Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv DD STL, Bishop of Parramatta
Homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Readings: Jeremiah 20:7-9; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:13-27
Embracing the scandal of the cross
Sisters and brothers in Christ,
On my recent trip to the United States, I visited the shrine dedicated to Blessed Stanley Rother, an American priest who was declared a martyr by Pope Francis. In 1968, after a stint in several parishes in his home diocese in Oklahoma, Fr Stan volunteered to serve in Guatemala at the height of the Civil War and the notorious Death Squads. Despite threats to his safety, he chose to stay with his flock. He famously said that the shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger. His decision cost him his life. He was killed by gunmen in the presbytery.
Blessed Stan’s martyrdom reminds me of the martyrdom of our own Australian Josephite, Sr Irene McCormack. She too left her comfortable home in Western Australia and became a missionary in Peru. She would have been 88 years old last week. But instead, her life was brutally cut short by the Shining Path guerrillas in 1991. Like Blessed Stan, Sr Irene decided not to abandon her adopted people. After her arrest, she was put through a mock trial and executed in the village plaza. She bore witness to the love that is stronger than death.
Scripture this Sunday speaks about the courage to follow the humble Suffering Servant who became vulnerable for the sake of others. At the end of the day, the choice to follow Christ that does not lead us to the cross and the place of suffering with victims of injustice is at best lukewarm and at worst a betrayal of the Gospel.
In the first reading, Jeremiah reflects on the mission of being God’s faithful messenger. He laments that speaking truth to power is a costly exercise. “The word of the Lord has meant for me insult, derision all day long”. Jeremiah is not a court prophet, that is, one who aligns himself with the power that be. Instead of anointing and endorsing rulers for personal gain, he speaks against them. He condemns their greed, corruption and moral decay. For Jeremiah, the litmus test for their fidelity to the covenant is the treatment of the most vulnerable under their care. Jeremiah indicts the rulers for their total disregard for the poor and suffering.
Jeremiah’s truth-telling cost him dearly. He was attacked by his own brothers, imprisoned by the king, put into the stocks by the temple priests and thrown into a cistern by the court officials. In the end, though, he remained fully committed and faithful to his mission in the face of adversity. He shows us what it means to live by one’s principle, to have moral courage and to walk the long hard road of fidelity. Jeremiah shows us what authentic discipleship looks like. It empowers us to live more generously, more trustfully and yet more bravely in the face of adversity.
Such courage and commitment are also demanded of the disciples as evident by the Gospel reading. “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.” These words of Jesus form the kernel of Christian discipleship. To be his follower is to walk the path of the cross. It is to lose oneself for the sake of the kingdom. It is to commit oneself not to self-preservation but to self-sacrifice for the sake of others. “For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it”. Peter had a shock to his system when he heard these words. He learned that he could only be a true rock when he had the courage to emulate the Suffering Servant. On the other hand, he would be a stumbling rock or in Jesus’ own words, a figure of Satan, if he emptied Christian discipleship of the cross.
Paul echoes the teaching of Jesus by saying: “Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you”. We Christians are meant to be the conscience of society as we dare to name and critique the anti-Gospel attitudes and practices around us. We do so not out of arrogance and loftiness but out of the authentic convergence to the mind and heart of Christ. The challenge that Jeremiah and Peter face is to act with moral courage out of concern for justice and integrity. Hence it is bound up with the call to stand on the side of the powerless and the vulnerable. Indeed, it is inseparable from the fundamental call to live the powerlessness and vulnerability of Jesus.
Dear friends,
The Word of God today challenges us to be people whose integrity shines out in the face of popular pressure to the contrary. It makes a case for authentic discipleship that is rooted in love, fidelity and commitment. Instead of going with the flow and compromising our prophetic witness, we are emboldened by such inspiring examples as those of Blessed Stan and Sr Irene.
Let us embrace the path of the humble and suffering Messiah with courage, faith and perseverance. Let us not be afraid to lose in order to gain life in its true purpose which is the sharing of God’s love for all. Let us accompany one another on our pilgrim way to a new future that is aligned with God’s purpose, even if it traverses through pain and suffering of our own.
