Journey's Weekly Homilies
ISAIAH
40:1-5, 9-11
TITUS 3:4-7
LUKE 3:15-16, 21-22
In
the book of Numbers a few months ago we read, “Would that all
God’s people were prophets, that the Lord’s Spirit would be
given to us all.
The
Gospel of Luke tells of God’s answer to this prayer. Luke and Acts describe how Jesus receives God’s Spirit as a
prophet. He
undertakes a ministry of gathering the poor, healing, teaching,
and speaking truth to power.
After his death and resurrection disciples
receive his Spirit continue his work throughout the known
world. Baptism is a
turning point for Jesus and his disciples, the beginning of a
prophetic life.
Our
first reading from Isaiah today tells us what a prophet does.
“’Comfort, comfort my people’, says your God.
‘Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to the city that its
warfare is ended.’”
This
was written at a time when Israel had been victimized by warfare
between the great powers of the region.
For Isaiah war is considered to be the greatest of evils,
the root of all injustice. The
prophet announces an end to the ways of war and prepares for a day
when God will feed the refugees and lead them to safety.
This
is a very vivid passage for me because I know the victims of war.
I teach classes on refugee relief and inspire students to
help war torn people rebuild their lives in a new country and
culture. We work with
children from Somalia Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia.
Isaiah promises that God will shelter these victims of war
as a shepherd loves his flock.
And I see the children I know gathered in the arms of the
Shepherd.
War
ruins the lives of everyone involved.
The weak and the vulnerable suffer the most. For this reason the Catholic Catechism urges all believers to
“prayer and action that God may free us from the ancient bondage
of war.” Through
baptism we are all called as prophets to bear must witness to the
horrors of war and care for the victims.
Marla
Ruzicka is a contemporary prophet.
She was so horrified by our country’s wars that she
journeyed to Afghanistan to number the dead, count the cost to the
civilians, and comfort the survivors.
She nagged Congress until they granted millions of dollars
for relief and reconstruction.
Marla is now living off her credit cards in Iraq as she
bears witness to the death and destruction of our latest war.
Of
course Marla is an extraordinary woman.
You see pictures of her and this is apparent. She is beautiful, yet frail, with arms about as big
around as my wrists. She
is filled with compassion yet has a will strong enough to wear
down Congress. I wish I knew her story and could tell of the forces that
shaped her life. Somewhere
along the way is a baptism of sorts, a moment where she made a
public commitment to put an end to war.
Today
the Gospel of Luke tells us how Jesus left his life as an ordinary
Nazarean villager and received God’s Spirit through baptism by
John. Luke describes
several junctures of his transformation.
Social anthropologists say that these are common elements
of any ritual that marks the beginning of a different kind of
life.
The
first step to living a new life is to separate ourselves from the
places and habits of the life we have known.
People go on retreats and pilgrimages.
Hindu’s bathe in the River Ganges.
Next month millions of Muslims will journey to Mecca to
renew their commitment to the life and teachings of the prophet
Mohammed. In
today’s Gospel multitudes flock to the river Jordan to hear the
Baptist. They will
retrace the journey of their ancestors from slavery to freedom.
In
order to begin something new we take instruction from those
experienced in the kind of life we want to lead.
John told his followers to give to the poor, resist
exploitation, and live God’s justice. The baptism of Jesus
symbolizes John’s approval and God’s blessing for all to see.
From
the River Jordan Jesus
will journey to the wilderness where Satan will test the strength
of his baptism. Jesus
emerges from the wilderness “filled with the power of the
Spirit”, according to Luke.
And
so today we call upon that spirit to transform our lives.
We must dedicate ourselves entirely to raising valleys of
despair and bringing down mountains of hatred and violence.
Would
that we were all Marla Ruzicka’s, that her spirit might be given
to us all. But you
don’t need to go to Iraq to be
a prophet.
My
brother is an electrician by trade.
Now he supervises maintenance and construction at Oregon
health Sciences University. Last
week he was responsible for keeping the hospital open during the
snow and ice. He was
available 24-7 to make sure that life support systems had
electricity even if the entire city went without power.
He made sure that roads were clear so that emergency
vehicles could get through.
My
brother is not a doctor or a nurse or a social worker like many of
us here today. But he
made sure that doctors and nurses and social workers could do
their jobs. And this week he did more than his share to raise valleys and
bring down mountains.
I
also heard of a student in California who was required by her
college program to demonstrate how her knowledge and skills would
create social change. She
had a job and a family besides her studies so she did not have
time for big programs to change the world.
So she took on parenting as her project.
She devoted herself to raising her child to be an active
and involved citizen, a change agent in her community.
That became her thesis.
We
are all called, chosen to be Christ in this world. The letter from Titus today reminds us that we do not become
prophets by some mighty heave of our feeble wills but by God’s
grace received in baptism. Our
song and prayer today, our sharing at this table serve only one
purpose: to sustain our baptismal commitment to be prophets serving
God’s dream of a just and peaceful world.
As we break bread on this day let us reflect on the promises of our baptism. We may ask ourselves “How do I form and sustain my commitment to justice? Who are my companions on that journey? Who are my mentors? What small step can I take this week, this day to proclaim peace and work for an end to war?”