Sunday, January 27, 2019

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
Ps 19 8-15
Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21

A basic truth when studying scripture is that one cannot understand the New Testament without first understanding the Old.  It is impossible to know the New Testament without knowing the Old Testament, that long compilation of the history of the People of the Covenant and an unsurpassed treasury of prayers.  It was the only scripture Jesus knew.  He cited it often. 

Nehemiah was written in the fifth century before Christ.  It details the story of a people returned from long exile.  They were confused. They had no knowledge of the Torah. They were oblivious of the covenant between God and his people. When Nehemiah learned that the wall surrounding Jerusalem had been destroyed he vowed to rebuild it.  When the wall was rebuilt all the people: men, women, and children above a certain age, were summoned before Ezra who read and interpreted the Torah to them. The people wept when they heard words of the Law.  They wept because they realized their guilt in not upholding the law of the Lord.  They were overcome with sorrow. However, Ezra did not condemn them.  In his mercy he told them not to weep, but to eat, drink, and celebrate because the day was holy to the Lord.  

Paul's letter is important. It is particularly important in view of today's hysterically delusional social climate.  Each of us has been given unique gifts.  We have not been given identical gifts.  Our task is to discover and develop the gifts unique to each of us rather than pining for those we do not have and will never be able to develop.  

“. . . a body is one though it has many parts . . .” This is an important idea to which Paul will return. 

Certain sectors of society deny the possibility, to say nothing of the reality, of differences and distinctions.  Indeed, there are concerted attempts to erase them, even when those differences are biologically determined and cannot be legitimately modified or maintained. 
We see in this nothing more than an extreme version of particularity with a grandiose and narcissistic sense of specialness.  Each individual or faction insists that his, her, or their specialness is THE most special and thus deserving pride of place.  Statements to the contrary generally result in the equivalent of a shrieked,  "My equality trumps your equality" followed by the invention of a new 'ism' or 'phobia' to throw about. If all goes well the tantrum will be followed by a ranting talk show appearance demanding an apology complete with public penance. 

As recent events have shown, we, as a society, have made no progress since the Salem Witch trials that took place a mere 75 miles north of here.  Indeed, American society seems to have regressed to the same mean as Salem's hysterical accusers of 1692.  When feeling is allowed to trump fact, when political correctness is given precedence over basic science, when the unsubstantiated accusations by an agenda-driven media are uncritically accepted, we are in serious trouble as a society.  


Medical students hear amusing anecdotes about the struggle for supremacy within the body.  Most can never be shared in sacred space. The general outline is an debate in which each of the body's organs or organ systems is arguing which of them is the most important;  which is THE most critical to the life, comfort, and well-being of the individual.  But you know what?  There is no supreme organ or organ system.  No capo di tutti capi.  There is no pope of the body.  Each of the body's systems is equally necessary for normal function and survival. The lungs cannot do the work of the liver.  The liver cannot do the work of the heart.  And the poor pancreas cannot be a kidney no matter how much it might want to self-identify as one.  And nothing can cover or protect the body except the skin.  If any vital organ or organ system is seriously damaged, the entire body is at risk of death.  It is that simple.  

None of us is the social or biological equivalent of a stem cell that is pluripotent.  None of us can be anything we want to be, depending only upon our dreams, our passions, or, to use an unfortunate term from the past, following our bliss.  We cannot decide to be whatever we "identify ourselves to be" particularly when that violates both natural law and the dictates of human physiology.  

The saying "you can be whatever you want to be" is one of the greatest lies in the history of lying.  We all have specific genetic endowments.  We all have assets and liabilities.  We are all limited in some ways and strong in others.  We are all fallible in some areas and more than competent in others. The only thing we have in common is that we are sinners.  No exceptions.  

We are all sinners loved by God.

That is the only equality we will ever know.
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Ljubljana has been on my mind a lot.  Finally realized today that three years ago I was on a three week look-see visit, my first, to discern if I could go back and work.  I made the decision in about 36 hours.  Returned to U.S. in early February, right after Ash Wednesday, and returned in September for ten months.  LJ at night is a magnificent place for photography.  Hope to get back this summer 

The Triple Bridge leading to Prešernov Trg (trg means square or plaza).  This is the very heart of the old city. 

The lover's locks on the Buucher's Bridge.  Thousands upon thousands of them. 

A party on Plečnik's colonnade, one of my favorite spots in the city.  

The full extent of the colonnade.

Prešernov Trg with the triple bridges and the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation.  I did my annual retreat with the Franciscan community there.  It was 1/2 mile from the Jesuit community in which I lived.  

Glassware at night is an unbeatable subject. 

A December night.  It was frigid.  The temp was dropping by the minute.  My hands were already hurting though I was only three or four hundred yards from the house, i.e. I had just gone out.  Lasted about an hour and then had to return to concelebrate the 7 PM Mass.  It gets dark in Eastern Europe very early in the winter. 

+Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

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