Pope Francis’ Banquet

“‘When you hold a banquet, invite the poor,

  the maimed, the lame and the blind.” (Lk.14:13)

Pope Francis’ Banquet

22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 1, 2013  

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24   Luke 14:1, 7-14

 

Alleluia, Alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.

Glory to you, Lord

 

 On a Sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing Him carefully. Noticing how some of the guests were choosing the places of honor at the table He told them this parable:

When you’re invited to a wedding banquet, don’t grab the best places at table. A more distinguished guest than you might be invited by the host, and then the host will say to you, “Give your place to this man.” Embarrassed you will have to step down and take the lowest place. Rather, take the lowest place first, and the host will say to you, “My friend, go up there to the front table.” Then you will enjoy the esteem of the other guests at the table. For everyone who makes himself great will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be made great. 

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you hold a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors. They might invite you back, and then you will be repaid. Rather, when you hold a banquet invite the poor, the maimed, the lame and blind. Then you will indeed be blessed. They will not be able to repay you, but the Father in heaven will repay you at the resurrection of the just.”(Lk. 14:1, 7-14)

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction

The end of summer & the beginning of school

Tomorrow, the first Monday in September, is Labor Day in the USA.  It was created by the labor movement in the late 19^th century and became a federal holiday in 1894. For many of us Labor Day is `the end of summer,’ though on our calendars summer really ends on September 21, and autumn begins on September 22. Labor Day is characterized by one last fling at summer with parties in parks and barbecues in backyards. For many, particularly children and young adults, Labor Day means not only the end of summer but also the beginning of the school-year.

Marginalizing the poor

Jesus lines up a litany of people whom we should invite when we hold a banquet: “the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind.” (Lk. 14: 13)  Immediately following this passage and in the very same chapter 14 of Luke, Jesus tells a parable which reiterates that selfsame litany: A master sends his servant out to invite friends to a banquet, but they all make excuses for not coming, and that infuriates the master who sends his servant out into the streets and alleys of the town to invite “the poor, the maimed, the blind and the lame.” (Lk. 14: 21) 

These two passages cut us to the quick! Our social interaction is often based on what and whom we like. Jesus certainly isn’t frowning on family banquets or quiet dinners with friends, etc. But his exhortation to “hold a banquet for those who can’t repay you” is profound. It conflicts us who are nurtured by a society which trains us to invite to our banquets those who can repay us, and to pass-by those who can’t. We are nurtured by a society which marginalizes “the poor, the maimed, the blind and the lame.”

A very unusual banquet

Some time ago the Boston Globe carried a story about a very unusual banquet – a story about a young lady who went out “into the streets and alleys of the town to invite the poor, the maimed, the blind and the lame” to come to a banquet she was planning to hold.

She, a bride- to-be, was planning her wedding reception at the Boston Hyatt Hotel. She had worked her way out of poverty, and had even acquired rather expensive tastes. The bill on the wedding contract came to over $13,000! But on the day the invitations were to go out, the groom got cold feet and asked for more time to think matters over! That infuriated the jilted bride-to-be, and when she tried to cancel the reception, Hyatt told her: “The contract is binding. You’re entitled to only $1,300 back. You have two options: to forfeit the rest of the down payment, or to go ahead with the banquet. We’re sorry.” That made her very angry. So she decided to go ahead with the banquet, but in an utterly strange and surprising way which reflected her humble origins.

She decided to “go out to the streets and alleys of the town” and invite the chronically uninvited to her banquet. She sent invitations to shelters and rescue missions throughout Boston, and invited them to a night `out on the town.’ That summer evening, people who were used to eating leftover pizza or whatever good scraps they could find in garbage cans were eating chicken cordon bleu and being served hors d’oeuvres by waiters dressed in the fine tuxedos. The chronically uninvited of Boston ate, drank, and listened to big-band music late into the night. That night the Hyatt Hotel hosted a banquet such as it had never hosted before.

For the jilted bride, that unusual banquet for chronically uninvited people was an angry expression. For a follower of Jesus that unusual banquet is exactly what the Lord asks of us: “When you hold a banquet, go out into the streets and alleys of the town to invite the poor, the maimed, the blind and the lame.”

Francis is doing something new.

In these very early days of his papacy Pope Francis has been receiving a lot of praise. That praise of Francis, however, does not downplay or denigrate Popes John Paul II or Benedict XVI. For one thing, there wouldn’t be a free Western Europe were it not for the charismatic John Paul II. For another, even setting aside his many other contributions, were it not for the humility of Benedict, whose resignation made way for a successor, there wouldn’t be a Pope Francis.

But Francis is doing something new. (“Behold I make all things new,” says Revelation 21:5.)  He goes out “to the streets and alleys of the town,” and invites to the banquet the chronically uninvited: “the poor, the maimed, the lame and blind.” Other popes have walked among poor. John Paul II visited a favela (a slum district) in Rio in 1980. Other popes have spoken about the poor and economic injustice. The Church’s social justice tradition reaches back to the 19^th century Pope Leo XIII. But we’ve never seen a pope who literally and figuratively embraces the poor, as Francis does. The highlight of his recent trip to Brazil was his visit to the Varginha `favela’ or slum district. He felt at home among the Latin America poor, for as Archbishop of Buenos Aires he spent a lot of time in the slums.

 

A pope who hugs and is hugged

Francis, indeed, is doing something new: he makes people want to hug him! He smiles a lot and everyone seems to feel comfortable with him, which might explain the many hugs he gives, and the many hugs he gets from the crowds. There’s one gentle distinction we might make between Francis and his predecessors: we might indeed admire both John Paul II and Benedict XVI, but we would never have felt inclined to hug either of the two!

Pope Francis, on the other hand, is a big `papa.’ (In fact, the word for `pope’ in Italian is `papa.’) He evokes affection from everyone - from children to the elderly. He even evokes affection from bishops, priests and nuns. A Jesuit priest who met Pope Francis said that he couldn’t help himself as he instinctively hugged the Supreme Pontiff. In a Church where clerics are sometimes seen as cold and aloof, a pope who hugs and is hugged is indeed a wonderful and welcomed sight.

Pope Francis and the marginalized

Jesus says that when we hold a banquet we should invite the marginalized – “the poor, the maimed, the lame and blind.” When asked about the presence of gay priests in the Church, Francis quite courageously remarked: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” And he added: “They shouldn’t be marginalized. They’re our brothers.” Francis’ remark concerned not only gay priests but gays in general. This is probably the very first positive remark about gayness ever made by a pope!

Francis also calls for greater compassion for divorced and remarried Catholics, who have long felt marginalized in the Church. He also asks for a "deeper theology" of women who have also been marginalized. Francis is surprising and delighting the Universal Church with his remarkable shift in tone concerning the marginalized.

Conclusion

Already being repaid in this life

Pope Francis invites to the banquet not only “the poor, the maimed, the blind and the lame” but also a Swiss Guard who stands at attention every night until dawn at the door of his simple and very `unpapal' apartment in the Casa Santa Marta. Francis brought a chair to the Swiss Guard and told him to sit down and rest his weary bones. Then he went back to his `unpapal’ apartment, and minutes later returned with a `banquet’ he had prepared for the hungry guard. The `banquet’ was a panino con marmallata - a little Italian bread roll spread with jam!

Francis invites to the banquet not only the Swizz Guard who stands at attention at his door, but also gays, divorced and remarried people, and anyone else who’s marginalized. Jesus promised that those who invite ”the poor, the maimed, the blind, and the  lame” to the banquet will be repaid in the next life. From the huge smile that always radiates from Francis’ face it looks like this pope is already being repaid in this life.

“The Door to Heaven is Narrow!”

The shepherd casts the lost sheep over his shoulders

and happily carries it safely home. (Lk. 15:5-6)

 “The Door to Heaven is Narrow!”

21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 25, 2013,

Isaiah 66:18-21     Hebrews 12:5-7; 11    Luke 13:22-30 

2^nd reading from Hebrews

Brothers and sisters, have you forgotten the encouraging words which God speaks to you as his sons?

 “My son, pay attention when the Lord punishes you, and do not be discouraged when He rebukes you. Because the Lord punishes everyone He loves, and chastises everyone He accepts as a son.[1]”

Therefore, endure your sufferings as being a father’s punishment. For your sufferings show that God is treating you as his sons. Was there ever a son who was not punished by his father? At the time, all discipline is a cause not for joy but for pain. Later, however, discipline brings forth the fruit of righteousness.

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 passed through towns and villages, teaching as He went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked Him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Jesus replied, “The door to heaven is narrow, so work hard to get in. For I tell you when the head of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. Then you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will reply, ‘I do not know you!’ And you will answer, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know you!’ What great wailing and gnashing of teeth there will be when you will see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, while you stand outside. People will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. Then those who are now last will be first, and those who are now first will be last.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction

Like pages off the calendar

Here it is the 4^th Sunday of August already and the 21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Most of the kids are back to school. The fruits of the harvest will soon be gathered into bins, to provide for the long winter ahead. Soon leaves of brown will come tumbling down like pages off the calendar, and before we know it, we’ll be thinking and talking about Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.

Only a few people will be saved!

A conservative religious blogger complains about preachers who go so far as to say that those who are sincere in whatever beliefs they hold will be saved. The blogger says such preachers are in effect saying that the door to heaven is very wide, while Jesus says that door is very narrow. The blogger says he believes Jesus and not those preachers! 

Another blogger of the same ilk complains that people don’t want to be reminded of the `hard sayings’ of the Bible. He complains that those who claim that the door to heaven is very narrow are labeled as `narrow minded.’ “That’s OK,” the blogger writes. “We’re in good company, for Jesus himself says that the door to heaven is very narrow. Like it or not only a few people will be saved!  Whether or not we think this makes God a failure, whether or not that makes us sad and upsets us, isn't really important. If the Bible says it that settles it!”

`In good company’

Surprisingly, those bloggers seem to be `in good company.’ St. Paul quoting the prophet Isaiah writes: "Though the sons of Israel be as numerous as the grains of sand by the sea, yet only a few of them will be saved. For quickly and decisively will the Lord execute sentence upon the earth.” (Rm. 9:27; Is. 10: 22f)  Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604) writes equally gloomily: “Behold how many are gathered here for today's feast-day. We fill the church from wall to wall. Yet who knows how few of us shall be numbered in that chosen company of the elect?”

In the late 1870s Charles Taze Russell (founder of the Jehovah Witnesses,) gloomily limited the number of those saved to only 144,000. He gets that number from the Book of Revelation which speaks of 144,000 people “who had the seal of God on their foreheads, and who washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Rv. 7:1-14) 144,000 human beings, however, is but a drop of water in the whole sea of humanity. Strange to say, that same Scripture from Revelation about 144,000 saved is used on the feast of All Saints, Nov. 1, precisely to indicate the great number of the elect! That only goes to show that you can use Scripture to prove anything you want to prove!

All will be saved!

Universalism is a religious movement which affirms that all will be saved. It is a reaction to the gloomy view that only a few will be saved. In his autobiography, John Murray, an Englishman who migrated to the New World in 1770, recounts a conversation he had one day with a gloomy Calvinistic preacher who claimed that only 10% of his parishioners were predestined to everlasting life; the other 90% were predestined to never-ending misery. Reacting to the gloomy Calvinistic preacher, Murray went to the opposite end of the spectrum: in the place of an extremely severe and arbitrary God, Murray chose an extremely merciful and forgiving One. To the question will only a few be saved Murray answered, “Everyone will be saved! Nobody will be damned!” That’s called `Universalism,’ and for its proof Universalists also quote Scripture.

“Then Jesus said, `Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’” (Jn. 12:31-32)

“For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being. For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.” (I Cor. 15:22)  Etc.

Many will be saved!

Between the gloomy bloggers’ contention that “Few will be saved” and the very optimistic stance of Universalists’ that “All will be saved” there stands a blessed middle ground:  ”Many will be saved!” If one of Jesus’ sayings affirms rather explicitly that only a few will be saved (as today’s gospel does), and if many of his other sayings clearly affirm just the opposite (that many indeed will be saved) then Jesus’ many sayings should trump his one difficult saying. Fr Andrew Greeley (recently deceased) wrote:

This is a chilling gospel. It sounds like Jesus is tired and in a bad mood and probably fed up with people asking him such a silly question like “Will only a few be saved on the last day?” If the people had heeded all that Jesus had told them about his Father in heaven, they would have known that God is nothing but forgiveness and love, and they wouldn’t have been asking such a silly question like “Will only a few be saved on the last day?”

 

Jesus’ salvation parables

What, in fact, does Jesus tell the people about his Father in heaven? He tells them a salvation parable: A shepherd has ninety-nine sheep and one of them goes astray, and the shepherd goes in search of the one lost sheep. When he finally finds the poor bleating animal, he throws it over his shoulders, and carries it home. Then he calls in his neighbors to celebrate with him, because “There’s more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who have no need of repentance.”(Lk. 15:1-7) That’s what Jesus told the people about his Father in heaven, and it should have assured them that many more than just a few will be saved.

Jesus tells the people another salvation parable: One day a rebellious son grabs his inheritance and goes off to a foreign land. There he squanders his money on wine and women, and is finally reduced to hiring himself out to a farmer who sends him off to feed his pigs. The prodigal son finally comes to his senses, makes his way back to his father’s house, and is welcomed home with open arms. (Lk. 15:11-32)  That, again, is what Jesus told the people about his Father in heaven, and it should have assured them that many more than just a few will be saved.

“Few will be saved!”

 “Few will be saved!” That seemingly gloomy saying of Jesus is trumped by his parables and by other hope-filled sayings. “Few will be saved!” Do these words (which some staunch bloggers and gloomy preachers like) reflect a very strange psychological need in some people to limit the number of the saved to just a very few? Do they feel that such a gloomy limitation will in some very strange way merit for them a place among the few who will be saved?

“Few will be saved!” Is that a fear-tactic used by preachers who want to make and keep people `religious’? At the end of the day, the fear-tactic approach to salvation raises a profound question: Is it possible to make and keep people religious, when the hell-factor has been taken out of the equation, or at least greatly moved into the background? Which is better: religion which thrives on fear, or religion which is inspired by love?

Conclusion

Using Scripture to prove anything you want to prove

Scripture seems to say that only a few will be saved. Scripture also seems to say that many will be saved. For some, Scripture even seems to say that everyone will be saved. At the end of the day, you can use Scripture to prove anything you want to prove. Those, who have a strange psychological need that only a few be saved, will line up the Scripture texts which they think prove their point.

On the other hand, those who have a great personal need that all or at least many will be saved (because they’re well-aware of their own sinfulness) line up the Scripture texts which they think prove their point. Deeply aware that they’re sinners, they find great hope and consolation in Jesus’ salvation parables. They light up when they hear Jesus’ parable about a prodigal son who is welcomed back home by a loving father. They are given hope when they hear Jesus’ parable about a stray sheep found by a worried shepherd, who casts the lost and found sheep over his shoulders and happily carries it safely home. 

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[1] Proverbs 3, 11-12.

Francis Disturbs the `Peace’

 

 

Francis Disturbs the `Peace’

20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 18, 2013

 Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10      Hebrews 12:1-4 
     Luke 12:49-53

Alleluia, alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.

Glory to you, Lord.

Jesus said to Peter: “I have come to set fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! There is a terrible baptism ahead for me and how anguished I am until it is all over! You don’t think that I have come for peace, do you? No, not for peace but for strife and division. From now on a household of five will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against – or the other way around. A father will decide one way about me; his son, the other. Mother and daughter will disagree; and the decision of an honored mother-in-law will be dismissed by her daughter-in-law.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Introduction

The first hints of autumn

It’s the middle of August already, and in some areas the first hints of autumn are beginning to appear. Driving along we suddenly come upon small swaths of gold and red on herds of maple trees grazing on a hillside. From wide-opened windows at night we breathe in wafts of cool fresh air, as we lie cozily under an extra blanket. And we hear crickets singing of summer spent. As the very first fruits of the harvest come rushing in, some old-timers who aren’t addicted to supermarkets are getting ready to preserve the first fruits of summer in canning jars, for the long winter ahead. It’s that time of the `rolling year.’

 

A strange Prince of Peace

Handel’s Messiah Oratorio soars to lofty heights a number of times. It soars especially at the Christmas part of the oratorio, as it proclaims in the words of Isaiah: “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace.” (Is. 9:6) When the Prince of Peace grew up, He declared, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” (Mt. 5:9)  But then one day He said to Peter: “I have come to set fire upon the earth. You don’t think that I have come for peace, do you? No, not peace but strife and division. (Lk. 12:49-51)  A strange Prince of Peace who asks, “You don’t think that I have come for peace, do you? “A strange Prince of Peace who comes for strife and division

A `peace’ that’s ` a patched-up affair’

In T.S. Eliot’s play, Murder in the Cathedral, Thomas a Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury (exiled by King Henry II of England), is returning to England, and the people are wondering whether the two have made peace with each other. Someone in the crowd remarks, “Yes, peace, but not the kiss of peace -- a patched-up affair.” The patched-up affair didn’t last long.  On the night of December 29, 1170, to the shock of all Europe, some of the king’s men murdered the Archbishop in his cathedral. The peace Jesus says He has come to disturb is the `peace that’s not the kiss of peace but simply `a patched-up affair.’

A pope who disturbed the `peace’

In response and reaction to Luther’s revolution and reformation, the Church summoned the Council of Trent which lasted for 18 years (1545-1563). Trent caused a deep slumbering `peace’ to fall upon the Church. It was a `peace’ which came from the lid being securely placed on everything. It was a `peace’ which brooked no questions because now all the questions had been officially asked and officially answered by Trent. There were no more questions to ask, and no more answers to seek. And no questions were asked for four hundred years! That made for a `peace’ which was not the `kiss of peace but a patched-up affair.’ Many of us senior citizens grew up under that `peace.’ Then suddenly that `patched-up affair’ was blown away by the Pentecostal winds of Vatican II (1962-65) called by Good Pope John XXIII.

Upon the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958 the cardinals elected 77 year-old Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, who took the name of John XXIII. They figured the old man wouldn’t have a long pontificate, and wouldn’t therefore rock the Bark of Peter and disturb the `peace’ of the Church. To their surprise the new pope said to them in so many words, “You don’t think I have come for peace do you?” Then he summoned the Church to Vatican II, and that, indeed, disturbed the `peace’ of the Church.

A bishop who disturbed the `peace’

Thomas J. Gumbleton, auxiliary bishop in Detroit, founding president of Pax Christi US, and president of Bread for the World has a brother Dan who is gay, got married and had children. One day Gumbleton’s mother asked him whether his brother Dan “was going to hell?” That prompted Gumbleton to initiate and co-author a pastoral letter of the US Catholic Bishops entitled Always Our Children. The letter courageously affirmed that “homosexuals are a gift to the Church, and we should not marginalize them and push them aside.” Gumbleton, indeed, disturbed the `peace’ of a homophobic Church.

He also disturbed the `peace’ when he wrote: "I can vouch for the fact that very many bishops share the same conviction that not every contraceptive act is intrinsically evil. However, sadly enough, fewer and fewer are willing to say this publicly.” [1] Again Gumbleton disturbed the `peace’ of the Church when he wrote: “Priestesses will inevitably come. Already female parochial administrators are proving their competency and laying the groundwork for the ordination of women.” When some fellow-bishops told Gumbleton that he was disturbing the` peace’ of the Church, he said to them in so many words:”You don’t think I’ve come for peace, do you?” 

Another pope who disturbs the `peace’

Now it is Pope Francis who is disturbing the `peace’ of the Church. He puts an end to the Italian monopoly on church governance, by courageously setting up a commission of 21 people to flesh out church reform; and only 3 among the 21 are Italians!  He disturbs the `peace’ of the Church, as he gives the laity a meaningful role in reforming the Vatican and governing the Church. He sets up a commission to study the economic and administrative structures of the Church, and that commission is made up of 8 people - only 1 of whom is a Monsignor and the other 7 are lay people!

Again, Francis disturbs the `peace’ by repositioning the Church in the center, after having drifted to the right for a fairly lengthy period. An Italian journalist writes, “It cannot be an accident that after 120 days of his pontificate, Pope Francis has not yet spoken the words abortion, euthanasia or homosexual marriage.” Speaking to reporters on the overnight flight from Rio de Janeiro back to Rome Francis said, "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?"

Conclusion

A time for everything

We can’t rid our lives of every `peace’ that’s nothing more than `a patched-up affair.’ We simply don’t have enough time or energy for that. Furthermore, there’s a place in life for compromise and truce, both of which aren’t the `kiss of peace.’ But there are critical situations and privileged moments which challenge us to make war on a `peace’ that’s really not peace at all but simply `a patched-up affair.’ There are critical situations and privileged moments which challenge us to settle for nothing less than `the kiss of peace.’

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says there is a time for everything under the heavens. “There is a time to be born and a time to die.”(3:2) “There is a time to be silent and a time to speak out.” (3:7) “There is a time to make war and a time to make peace.” (3: 8) To Ecclesiastes’ litany we add: “There is a time to be at peace with a `patched-up affair,’ and a time to make war on such a `peace.’  And Lady Wisdom knows the difference!

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[1] In America magazine for Nov. 20, 1963,

365 Times: “Do not be afraid!”

 

 

365 Times: “Do not be afraid!”

19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 11, 2013

Wisdom 18: 6-9   Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 
 Luke 12:32-40

Alleluia, alleluia

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Glory to you, Lord

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

The Gospel of the Lord

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.

Introduction

The world: “Be afraid!”

The commercial world constantly bombards us with the message: “Be afraid; be very afraid!” Advertising is founded quite soundly on the hope that we are afraid of something. We are afraid of an accident, so we buy car insurance. We are afraid of fire or flooding, so we buy house insurance. We are afraid of getting sick, so we buy health insurance. We are afraid looking old, so we buy an anti-aging facial cream, or we undergo a `wrinkle-remove’ surgery. Etc.

The Bible: “Do not be afraid!”

The Bible’s most commonly repeated phrase is “Do not be afraid!” Some say it appears a good 365 times in the whole Bible. To mention but one example from the Old Testament, when the Lord God called Jeremiah to be a prophet (one who speaks in God’s name) Jeremiah found himself stuttering: "Ah, Ah, Ah. Lord, God, I don't know how to speak. I'm too young to be a prophet."  God said to Jeremiah: “Do not be afraid, for I will protect you.” (Jer. 1:4-8)

The New Testament (especially the Nativity narrative) abounds with “Do not be afraid.” When Zachariah was burning incense at the hour of incense, an angel of the Lord said to him. ”Do not be afraid, Zachariah! God has heard your prayer, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.” (Lk.1:13) When the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would become pregnant and bear a son, she was deeply troubled, and Gabriel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary!”(Lk. 1:30)  When Joseph, became disturbed upon hearing that Mary was pregnant, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Do not be afraid, Joseph! Take Mary as your wife, for it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived.” (Mt. 1:20)  Then when the fullness of time came and shepherds were out in the fields, keeping watching over their flock by night, an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them and said, “Do not be afraid, good shepherds! I have good news for you: today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you – Christ the Lord.” (Lk.2:10)

Pope Francis is not afraid

An angel of the Lord speaks now to Pope Francis and tells him, “Do not be afraid to break the Italian monopoly on the governance of the Universal Church.” Francis has courageously set up three bodies to flesh out his reform of the Church. All told, they include 21 people with just three Italians among them! The angel tells Francis, “Do not be afraid to give the laity a meaningful role in reforming the Vatican and governing the Church. And so his commission to study the economic and administrative structures of the Church is made up of eight people - one of whom is a Monsignor, and the other seven are laypeople drawn from the world of economics, law and business management.

The angel of the Lord also tells Pope Francis, “Do not be afraid to reposition the Church in the center, after having drifted to the right for a fairly lengthy period. An Italian journalist writes, “It cannot be an accident that after 120 days of his pontificate, Pope Francis has not yet spoken the words abortion, euthanasia or homosexual marriage.” Speaking to reporters on the overnight flight from Rio de Janeiro back to Rome Francis said, "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?"

In one of the most symbolic events of his week-long trip to Brazil an angel of the Lord told Francis, “Do not be afraid to venture on foot into Rio de Janeiro’s infamous Varghina favela (slum-like shanty town). Despite heavy security and a cold rain, Francis waded into the cheering crowds and hugged and kissed residents young and old. He blessed the altar of a `shoebox church’ that serves the poor community, and he prayed before a replica of Brazil's patron saint - the Virgin of Aparecida. In the nearly week-long trip to Brazil, the pope put forward his priorities: showing solidarity with the poor, getting priests out of their parishes and closer to the people, and re-evangelizing regions where Catholics have abandoned the Church.

Conclusion

365 times!

We are told that the most common one-liner in the whole Bible - appearing 365 times - is “Do not be afraid!” – a daily and yearlong reminder to all of us to live without fear.