Sunday, June 20, 2021

 TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY, June 20, 2021

(Job 38: 1.8-11; II Corinthians 5: 14-17; Mark 4: 35-41)

In a famous novel a young man no longer believes in a good God. He says that he cannot accept a God who would allow children to suffer. Instead of asking help from the Holy Spirit, the young man wants to “return the ticket” for church attendance. He does not deny God’s existence. He just won’t give Him any more attention. We see Jesus' disciples ready to do the same thing in the gospel today.

The disciples are in a boat in the middle of a lake when a storm arises. Their situation becomes perilous when the boat begins to take in the water. The disciples wonder if they will survive. Jesus has accompanied them, but he is sleeping. Their predicament resembles that of the first century church when Mark wrote his gospel. The storm represents the persecution that had existed from the church’s beginnings. It seemed to some Christians then that Jesus didn't care if they survived or not.

There is similar unrest within the church today. We know that marriage is a permanent alliance between a man and a woman. It has two purposes: to have children and to increase the mutual good of the couple. However, the world today accepts homosexual marriage as if it were natural. Also, it looks at sexual intimacy simply as means of pleasure. For many couples it does not matter whether the sexual act is open to procreation. Meanwhile, it seems to some as if Pope Francis wants to approve of homosexual relationships. These people ask: “Has he not said, ‘Who am I to judge?’ in cases of homosexuality. And didn't he endorse gay unions in a recent television interview? "

These charges are serious and disturbing. They result from the distortion of what the pope has said and a misunderstanding of his intentions. Like Christ, Pope Francis loves people deeply. He wants everyone - including homosexuals - to grow in human virtue. When he said, "Who am I to judge?" he was referring to priests with some homosexual tendencies but living celibacy with integrity. Likewise, the pope has never been in favor of gay unions that authorize sexual relations. Rather, he knows that homosexuals have needs as well as rights like everyone else. If they live together in the same home, they need insurance benefits and the right to make emergency medical decisions for one another. It should be the same for any couple sharing the same household, a single man living with his mother perhaps. However, the basis of the right has to be sharing the same house, not the same bed.

In the gospel Jesus awakens in time to save the disciples from drowning. Because he loves them, he does not want any of them lost. But he has to correct their mistaken notion that he did not care if they drowned.  Sometimes love requires that we correct the mistakes of those whom we love. This is why Pope Francis recently approved the ban on blessing gay unions. Like Jesus, he does not want to exclude anyone from his love, including – and maybe especially – homosexual persons.  However, neither does he want to bless relationships that are harmful to both society and individuals.

Today is Father's Day in several countries. It's only fair to ask: why do we celebrate our fathers?  Is it simply for passing on their genes to us?  We don't believe that because passing on genes did not cost them anything. No, we celebrate our fathers today for the many efforts they made to see us grow in strength and virtue. We celebrate them today for having fed us. We celebrate them today for correcting us when we were mistaken. We celebrate them today for showing us love when we felt disturbed or lost.