Homily for 8 Apr 2016

8 Apr 2016

Jesus wasn’t interested in “greatness.”  He wasn’t interested in being right; nor were the Apostles.  If anything, they found delight in being shoved in the dirt for their faith.  Instead, Jesus and his Apostles were interested in being true . . . true to God’s vision of the heavenly kingdom; true to the principles of peace and mercy; true to the ideals of sacrificial love.

We don’t see Jesus going around trying to pick fights.  Nor do the Apostles do it.  Their main “offensive weapon” (if we can all it that) is to be men of integrity.  And that’s our main “offensive weapon” as well.  We don’t need to go around trying to pick fights with other Christians or atheists or anybody else.  All we need to do is live as true brothers and sisters in Christ; to love God, and to love our neighbor.

Our witness to Christian love in the world is the most powerful “offensive move” we can make in a world that desperately needs to hear the Gospel.  And that’s because authentic Christian living is a magnet: by the sheer fact of our being true to our faith, we will both attract and repel people.  And if some people try to attack us for our beliefs, well, then we can defend ourselves . . . with arguments and even righteous anger.

But our basic way of life is to just live and love as Christ does.  That’s the example the Apostles give us—and we see how their witness to faith and love has changed the world.  And we also see that the Pharisee Gamaliel was right: the things of God are what endure.  So whatever we do, however we live, may we do it as true children of God, and as brothers and sisters in Christ.