My friends, today’s readings seem to be about “staying the course,” doing the “right thing,” when easy and not so easy.  Such is certainly the case for Jeremiah today.  He, like us, I would think, feels like quitting when his friends and acquaintances put him down, don’t understand why he says and does that which is counterculture.  In Jeremiah’s words, [But then it comes] “like a fire burning in my heart.”  He has to respond affirmatively to God’s call. 

   During August, we celebrated a strong woman, Mary of Nazareth, who no doubt feared about what God’s ask of her would mean – she was told in the temple by Anna and Simeon, when she and Joseph presented the little Jesus according to their custom, that their baby would basically make a great difference in the world, to many people, and “that a sword would pierce her heart.”  We can only imagine that our sister Mary “carried” these words on her heart everyday as she watched Jesus grow, “in wisdom and grace.”  Yet, her heart would allow her no answer but “yes” to God’s call. 

   Many women in our day, called to priestly ordination, me included, find the hierarchy’s response to our calls, insulting, i.e.; that we are “after power,” that “the Church simply has no power to ordain” [us], but we just move on, answering a higher call. 

   I find myself thinking of a wonderful friend, male priest, Roy Bourgeois, who was expelled from his Maryknoll order of priests after serving faithfully for 40 years, because he couldn’t sign on to the party line that, “Women aren’t called to priestly ordination.  He said of it, “How can we as men say that our calls from God to priesthood are valid and that the same calls to women from God are not?  How indeed! 

   Paul, in his letter to the Romans today says it well, “Be transformed by the renewal of your minds, [and I would add, “your hearts”] so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect.”  Our calls to follow in Jesus’ footsteps should give us the strength to not be satisfied with “following the crowd” when so much more is needed.

   Sometimes, when I reflect on our world and all that is needed to make life better for people – for each of us, I find myself feeling “simply crazy,” listening to “the pablum” coming from many of those in power, which is to say, their lack of addressing and desire to do the right thing, plus their reluctance to share that ability to make the changes needed!  Along with this seeming ineptness, we see in our present day, a real selfish and mean-spirited attitude, a lack of compassion in both Church and state, showing itself in an insufferable lack of meaningful leadership to address the horrible state of immigration in our country, capital punishment, homelessness, the epidemic of guns in our country, the lack of truth-telling and misinformation on so many levels – I could go on, but you get the point!  If many of these so-called “leaders,” in Church and state, who claim to be Christians, were truly following in Jesus’ footsteps, one who was crucified for what he said and did, what a wonderful world this could be! What if they like Jeremiah had, “a fire burning in their heart”[s].  But, as I look around, sadly, there wouldn’t be enough evidence to convict many of them of “walking and talking” as Jesus did! 

   A few years back, Pope Francis, to his credit, addressed this lack with these words, “Some backward conservatives in the U.S. Catholic church have replaced faith with ideology.”  He made it clear that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.  Would that he had moved himself in opening up more roles for women to serve in.  We constantly hear the excuse that “the Church moves slowly!” Our brother Jesus did quite a bit, we could all agree, in three years!

   What Jesus began 2000 years ago was never about living in a “lukewarm” way – he was radical in his teachings as a good Jew, pushing the people of his time, and us, to be more inclusive, not less.

   In today’s gospel from Matthew, we get a wonderful sampling of why we can never be satisfied with a literal reading of Jesus’ words – “deny yourself and take up your cross,”  “if you would lose your life for my sake, you will find it.” What can Jesus be getting at here? We don’t crucify folks anymore, at least physically, and most, if not all of us, would say, “No” to that kind of torture.  Yet, these words have meaning for us, if we can look deeper. 

   If we read the gospels carefully, we can see how Jesus struggled with his humanity, as do we, in trying to be our best selves.  When Peter tries to talk him out of “going to Jerusalem,” and all that awaits him there, if he is going to be true to himself, he says, “Get behind me Satan!” 

   Jesus goes on to counsel his apostles and us about the accumulation of too many of this world’s material goods – and the danger of “losing ourselves” in the process.  Our world lost a wonderful woman this past week, in Dolly Parton, who never forgot the poverty that she grew from, giving back more and more, the more that came her way.  She never lost what her simple roots gave her. 

   Jesus speaks to us in today’s gospel of what our God thinks of us, each one of us, and we should not miss this:  “What can you offer in exchange for your very self?” [!]

   My friends, as we look around our world, just this week, several, very sad, things have come to our attention: The one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic church in Minneapolis that took the lives of two precious children, and wounded physically, 18 others, along with emotionally and spiritually affecting an entire community, with no meaningful action in our country as a whole to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. We became aware of those starving and dying in Afghanistan, women and children under the cruel policies of the Taliban, lack of good preventative medicines around the world because of our country’s elimination of much-needed help through USAID, the flooding in our country and the terrible conditions at present in Nepal due to the ravages of climate change. 

   Our world and all who suffer in it do call each of us to consider gratefully all that we do have and do all that we can through letter-writing, demonstrating for change, and anything else we can think of – in effect, “carrying  our crosses” with Jesus, to make life better for all. 

   Many times, before our meals at home, Robert and I have a simple prayer that goes something like this: Me: “Bless us God” – Robert: “We are blessed, let us be grateful!”  His response is always a reminder to me, when things get too heavy on my heart, that there is reason for hope – realizing what we do have, makes it easier to keep striving for others and all that they don’t have. 

   Franciscans, Richard Rohr and Ilia Delio have written well, opening up for our Church a wider view of Jesus’ real mission in the Incarnation. Father Richard says simply, “To show us the way home, “ and Sister Ilia says, “Jesus’ death was all about him taking on the worst humanity could offer in order that we, his sisters and brothers could then recognize him in the sufferings of others.”  This is precisely what is meant in the final statement I make at the end of Mass,  each week, “The Mass is ended, let the service continue!” Or to say it another way, this is how the bread and wine on our table each week, truly becomes Jesus’ body and blood.

   My friends, unfortunately, doing what is “most loving” in any situation is not going to be the easiest action, but it will always be the “right” one.  I think in our world today, we pray with the psalmist, “My soul thirsts for you God.”   In everyday parlance, we would say, “God, can’t you help us out here?”  There is a story told about this request of us to our God – God answers, “That is why I sent you!”  Perhaps our prayer then today could be that we realize our call to do that most “loving thing” – regardless of the consequences, not letting ourselves get in the way.  Amen? Amen!