(Mark 1)
Fifty years or so ago, a journalist named John Howard Griffin made a shocking social experiment. He had his skin dyed black and toured the South to see how people would treat him. He had trouble finding a public restroom that he could use. In general, wherever before he would have had easy access, now he was treated with suspicion. We could say that the insider became an outsider. Eventually, Griffin published the account of his travails in the book Black Like Me which helped soften white resistance to the American civil rights movement.
In the gospel today Jesus experiences something similar. When he cures the leper, his fame spread so pervasively that he could no longer enter any town without being overwhelmed by sick people. He is the insider who becomes an outsider. Ironically, the leper who by law had to remain outside populated areas can now enter towns freely. Thus, the outsider becomes an insider.
Often people who do church work feel swamped by requests. They may not only read at Mass but also teach a religious education class and perhaps deliver groceries for the St. Vincent de Paul Society. They may feel like they are becoming outsiders to their families. Of course, some prudence is called for in accepting requests to do church work or any other activity. But when we do it for the Lord, the gospel today reassures us that we are also doing with the Lord.
Homilette for Wedensday, January 10, 2007
(Hebrews 2)
In the 1940s and 1950s a number of priests in France set out early in the morning to work in factories and on docks. These worker-priests saw that many laborers were no longer coming to church. So they brought the gospel message to them. It became a contentious experiment, however. The worker-priests promoted labor union activity which was, of course, opposed by company managers who did go to church. Eventually, the worker-priests were told by the hierarchy to leave their jobs.
The worker-priest movement perhaps found its inspiration in the part of the Letter to the Hebrews that we read today. Just as Jesus Christ had to experience the human condition in order save humanity from sin so the priests in mid-20th century France had to work side-by-side with the common people. The reading is quite explicit. Jesus was tried by suffering, it says, so that he might help others who suffer.
Suffering is part of every human life but especially the Christian life. Jesus tells his disciples to take up their cross and follow him. That is, we should not avoid suffering at all costs but rather embrace it when it comes our way in order to serve our Lord. When we are sick, we can bear with the discomfort as an offering in prayer to God for others’ salvation. When we are well but find it distasteful to visit the sick, we should not shirk that responsibility. Doing it, we suffer with Christ again for others’ welfare.
In the 1940s and 1950s a number of priests in France set out early in the morning to work in factories and on docks. These worker-priests saw that many laborers were no longer coming to church. So they brought the gospel message to them. It became a contentious experiment, however. The worker-priests promoted labor union activity which was, of course, opposed by company managers who did go to church. Eventually, the worker-priests were told by the hierarchy to leave their jobs.
The worker-priest movement perhaps found its inspiration in the part of the Letter to the Hebrews that we read today. Just as Jesus Christ had to experience the human condition in order save humanity from sin so the priests in mid-20th century France had to work side-by-side with the common people. The reading is quite explicit. Jesus was tried by suffering, it says, so that he might help others who suffer.
Suffering is part of every human life but especially the Christian life. Jesus tells his disciples to take up their cross and follow him. That is, we should not avoid suffering at all costs but rather embrace it when it comes our way in order to serve our Lord. When we are sick, we can bear with the discomfort as an offering in prayer to God for others’ salvation. When we are well but find it distasteful to visit the sick, we should not shirk that responsibility. Doing it, we suffer with Christ again for others’ welfare.
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