23rd Sunday Year C - Homily 1

Homily 1 - 2007

The Gospel tells us that Jesus was on his way. At one level, he was on his way from Galilee to Jerusalem. At another level, he was on his way towards resurrected life – though that way went via Calvary, via failure, uncertainty, testing, physical death, and, more importantly, the complete death of his ego.

What might resurrected life be like? What sort of living might it consist of? From what we can work out, it would involve at least being totally authentic, trusting God, loving – undiluted, unconditionally, forgiving, hoping in others.

That, at the least, is probably Jesus’ now experience of being alive and risen. He didn’t get it by the wave of a wand, or as a pure gift. He gradually grew into it, and honed and perfected it through his response to the variety of challenges that came to a head as he faced into death.

He saw the way of discipleship following the same path – leading to the fullness of human life, beyond the fullness of human life, to a sharing in his risen life – but he constantly warned that the way led by way of dispossession, and of escaping from the pervasive power of the ego. Like his, it involves growth toward integrity, facing reality full on, expanding our capacity to love and to forgive, learning to trust God. Negatively expressed, it is the way of waking up to all our addictions – the way of dispossession.

As a community of disciples, as Church, living in a world filled with both goodness and badness (and everything in between), we are called to stand out like the light of the world – highlighting what’s good, and also what’s evil, and helping to note the difference – identifying and supporting the prophets, as well as exposing those false prophets leading us into a world of fantasy, unreality, denial and disengagement from the real challenges.

The APEC Conference is in full swing. In full swing at a time when we are beginning to be increasingly confronted with the destructive effects of global warming. It’s about economic cooperation, for growth and development.

What could global development for all the people of the world possibly consist of? What would it look like? At the moment, millions live in poverty; 850 million go to bed hungry each night.

Is the aim of economic development that all come to share something close to the life-style that we in the West are living? In this fragile, limited planet, is that possible? Or would we prefer a world where some have all they need and most lack necessities? As it is now!

If we were to look at the challenge to use and to distribute the world’s resources fairly, I think that there are two questions that we need to face: how can the quality of life of the poor be improved? and, also, and just as important, if the first is to achieved, how can the quality of life of the developed wealthy world be reduced?

Jesus talked today about giving up possessions. That is the way for his disciples. He could hardly be more explicit. Is anyone in the Church of disciples listening? or taking him seriously? Are we the light of the world? Do people see us as tireless champions of the way of dispossession, of detachment, of simplicity, of simply enough? Do they even hear us asking the question and seeking for answers?

So many of us in the West are addicted to our lifestyle, to economic growth, because we think, without ever stopping to check it out, that that’s the way to human fulfilment. When people no longer believe in God, they tend to believe, desperately, in anything. Only trusting God gives freedom.