Francis
Disturbs the `Peace’
20th
Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 18, 2013
Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10 Hebrews 12:1-4
Luke 12:49-53
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!
[1] In America magazine for Nov. 20, 1963,
