Ordinary Time, 15th Sunday (B) The whole human race has a long love affair with self-reliance. We are convinced that a good, happy, and successful human life will be the fruit of our hard work and intelligence. Repent!
When Jesus sends his missionaries out two-by-two, he precisely prevents them from relying on themselves. They can only carry what they need for the day and they have to trust God for the rest. God's power enables them to accomplish so much more than they could on their own.
They are equipped with their true identity and also with the help of a fellow Christian. Self-reliance leads to isolation. Trusting in God leads to community. Lastly, what do we do when people refuse to listen? We must shake the dust off our feet. We cannot allow their rejection to cause us to doubt the value of Jesus. We are always tempted to fall back on self-reliance. Repent!
(14 Jul 2024)
Going Deeper: How has self-reliance crept back into your life lately? Make a list, then create some strategies to stop being so self-reliant. Hahaha gotcha there. Your hard work won't get you out of self-reliance.
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[music] Hi, I'm Father Joel, and welcome to Pilgrim's Breach. Thank you for your patience in waiting for this episode to get released. I always have to juggle between different responsibilities at the parish, and I trust that your patience will be rewarded with what I think is a really great homily. So thank you, and God bless you. [music] In 1976, the United States of America celebrated her bicentennial, and Time magazine did a feature where they asked a number of notable people what was their message for America on her 200-year anniversary. One of the people they asked was Dorothy Day, notable Catholic convert and social activist, and Dorothy Day's response, "What is your message for America on her bicentennial?" Repent, repent. And you might ask, "Well, what do we have to repent from?" Well, not just America, but the entire human race has had a long-term love affair with self-reliance. We've come to believe that if I work hard enough, if I'm smart enough, and if Mother Nature and the government doesn't screw me over, then I'll be able to have the good life, a successful life, the happy life that I look for and I long for. It'll be a fruit of my hard work and my smarts. But the reality is that our hard work and our smarts are not going to get us the answer we're looking for. The message of Jesus, the good news of the gospel, is that the good life, the happy life, the successful life that we long for is actually something that our Father wants to give us. And it's our job to receive it, and our work is meant to cooperate with the Father's plan. The more we back up into self-reliance, the harder we try to make it happen for ourselves, the more we get in the way of actually getting the good life, the happy life, the successful life that we long for. And so when Jesus sends his missionary apostles out two by two, he precisely prevents them from relying on themselves. They're not to bring any food, any money, no sack, no second tunic, no supplies to care for themselves. They have a walking stick, they have sandals, just what they need for the day, and they have to trust in God's providence for the rest. And that might sound crazy to us, but every time I've been in a situation where I couldn't provide something for myself and I couldn't help but trust in God's providence, God has taken care of me better than I would have done for myself. Part of the training for our seminarians is a poverty immersion. They're given like 57 bucks or something, and a bus ticket down to Chicago, and they had a place lined up a soup kitchen run by nuns in a very bad neighborhood of Chicago. So bad that when they got off the bus at the Greyhound terminal, they didn't want them riding the local buses to the center, the soup kitchen. Instead, they were instructed to walk to the Newman Center and from there to beg for a ride. So that's what the guys did, and when they got there, they ran into a priest who happened to recognize them, who just finished celebrating mass, and he not only took them to their destination, their safe place for the month, but he also took them out to lunch, and they had lots of experiences without cell phones, without a credit card, having to rely on God's providence was actually the best part of their year, because they could experience God's providence and God's loving care for them. This is exactly what Jesus is inviting his apostles to do. Notice what happens when they don't rely on themselves. They can accomplish far more than what they would do on their own. Trusting in God's power, they're able to cast out demons and heal the sick. Raise your hand if you're good at that. None of us, right? But when they rely on God's power, they are able to do far more than they could in just relying on themselves. Now, they've got a couple things with them. The one thing is they're carrying a walking stick, which is a very practical thing. It's part of making a journey on foot. It supports you on the journey, but also allows you to protect yourself from getting attacked by wild dogs and things like that. So the walking stick reminds me of the staff that Moses used to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, and also reminds me of the support that we get from our identity in Christ, from knowing who we are in God as God's beloved children. That identity that's mentioned in our second reading that we were chosen from before the world was founded, that we were called by God, that we are sent, and that God has an abundant inheritance awaiting us. We've been richly blessed by our Father who loves us. This identity helps us to fend off attacks from the enemy and to stay grounded. It supports us in who we are. The other thing they're given is they're given a companion. They're going out two by two. They don't have to do it alone. We can see the importance of Christian community. Some people try to be a Christian by themselves, and they always fail. We need to have a good Christian friend. And you might say, "Well, I don't have one." Well, try being one. Try being a good Christian friend in support to someone else, and you might be pleasantly surprised at how they can support you in return. You see, when we back up into self-reliance, not only does it cause anxiety, but it causes isolation. Because if I'm relying on myself, if I have to make the good life happen for me with my smarts and my hard work, well, then every other person in the world is either a potential ally that I will then use to get the end that I'm looking for or a potential obstacle that I will then run over on the course of my journey to my happiness. And so, therefore, people become competition. So self-reliance leads to isolation. Relying on God, trusting in our Father leads to community. Because if I can trust in my Father, I don't have to get it for myself. Well, then my Father is going to provide not only for me, but for others as well. And that enables me to be a good brother, a good sister, to the people around me. Jesus' call, trusting in God, actually leads to healthy community. And that community is part of the mission, part of the mission work. So we don't have to do it alone. Lastly, what happens when we try to bring the good news and people don't listen? There will be many people that are trapped in self-reliance. There will be many people that think that they've got it figured out. There will be many people that are too wounded and hurt to be open to the good news. They're mad at God, they're disappointed, and they can't trust yet. Well, we can't let their denial of the gospel affect us and make us think that the gift that we've been given of a relationship with Jesus is any less valuable because other people don't see its value. And so they have to shake the dust off from their sandals, not to allow that rejection of Christ to cling to them and to build up into a doubt of who Jesus is and his power working in us. But the other thing is, if I face rejection, I might be tempted to ask myself, what am I doing wrong? You know, Peter and Andrew, they're doing a great job over there. Me and Bartholomew, we're kind of sucking it up. Like, we've had three towns in a row that have not listened and have scoffed at us, right? So what's wrong with us? And in that, we might back up into self-reliance. If I was smart enough, if I were hard enough, then I would be able to make this gospel thing happen. And of course, Jesus doesn't want them to back up into self-reliance. He wants them to keep trusting in God even when they're not seeing the fruit. Even when other people are constantly rejecting God. Like Amaziah did in our first reading when Amos is sent to prophesy and Amaziah refuses to listen. And oftentimes, as we preach the gospel, what we begin to realize is the person who most needs to hear the good news of trust in God. The person who most needs to repent of self-reliance is not the person I'm talking to. It's me. Repent. [music] People often think that the Bible has very little to say about investing. But in truth, the first really successful investor was Noah. He floated stock while the world was under liquidation. (audience laughing)
