Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Where is the Church of Christ to be found today? Where do we find evidence

of people living as Christ lived, sharing His sufferings, following Him to the

Cross, being a sign of contradiction in the world? Our readings today can help

us with a few clues. They’re good readings, because they’re not “nice”

readings. Jesus wasn’t a teddy bear.

“I have come to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!”

We can think of fire in terms of the Holy Spirit, but fire can also be

destructive. With wildfires around the world at the moment, people want to put

them out. Did Christ mean that destructive type of fire? We read on: “Do you

think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather

division”. Yes, if we all live under Christ’s sweet yoke, there will be peace.

But many people don’t want it and there is kickback. Conversion to Christ can

mean that you have to live your life differently, and that can cause friction in

your family, at work and in society. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,

it is said that Aslan is not a tame lion. In the same way, Christ is not a tabby

cat, purring away at being stroked in someone’s lap.

In the first reading, Jeremiah has been faithful to his calling from God, and it

hasn’t made him popular. “The officials said to the king, ‘... Jeremiah ... is

weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city.’” It sounds a bit

like St Oscar Romero, who told the soldiers of El Salvador to lay down their

arms, that inhumane orders were invalid orders and do not need to be obeyed.

In the film Karol the Man who became Pope, there is a Nazi soldier who has

arrived in Krakow as part of the invasion of Poland, who is also a practising

Catholic. As time goes by, he is increasingly troubled by his conscience, and

finally he goes to Governor General Hans Frank, and hands back his swastika,

saying that he signed up for the real Germany, not for this. Shortly afterwards

he is executed, overseen by Hans Frank. Hans Frank then turns to the priest

who heard the soldier’s confession before he died, and asks him: who killed

the soldier, me, or you? And then he shoots the priest as well. Faithfulness

unto death, believing that the truth is worth living for, and dying for, are

characteristics of a true follower of Christ.

The first reading continues, “For this man is not seeking the welfare of this

people, but their harm”. How many times has this been levelled against the

Catholic Church! Just think today of moral issues such as euthanasia, or LGBT

matters. Jesus says: “I am the way, and the truth and the life”, and the more

faithful the Church is to Christ, the more that shines through, that Christ is the

One who sets us free. It’s not just about following rules, but life in Christ –

Christ living in us, sometimes called divinisation, being filled with the life of

God. Hence the need for both the Word preached and the sacraments.

So, the great televangelist, Archbishop Fulton Sheen, was able to say:

“If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world

today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the

world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My

reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of

the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the

flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get

along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world, as Christ

was hated by the world. Look for the Church which is accused of being behind

the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having

learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they

sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church

which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being

possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which the

world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because

he called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of

conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its voice

as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church

is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is

unworldly, it is other-worldly. Since it is other-worldly, it is infinitely loved

and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. ... [The] Catholic Church is the only

Church existing today which goes back to the time of Christ. History is so very

clear on this point, it is curious how many miss its obviousness...”

Or as Vatican II was able to say: “This is the sole Church of Christ ... which

our Saviour, after his resurrection, entrusted to Peter’s pastoral care (Jn. 21:17),

commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it (cf. Mt. 28:18,

etc.), and which he raised up for all ages as “the pillar and mainstay of the

truth” (1 Time. 3:15). This Church ... subsists in the Catholic Church. ...

Nevertheless, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside its

visible confines. Since these are gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, they

are forces impelling towards Catholic unity.” (Lumen Gentium 8)

Curious about exploring things further?  If you would like to ask further questions about the topics raised in these homilies (or maybe think it wasn’t explained too well!), please feel free to e-mail Fr Michael at stjoseph.thame@rcaob.org.uk