HOMILY
- The healing of the death man reminds me of my Father’s loss of sight. When he is told by the Doctor that it is much improved then he actually starts to see more clearly.
- This is more than psychological, as if the poor sight is caused by the false belief that he is going blind.
- It is because, care, encouragement and faith are operating.
- In the gospel, Jesus goes further and cures the man of blindness through the power of God.
- Unfortunately, the medical profession, while they generally do not dismiss the power of faith, spirituality and care, do not administer the power of God over their patients.
- I read in this morning’s newspaper that, the Principal of Wenona School, and Mark Scott’s wife (ABC), has lung cancer. The chairman of the School Board wrote to parents. Not at all did he ask for prayers.
- At first this surprised me but then I thought that fewer people do ask for prayers. They seem to have assumed that we live in a mechanized world under laws that determine outcomes.
- While this may be true to what we teach in School; and learn from life; there must always be room for a surprise and a deep trust that, at least, plays with the variables in life so that we see harsh realities in a new light!
- Hearing and speaking are at play in the gospel we read.
- Both these capacities are about the truth.
- But too often that ‘truth’ is a distorted and obscure voice, dictated by flicking buttons and surfing channels. We tend to listen to and watch a collage of voices and images without making too many judgments about truth.
- I like to think of truth as like a key that opens up the events of everyday to a new clarity and understanding.
- This requires hearing or listening for what brings clarity to life.
- Perhaps this can be found by talking with friends; seeking the advice of parents or reading good books? Some people fossick through the Bible. Others go to lonely and quiet places or bury themselves in tight fitting speakers and turn the volume up!
- In any case, listening to the truth set’s us free and makes us less unsure of ourselves and of life.
- Truth has a quality of helping us to clarify our sometimes confusing experiences.
- There is a tendency today in politics and the media to portray our lives in a mire of confusion and fear.
- This is especially true for the uncertainty which 9/11 has dumped on us; the economic shakiness since 2008; the fear of unemployment and an economy increasingly tight on property.
- Politics no longer speaks clearly and frankly and we are rarely told the truth when it is politically convenient to repeat distortions that reinforce fear and win elections.
- This is contrary to the gospel of freedom; setting people free to live and trust each other. And to believe in a loving God not the dark clouds of doom that befall us if we retreat from the protection of the militarized State.
- Hope too has been eroded and this is a set-back for Christian faith which has, until Pope Francis, lived in fear of the religion of the terrorists and the increasing secularization of society.
- The gospel today is clear. Jesus brings truth and clarity to people by preaching and acting in a compassionate/merciful way that engenders faith and confidence.
- In Him we hear the truth that God’s love forgives; it points us towards a love that is stronger than the human conditions of pain, suffering and misery.
- The healing love of the Father, expressed in the life of Jesus, is the truth to hear and the joy to speak.
- That Turkish soldier, caught unawares on the beach, who sees the dead Syrian boy, carries the corpse gently, caringly and lovingly to a place beyond the camera. This is a parable without words. A gesture of love.
- For me, a fleeting moment of truth; a clarity about what it is all about. Let there be no more fear for we are in the hands of God.