16th Sunday Year B - Homily 4

Homily 4 - 2015

It can be important to remember that at the time of Jesus and of the early Jewish Christians, Palestine was an occupied country under the control of Rome – either directly in Judea in the South with its Roman governor Pontius Pilate, or indirectly in Galilee in the North with its puppet king Herod. Reactions to the foreign pagan occupation covered quite a spectrum. Some collaborated willingly enough . They were largely the local authorities, the priests and the Jerusalem aristocracy [or elders of the people], and the hangers-on of Herod. Others objected. Essenes, of whom we hear nothing in the Gospels, withdrew to the arid area around the Dead Sea and lived a semi-monastic life there in community. Pharisees continued to circulate in society but tried hard to maintain their religious and ethnic identity. Some, the Zealots, favoured a movement of liberation, and were prepared to use violence. [One of the Twelve, Simon the Zealot, had apparently once been one.] Barabbas was another, as were the two criminals crucified with Jesus. The majority of the people, especially in the rural North in Galilee, had no option but to put up with it. They were the ones referred to in today’s Gospel as those like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus neither collaborated with the Romans nor did he favour any violent liberation movement. Like the Pharisees, he tried hard to maintain the religious orientation and commitment of the people. But unlike the Pharisees, he saw the true spirit of Israel expressed in mercy. They saw it in holiness, which they expressed through clear separation from everything unclean, especially from those people they classified as sinners and from foreigners; and through specifically Jewish practices such as circumcision, strict observance of the Sabbath and meticulously kosher meals.

The Pharisees were religiously motivated. Here in Australia we are familiar with their secular equivalent, who value our Australian spirit as precious. They tend to feel threatened by foreigners, at least non Anglo-Saxon foreigners. They are slow to accept migrants, especially if they arrive untidily in leaky boats – frightened that somehow they may contaminate our uniquely Australian spirit or upset our comfort.

Jesus saw the true spirit of Israel expressed in mercy. What expresses the true spirit of Christianity? Pope Francis clearly believes that it is mercy; and has been doing his utmost to convince us. And a lot, even of Christians, are worried. He has shown himself super-concerned about asylum-seekers, about the poor, even about our poor suffering planet.

In his recent encyclical, “Laudato Si”, when talking about climate change, he wrote: Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day. Its worst impact will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades [25]. Consistently, he connected the plight of the poor very closely with the plight of the planet. Elsewhere he wrote: The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation. In fact, the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet [48].  

Jesus had trouble convincing his hearers. I find it interesting in today’s Gospel, how Mark, after mentioning Jesus’ reaction of mercy towards the people who were like sheep without a shepherd, then indicated Jesus’ response: He set himself to teach them at some length. That is precisely what Francis is trying to do with his encyclical. And in teaching us, he is calling for a quite radical conversion. At one spot he even quoted affirmatively a statement of the Australian Episcopal Conference where the bishops wrote: We need to experience a conversion, or change of heart [216]. He in fact calls us to what he called a truly contemplative stance towards our world and its urgent problems. He wrote: Christian spirituality … encourages a prophetic and contemplative lifestyle, one capable of deep enjoyment free of the obsession with consumption [222].

It is worth getting a copy of the encyclical and studying it closely.