On Sunday, January 29,
Kim Panaro, ARCWP, and Dave DeBonis led the community’s liturgical celebration.
Dave introduced the shared homily with his inspired words below.
Dave’s Shared Homily
You will notice in the Gospel reading(below) that we changed the
wording from the original to reflect recent information regarding Jesus’ true message. The second reading is by father Greg
Boyle a Jesuit priest working with young people involved in gangs in the Los
Angeles area. Mary Theresa introduced father Boyle and his book to us several
months back. Pairing these two readings together hopefully gives us an
opportunity to explore not only where Jesus stood but also how we might demonstrate
fidelity by continuing to stand in the right place.
Today, in many fields the goal is success and success is measured by
change, improvement, positive outcomes. If you fail to show that these are
possible, the insurance company might not pay for the procedure, the
educational program might be canceled, clinical trials might be ended early,
and the grant money might not be awarded.
But Greg Boyle reminds us that Jesus was not about success; he was about
fidelity. As Greg Boyle asks in another section of his book: If Jesus’ priority
was a successful outcome, wouldn’t he have chosen a path different from the one
that ultimately led to his death? The danger in being overly focused on
success, according to Boyle, is that it can lead us to abandon causes or people
where there’s little hope of success. What then would become of the older
person experiencing a steady decline in function, those with chronic illness, or
those struggling with addiction? If a positive outcome is the ultimate goal,
who would take the risk of trying to be the light for these individuals?
I think the importance of Jesus’ model of fidelity is that it allows
us to confidently forge ahead in bringing light wherever it is needed no matter
how dire the situation. Free from the burden of having to deliver success as
defined by society’s standards, we can focus on being one with the other and can
disrupt the status quo by creating “a community where the outcast is valued and
appreciated.” According to Boyle, over
time this disruption could be the catalyst for real change but of course it
comes with a price. In demonstrating fidelity to people and not to doctrines,
Jesus went from being a very popular figure with the masses to someone who
angered people on both sides of the political spectrum. He willingly sacrificed
his own success, his very life, in order to remain one with those who needed
him.
So once again we are being challenged to shake things up, to make
everyone angry with us by standing with the “wrong people” and standing there
much longer than the world thinks is reasonable. We are asked to stand in
places not based on the odds of success but instead based on our commitment to
be one with the forgotten. We are asked to create a community where the forgotten
are cherished and where we show unreasonable hope, unreasonable kindness, and
unreasonable fidelity.
The American poet Jack Gilbert writes “the pregnant heart is driven to
hopes that are the wrong size for this world.”
The strategy and stance of Jesus was consistent in that it was always
out of step with the world. Jesus defied all of the categories upon which the
world insisted: good-evil, success-failure, pure-impure. Surely, he was an
equal opportunity “pisser-off-er.” The right wing would stare at him
and question where he chose to stand. They hated that he aligned himself with
the unclean, those outside, those folks you ought neither touch nor be near. He
hobnobbed with the leper, shared table fellowship with the sinner, and rendered
himself ritually impure in the process. They found it offensive that
Jesus had no regard for their wedge issues, their constitutional amendments or
their culture wars.
The left was equally annoyed. They wanted to see the ten-point plan,
the revolution in high gear, the toppling of sinful social structures. They
were impatient with his brand of solidarity. They wanted to see him taking the
right stand on issues, not just standing in the right place.
But Jesus just stood with the outcast. The left screamed: “Don’t just
stand, there do something.” And the right maintained, “Don’t stand with those
folks at all.” Both sides, seeing Jesus as the wrong size for this world, came
to their own reasons for wanting him dead.
How do we get the world to change anyway? We don’t strategize our way
out of slavery. We stand in solidarity with the slave and by
so doing we diminish slavery’s ability to stand. By casting our lot with the
gang member, we hasten the demise of demonizing.
All Jesus asks is “Where are you standing?” And after chilling defeat
and soul- numbing fatigue, he asks again “Are you still standing there?” Can we
stay faithful and persistent in our fidelity even when things seem not to
succeed? I suppose Jesus could have chosen a strategy that worked better
(evidence-based outcomes) that didn’t end in the cross but he couldn’t find a
strategy more soaked with fidelity than the one he embraced.
From the inspired words of Father Gregory Boyle from his book Tattoos
on the Heart.
Gospel: A reading from the inspired words of Matthew 5: 1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had
sat down his disciples came to him he began to teach them saying:
“You are in the right place when you stand with the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
You are in the right place when you stand with those who mourn, for
they will be comforted.
You are in the right place when you stand with the meek, for they will
inherit the land.
You are in the right place when you stand with those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
You are in the right place when you stand with those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
You are in the right place when you stand with the clean of heart, for
they will see God.
You are in the right place when you stand with the peacemakers, for
they will be called children of God.
You are in the right place when you stand with those who are
persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
You are in the right place when you stand with those who are insulted
and falsely persecuted and uttered every kind of evil against them because of
me.
Rejoice and be glad for their reward will be great in heaven.”
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