Love, Peace, Justice, Mercy
THE CHARLIE KIRK MEMORIAL
Did you know that King Herod is described in the Gospels as “trying to see Jesus?” I wonder if that strikes you as odd. Why would a man with so much of this world’s riches and power want to see Jesus? Perhaps it’s for the same reason we do. We eat of this world, but hunger all the more. We get drunk and high, but are still unhappy. We clothe ourselves with comforts, but grow even colder.
We learned something similar about our own leaders at the Charlie Kirk memorial. The floor of that arena was filled with American royalty, yet many of them were vocal about looking for more, specifically “trying to see Jesus.” It would seem that no matter how many privileges we acquire in this world, our hearts will be restless until they rest in God.
PRIESTS SHOULD SAY MORE
On the one hand, I agree. We priests can be timid at times when preaching the Gospel, succumbing to the same temptation that assails the parent who is tired of the fighting. Not seldom we can be reduced to the response of the exasperated mother, “Figure it out yourselves; I’ve had a long day.” It’s no excuse; it’s just one way to understand that a priest sometimes needs to catch his breath, so as not to give in to cynicism, which reduces his spiritual fatherhood to playing judge and arbitrator between siblings.
On the other hand, I disagree with the thinking that priests should be more politically partisan. My own experience over the years has taught me that sort of thing serves rather to (1) upset those looking for the Gospel, (2) disappoint those learning that their priest thinks differently, and (3) offend those who object that he was not asked for his opinion. As for you and me, I hope you will forgive the times I disobey my own counsel, while appreciating that I try to think of you as friends, not constituents.
We know that “the Lord takes delight in His people” as the psalmist says. Standing in that delight is what I want for us here; that’s what I was ordained to nurture in our communion; that is my mandate from the Lord. As for my own personal political influence, I try to embolden men and women like you to go into the world to support legislation that will come to the aid of the poor and defend the oppressed. I will support you in that, even publicly. But here, in this house, let us praise the Lord.
IS IT HE WHO FIGHTS FOR US
When my niece was very little she asked me, “Uncle Robby, did Jesus know that He was God?” I asked her in reply, “Do you know that you’re Olivia?” “Yes,” she said. “Then Jesus knew He was God.”
Jesus is not asking us to fight for Him; He rebuked Peter all the time for doing that. There is something perverted about preaching Christ with a sword. It’s a contradiction. Nor should anyone want to worship a God who needed a man to fight for Him, because He wouldn’t be much of a God.
“But Father, what about spiritual combat and the battle for souls?” The battle is against our own pride, not our neighbor. Specifically it’s against our own tendency to violence; Peter took out the sword, but Jesus rebuked Him by manfully accepting His crucifixion. And on that cross He prayed for His enemies, befriended the lowly, and cared for His family. That’s the victory He wants to accomplish in us. He saves us not from suffering, but from cursing God and others while suffering.
He does fight for the poor, yes, but by loving them in such a way as to free them from hating those who make them poor. Food for the hungry and clothes for the naked, of course. But the Kingdom of Heaven is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of love, peace, justice, and mercy.
Peter will finally come to understand this so there’s hope for us. But, together with Our Lady, Saint Paul is perhaps the best model of Christianity. He established all of the early churches by this witness: “I was once a murderer, a violent Pharisee who thought God needed me to defend Him, but now the Spirit of Christ is victorious is me, enabling me to say to you, ‘Peace be with you.’” +