus again cuts down to size society’s assumption that `sex is the sin of sins.’ One day a Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to have dinner with him. It is not clear why he asked Jesus to dine at his house. Perhaps it was because Jesus was popular and it would help Simon’s own prestige to be seen with such a person. Maybe it was curiosity and he wanted to find out a bit more about this unusual man who was reported to be performing miracles and preaching profound sermons. What is clear, however, is that Simon felt no warmth towards Jesus. He didn’t feel obliged to offer Him the common courtesies expected of a host, such as arranging for the washing of his feet and the anointing of his head with oil.

In the course of the meal there enters `a woman of the street.’ She begins to weep and bathe His feet with her tears. Then she wipes His feet with her hair, kisses them and anoints them with perfume. When Simon sees this, he says to himself, “If this man Jesus were a prophet, he would know what kind of a woman is touching Him.” Jesus knows what Simon is thinking, and He says to him, “When I came to your house, hot and sweaty, you didn’t offer me cool clear water to wash my tired and dusty feet. You didn’t greet me with a kiss. You didn’t anoint my head with oil.” And then in the same breath Jesus praises the woman of the street. “She however washed my feet with her tears, and dried them with her hair.” Then Jesus proclaims that “her many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much.” (Lk.7:44-46)

A Cardinal who downsizes sex and upsizes justice

Sex was not `the sin of sins’ for Jesus. Neither was it for Cardinal Oscar Rodriquez Maradiaga of Honduras (at one time very ‘papabilis’). Like Jesus he chooses to downsize sex and upsize justice. He tells a corporate and capitalist world that injustice is `a greater sin than sex.’ He complains of the media’s persecution of the Church in the clergy sex abuse scandal. In fiery language, he compares that treatment to the persecution of Christians under the emperors Nero and Diocletian, and under the dictators Hitler and Stalin. That angered some people who cried out, “There go the church leaders again--in denial and blaming the messenger for the Church’s problem.” Even Fr. Andrew Greely (recently deceased) labeled the Cardinal as `clueless.’

Maradiaga, however, is not a crusty foreign prelate out of touch. Neither is he one of those ecclesiastical paranoids who see enemies of the Church under every rock. In an interview he made it clear that not for a moment does he question the sufferings of victims of clergy sex abuse. Not for a moment does he deny the failure of some bishops to intervene when they should have. But he says he wants to call into question the exaggerated emphasis on clergy sex abuse, in a world beset by a host of other mountainous problems, which, if they are not weightier, are at least as weighty as sex abuse. The Cardinal mentions a number of those problems:

-Millions of hungry and utterly destitute human beings.

-An AIDS-pandemic killing off a whole generation of Africans.

-Drug-trafficking choking off democracy in Latin America.

-1.2 billion people drinking polluted water.

 

-The combined salary for 12,000 Nike workers In Indonesia for a whole year not adding up to what one famous basketball player gets for one endorsement. Etc.

  

In such a world, the Cardinal asks whether the sex abuse of minors by perhaps 2 percent of priests merits such saturation bombing. Maradiaga prefers to downsize sex and upsize justice.  

A Pope who upsizes compassion

Pope Francis downsizes sex and upsizes compassion. Just over two weeks after he was elected Pope, on Holy Thursday Francis washed and kissed the feet of twelve inmates of the Casa del Marmo, a juvenile detention center. Indeed, this is going to be a different papacy. Many were shocked that two of the twelve young people were women. Even more egregious was the fact that one of them was a Muslim. Among the group were gypsies and North African immigrants.

 Pharisee Simon said, “If this man Jesus were a prophet, he would know what kind of a woman is touching him.” A Pharisees today would say, “If this man Pope Francis were a prophet, he would know what kind of people he compassionately consorts with: inmates, loose women, Muslims, gypsies and immigrants.

Conclusion

Justice and compassion `trumping sex’

In the Temple Jesus challenges the one without sin to throw the first stone at the woman caught in adultery. (Jn. 8:1-11) He also tells the chief priests and Jewish elders that tax collectors and prostitutes are preceding them into the kingdom of God. (Mt. 21:31) And in today’s gospel He tells the self-righteous Pharisee Simon that `the woman of the street’ had been forgiven much because she had loved much. (Lk .7:44-46) In the new and burgeoning papacy of Pope Francis there is great hope and promise that justice and compassion will `trump sex.’

The Compassion of Jesus

“When the Lord saw the poor widow, He was moved

 with compassion and said to her, `Do not weep.’“ (Lk. 7:13)

The Compassion of Jesus

10^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 9, 2013

1 Kings 17:17-24   Galatians 1:11-19   Luke 7:11-17 

1^st reading from 1 Kings: Elijah gave the son to his mother.

Elijah went to Zarephath of Sidon to the house of a widow. The son of the mistress of the house fell sick, and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing. So she said to Elijah, “Why have you done this to me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt and to kill my son?” Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” Taking him from her lap, he carried the son to the upper room where he was staying, and put him on his bed. Elijah called out to the LORD: “O LORD, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and called out to the LORD: “O LORD, my God, let life return to the body of this child.” The LORD heard the prayer of Elijah; life returned to the child’s body and he revived. Taking the child, Elijah brought the son down into the house from the upper room and gave the son to his mother. Elijah said to her, “See! Your son is alive.” The woman replied to Elijah, “Now indeed I know that you are a man of God. The word of the LORD comes truly from your mouth.”

The word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Glory to you, Lord.

Jesus gave the son to his mother.

Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him .As He drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother who was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He was moved with compassion and said to her, “Do not weep.“ He stepped forward and touched the coffin. At this the bearers stopped, and He said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The dead son sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave the son to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, “A great prophet has arisen in our midst,” and “God has visited his people.” This report about Him spread through the whole of Judea and in the surrounding region.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Introduction

Jesus’ compassion for widows

Evangelist Luke has a warm feeling in his heart for widows. He mentions widows more frequently than the other three evangelists. He tells the story of Anna, daughter of Phanuel, and a widow for 84 years. She never left the Temple; day and night she worshiped God. She was in the Temple when Joseph and Mary came with the infant Jesus to perform the ceremony of purification. (Lk. 2:36-38)

Luke’s compassion for widows reflects Jesus’ compassion for them. Jesus tells a parable about a bad judge who feared neither God nor man, and who was greatly annoyed by a poor widow who kept begging him to plead her case. He finally gave in, if for no other reason than to shut the poor widow up. (Lk. 18: 1-8)  Then there are Jesus’ harsh words concerning the teachers of the Law: “They walk around in long robes; they like to be greeted with respect in the market place; they grab the reserved seats in the synagogues, and they take advantage of widows and rob them of their homes.“ (Lk. 20:46-47) Then there was the occasion when Jesus was in the Temple near the treasury, watching rich people ostentatiously casting in sizeable donations, and He saw a poor widow dropping in her two little copper coins. He said to his disciples: “Look at that poor widow! She gave more than all the others put together.” (Lk. 21:1-4) 

 

Jesus and the widow of Nain

Today’s gospel story (found only in Luke) is also about Jesus’ compassion for widows. One day on his way to Nain He came upon a funeral procession coming out of the city gate. A widow from Nain was burying her only son. The poor woman now has no means of economic support, since both her husband and her only son are dead. When Jesus came upon the funeral procession at the city gate, He was moved with compassion for the poor widow who was weeping, for she now had neither a husband nor a son to help her in her great need. And He said to her, "Do not weep!"

 

(Lk.7:13) We've all said, "Do not weep!" in awkward situations." What we sometimes mean is "Don't cry! You're making me feel uncomfortable." What Jesus was saying when He told the widow “Do not weep” was: "Your cry for help has been answered. So you can stop your weeping!"

The widow of Nain telling her story

Listen to the story of Jesus raising up the dead son of the widow from Nain, as told by the widow herself: [1]

 I was born in Endor –a place not far from Nain. When my husband first brought me here to Nain as his young bride, I suddenly felt I had been translated to the other side of the world. It was only when my belly started to swell with child that I began to feel at home here in Nain. Some woman would  drop by with a handful of herbs which were supposed to help with the incessant nausea or backaches. Then there was always some woman who would go into the gory details of birthing. One woman named Miriam confessed that she thought she was giving birth to a demon instead of baby. Another woman named Hannah warned me at least 5 times to make sure the child suckles on both sides, if I didn’t want to be crippled with pain.

But then my husband suddenly died on me, and left me in tight straights. When my son, a healthy young lad and a blessing to our house, was finally old enough to learn a trade, I began to breathe a little easier. But then he suddenly died, and my world came to an abrupt end. Now I was completely alone – without husband, without son, and yes also without means of support.

At this very low point in my life something amazing happened. We had just carried my son’s body outside the town’s gate, when we encountered a traveling Teacher and his disciples. He came right up to us. Someone must have told Him I was a widow who had just lost her only son. I half expected Him to offer some hollow words of comfort or press a coin into my palm without quite looking me in the eye, like a few others had done. Instead He looked at me and seemed to understand just how utterly alone I felt. Then moved with compassion that went far beyond awkward pity, He said to me, “Do not weep!” And He walked over to my son’s bier and touched it. A few people gasped, for he was obviously violating one of our many purity laws. But that all changed quickly by what happened next: the moment He touched the bier, my son sat up and started talking to Him! 

Two parables about compassion

In the world of politics compassion is an unmentionable emotion and a dirty word. It conjures up “the horrors of the welfare system which does for others what they should be challenged to do for themselves.” But compassion was not an unmentionable emotion for Jesus. He tells two very powerful parables about compassion.

 The first is The Parable of the Good Samaritan. A Jewish priest and Levite, who on the road to Jericho came upon a poor man waylaid by bandits and left half-dead by the roadside. The priest and Levite crossed the street in order to avoid having to stop and administer to the wounded man. “But a certain Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon the poor man, and when he saw him was moved with compassion. “ (Lk. 10:33) He stopped, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he hoisted the man on his animal and hurried him off to the nearest inn, where he paid for his care and cure. (Lk. 10:25-34).

 The second is The Parable of the Prodigal Son. A wayward son goes off to a foreign land where he wastes his inheritance on loose women and extravagant living. When he runs out of money and is reduced to slopping a farmer’s pigs, he comes to his sense and decides to return to the house of his father. “Upon seeing his son returning home, the father was moved with compassion.  He runs out to meet him, throws his arms around his boy, and kisses him.” Then the father threw a huge party “because this son of mine was dead but now he is alive; he was lost but now he has been found.” (Lk.15:11-24)

Jesus moved with compassion

Jesus not only tells us parables about compassion He himself is also moved with compassion. When a leper came up to Him and begged to be healed, Mark writes: “Jesus was moved with compassion for the leper. He reached out and touched the man, and his leprosy left him.” (Mk. 1:40-42)  -  Mark also writes, “When Jesus got out of the boat, He saw this large crowd, and He was moved with compassion for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd.” His compassion for the crowd then multiplied 5 loaves and 2 fishes to feed 5000 hungry people.  (Mk. 6:34-44)  -  When Jesus was leaving Jericho one day two blind men sitting by the side of the road begged Him to open their eyes. ”Jesus was moved with compassion for them. He touched their eyes; immediately they were able to see, and they followed Him.” (Mt. 20:29-34)

Conclusion

Government that’s not ashamed of `compassion’

Compassion wasn’t an unmentionable emotion or a dirty word for Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York State. In a very powerful address to the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco (the city of Francis) July 16, 1984 Cuomo courageously used the C-word. “President Reagan,” he said, “told us from the very beginning that he believed in a kind of social Darwinism - survival of the fittest. `Government can’t do everything.’” In that city named after St. Francis of Assisi, Cuomo said, “We would rather have laws written by the patron of this great city (the man called the `world’s most sincere Democrat’ -  St. Francis of Assisi) than laws written by Darwin.” Then Cuomo unabashedly declared, “We want a government which is not ashamed, but is courageous enough, to use the words `love’ and compassion.’” 

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[1] The following section was written basically by Julie Clawson.