My friends, the clear theme, stemming from the Scripture readings today on this 28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, is to look to “wisdom” in our lives as we attempt to follow our brother, Jesus. 

   In the first reading from the Old Testament book of Wisdom, we hear the writer, thought to be, King Solomon, as he supposedly writes to the rulers of the earth, say, “I prayed, and understanding was given me…wisdom came to me…and I valued [her] above even my throne and scepter and all my great wealth was nothing next to this.” 

   The second reading from the New Testament book of Hebrews, often thought to have been written by Paul, but in more present day, it is thought that this letter many have been penned by one of Paul’s disciples, Barnabas, continues the idea of the 1^st reading speaking to “wisdom” and the goodness, rightness of this gift in our lives.  The Hebrew’s writer speaks of God’s Word as, “living and active”— “piercing deeply,” able to judge the thoughts and, “intentions of the heart,” and that all, “is exposed to God.”  I believe we can look at these words and agree that the writer is speaking about the “wisdom” of God.

   The gospel from Mark today gives us a piece of wisdom that seems to frame our thinking and purpose here, by reminding us of Jesus’ words, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kin-dom of God.”  So, let’s try and unpack these readings and more clearly see their import for us today—as we have said recently, “not just nice stories, for past times, but for us, as well.

   The majority of people, ourselves included, live by the status quo—what are others doing? —and then, do the same—quite a natural thing to do. It definitely keeps the peace.  Unfortunately, living like the “status quo” doesn’t necessarily, call forth the best in us. 

   As Jesus’ followers—we are called to more, and deciding, “how to live,” we must go to our hearts—as that is where the truth lies.  Looking to the masses often brings more of, “comfort living” and acceptance of, “what is,” rather than, “what could be.” 

    I said above that the majority of us follow the “status quo” way of life, as frankly, it is the easier way to go.  And who of us is looking for trouble?  But my friends, that is often precisely, what our walk with Jesus calls us to do—make trouble, and not simply, for “trouble’s sake,” but for bringing about justice.   John Lewis, civil rights leader, and former congressman—now deceased, called this action, making, “good trouble!” 

   When we name the injustice, and there is so much of it in our country where non-whites, women, and  the poor, to name just a few groups, are concerned; we can many times find ourselves in the minority proclaiming this truth.  How many of us could be truly “convicted” of being a “Christian” on the evidence of our lived experience? I ask this question of myself and of you, because my dear friends, this is our true mission in this world.  Being a Christian should not slip us easily into the ranks of status quo living—what we might call, “comfort living.” 

   Three years ago, when we addressed these readings, I shared the story of a Catholic priest, Father Jim Callahan who pastors St. Mary’s parish in Worthington, MN. He works primarily with the immigrant population there who labor in the meat-processing plant owned and operated by Swift and Company. 

   Over the years, Father Jim has provided asylum protection for immigrants, here illegally, within the church walls when needed, against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  He, is of course, in the minority where male, Catholic priests are concerned—most, like Father’s Jim’s predecessor, don’t “want to get involved.”  And I would believe that his work continues, as should all of ours, in the tradition of our brother, Jesus. 

   We, each of us, needs to listen to “Lady Wisdom—Sophia,” too, as she makes known her truth to us, and then act.  The problems in our immigration system continue, gun violence still has a “life of its own,” on our streets and in our country; politicians—too many of them, have forgotten what they were sent to Washington or State Houses to do, violence against women and now, especially, Native women, continues.  All of these issues call to us, “to go to our hearts,” where Lady Wisdom lives. 

   The “lady” of which we speak when describing, “wisdom” is the term used from ancient times—pre-Christian in fact, denoting that wisdom has a feminine nature, character and face.  This notion was carried over then in Old Testament literature where Sophia (Wisdom) does indeed speak of the feminine face of God.  One wonders why, then, what was good and appropriate for our forebears in the faith, should be so hard for the present-day hierarchy to get their “heads” around.  As Sandra Schneiders said so well, “God is more than two men and a bird.”  Perhaps if they came at it, from their, “hearts,” where Lady Wisdom lives, it wouldn’t be so hard.

   A present-day example of coming at things with one’s head is the recent, unfortunate, in-action of Pope Francis as he made changes to the Code of Canon Law (Book VI) on offenses and punishments, in June of this year.  His in-action was his, “failure to correct the mis-characterization of the ‘grave crime’ of women following their authentic vocations to ordained ministry,” writes Kate McElwee of, New Women, New Church, a publication of Women’s Ordination Conference. 

   It should be remembered that by not correcting this error of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, Francis is affirming that he believes too that the action of women following their God-given calls to priesthood is analogous to the grave crime of sexual abuse of children by male priests!  Francis, it seems, struggles between his “head and “heart” statements to the detriment of the Church.  There are day-to-day, random examples of his reaching out to the LGBTQ community and to women (heart) and when it comes to the official statement, he falls back on his “head” failing to do much that could be considered, “loving.”

   All the readings today speak to the need, as followers of our brother, Jesus, to get beyond the world of material things, what brings comfort and doesn’t overly, bother us—the status quo, as spoken of earlier. 

   That having been said, it is important to say as well that, “the comfort” that material things bring is not bad in itself, as long as we keep a balance.  I believe this was the caution that Jesus was trying to lay out for the apostles, and ultimately, for us—when he spoke of how hard it is for the rich to enter the kin-dom.  Because friends, the desire for more and more is a powerful deterrent for doing less and less for those in need. 

   This reminds me of a song made popular back in 1970 by country singer, Lynn Anderson, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.”  When first hearing this title, it would appear that the singer considers a “rose garden” a happy place to be, with no troubles, such as, when we speak of, “a bed of roses.”  But, in reality, we know that all rose bushes come with thorns. It strikes me that this might be a good way to view our God-given lives—the beauty and joy of “roses,” showing themselves in people and all of created life—yes, but the “thorns” of injustice, disagreement and more, that come along the way too, that we have to grapple with. 

   Wisdom calls us to this reality and much more.  We are here to enjoy our human existence, but to share it as well.  Jesus, it seems, did promise us a “rose garden.”

Amen? Amen!

Dear Friends, sorry for the lateness of today’s homily, but I was part of a celebration in Rochester to welcome 7 new Cojourners–lay associates with the Franciscan Sisters there. One of the 7, I had the privilege to mentor. So, a bit late today…

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   My friends, as I said in the bulletin this week, Respect Life Sunday gathers together ALL life and if it doesn’t, then it should!  If truth be told though, most of us would have to admit that when we hear the title, “Respect Life Sunday,” we think of the unborn.  Now, not that we shouldn’t go there in our thinking, but our Christian life really calls us to more—so much more. 

   Our brother Jesus gives us two fine examples in today’s Gospel: (1) He is addressing the cultural view of divorce and the place of women in this less than equal arrangement. (2) Jesus is speaking of the place of children in his culture and simply says, and I paraphrase, you can’t be part of me and a greater life, beyond this world unless you become like little children. Let’s look at these two, because both are so about, “respecting life.” 

   First is the example of women:  Jesus is not addressing, “divorce,” because of law, but because of love.  This reading is not about a “black and white” ruling with no exceptions but was in response to the hypocrisy of the men asking him the question. 

   We all know from other readings and other homilies that I have shared, that women had no place in the society in which Jesus was a part, unless they were the “property” of some man, i.e., a father, or a husband.  If these entities weren’t around, in the case of death of one or the other, or both, an adult brother or son, might take the woman in. 

   So, in the case of a potential divorce from an abusive husband, the woman would think twice or more about it, and in most cases, do nothing.  Whereas the man in the same situation certainly had more power. In fact, Jesus’ purpose here in discussing divorce is to raise up the fact that men, having all the power in their society, could stipulate as cause, “Inadequacy in the Wife,” when what he might really want is someone, younger and more pleasing in whatever way, and the woman could really do nothing about it. 

   Then there is the case of children, who just like women, had no power in their society.  Imagine the disbelief within the community to hear Jesus say, “Unless you become like little children,” you can’t be part of the greater life that I have come to offer.

   So, what might Jesus be saying here?  “Becoming like children,” certainly would have to include a purity of heart—a truthfulness of feeling and expression, a sense of wonder of all that is about us in our world.  We have all had those times when children express the unadulterated truth about something that causes us to stop in our tracks and proclaim, “Out of the mouths of babes!”

   This is what Jesus seems to be asking of his, “sisters and brothers” in the flesh—that we would respect ourselves, others, and act accordingly in our lives.  Our living is not just for ourselves, but indeed, for others, and it does matter that when we are claiming, “our freedom,” we are not stepping on others’ freedom. 

   Jesus was sent by the Creator, as spoken of today in the second reading from Hebrews, to show us that we are all, mightily loved and it seemed that the only way we could really know that was through the “expressed” example of One, sent by the Creator for that very purpose.  Jesus, in other words, is such a fine example of one who truly, “respected” all of created life. 

   October is also the month when we celebrate a “Jesus-like” figure (October 4^th) who probably, more than any other human who has lived, showed us Jesus’ face in time.  Francis of Assisi is loved by many Catholics and others around the world for the simplicity of his lifestyle—a childlikeness that saw people and all of creation with joy, naming each as his, “sister and brother.”

   In the beginning of this homily, I spoke of the fact that, Respect Life Sunday is about more than, life in the womb, and went on to address how, in the Gospel Jesus speaks of the plight of women and children in his time.  Now, as we have said many times before, we don’t read the Scriptures as “nice stories” that have nothing to say to our present day.

   With that in mind, I lift up the fact that so many have lauded Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si and rightly so. His beautiful words speak to the fact, perhaps wish, that all are included in God’s love, people, and all of creation.  I, as a woman do though, still await the day that Francis can truly act on his beautiful, inclusive words, and include women in all levels of Church governance and full ministry at the altar as priests. 

   Interestingly, Francis is remembered for his very open comment when asked about the actions of gay and lesbian folks— “Who am I to judge?”  Who indeed, except for where women are concerned? Having said that though, Francis seems to be back-pedaling even with gay and lesbian folk in that he refuses to allow priests to bless their unions, naming them, as “sin.”

   Jesus, I believe, would be very pleased with the reading from Genesis, chosen for today and rewritten by the Priests for Equality, source of all our readings here at All Are One, because of how they have opened up this reading to include more than just heterosexual relationships.

   It is interesting to note that in their translation of this text, we don’t have, “genders” until after the “earth creature” is put to sleep.  Additionally, the derivation of the word, “a-dam” is, “earth creature” and not a name, “Adam” for the male creature created by the male God. And when “genders” are introduced, we see that each is given a choice, which indicates that there could be another choice as well. 

   It is this sensitive writing that finally opens up this Scripture for our gay brothers and sisters, for truly, “It is not good for the “earth creature” to be alone.” 

   So, my friends, bringing together all these thoughts and readings, we could say that the theme within this Respect Life Sunday is really about, “relationships” and how we deal with our world.  Not only must we respect life in its beginnings, but all through life—to the very end.

   We must make sure that we respect life in the hungry, the poor, the uneducated, the homeless, those who are lonely, those persecuted for the color of their skin, their gender, whom they love, those seeking asylum and so on, doing our part to make these situations better. 

   We also cannot live our lives from the standpoint of who has “the power,” but must be open to sharing all that we have.  This still tends to be a very patriarchal world in Church, for sure, but in State too.  Women must operate out of a whole different set of rules than men do.

   In Church this is all too obvious, and I have already lifted up this truth in today’s homily.  In State, women still lag behind men in comparable pay for comparable work.  Across the professions, women make 84% of what men do and at this rate they would have to work 42 days more to be equal to men in wages. And colored women and those of other nationalities have even lower percentages of equality to men with regard to wages.  Over the 25 years that I have tracked this inequality—women have made gains.  My question is, “Why has it taken so long,” if we truly, “respect” life?

   Regardless of whether you like Hilary Clinton, when she ran for president in 2016, it was clear that she was held to a different standard than the man she ran against, or we might say, any man she would have challenged. Rather than lifting up her lifetime of earned credentials for that position, news commentators often spoke about what she was wearing or discounted her for the “sins” of her husband. 

   Hillary’s part to play in breaking, “the glass ceiling” seems to have been to shine a bright light on this kind of discrimination so as to make it easier for up-coming women who want to serve our country. 

   Ah, yes, Respect Life Sunday—we should indeed respect life, but in all it’s many-faceted ways!  Amen? Amen!  

   My friends, as I said in the bulletin, this week’s readings are all about being, “prophets,” here and now!  Prophesy is the work of us all—followers of our brother, Jesus.  We can’t wait for someone else to do this great work but must see the work of speaking truth-to-power, Church or State, to any and all who are dealing out injustice in this world, as our own. 

   Additionally, to be clearer; we can’t see the work of the prophet as an extraordinary, once, or twice in a lifetime event, but for the true believer in Jesus, the Christ, closer to, an everyday event.  In other words, the ability and strength to be a prophet comes with our confirmations and should be practiced whenever the need arises.  Further, we must always be ready! 

   James, always short and to the point was and is truly acting in the role of the prophet in today’s 2^nd reading.  He was taking issue with the rich who apparently saw no one’s needs, except for their own and says definitively: “Weep and howl for the miseries that are coming to you.”  Whether “the miseries” come in this life or the next, he doesn’t say.  My take would be that one’s life will always go better, be happier when it is shared with others.  The top 1% in our country are at present being asked to pay their fair share in taxes to support those with so much less. Unfortunately, many are objecting!

   Eldad and Medad, in the 1^st reading today from Numbers were ready when the Spirit overshadowed them, calling them to preach what they had heard.  We see the interesting “dilemma” that arises for the people that Moses had gathered for God to share the Spirit with. Hearing that two other elders were preaching, who hadn’t been part of their select group, Joshua objects.  Moses needs to remind him and the others, that they haven’t been chosen to preach for themselves, or for Moses, but that the gift to preach, is given for the benefit of others.  Moses tells them— “If only all of God’s people were prophets!” 

   Too many times my friends, we shy away from speaking the words of justice for all—love, care, and concern for the downtrodden, a place at the table where all are welcome, because we have our eyes on what is not the most important issue—following protocol, the law—whatever it might be. 

   This failure to do what God is calling forth from us reminds me of my early days in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)—training to become a chaplain.  A wonderful supervisor, mentor, and friend, Southern Baptist minister, Mark Hart, in my training program gave me some fine advice during a time when I was grieving the fact that the Catholic church would not affirm me, or any women as called by God to minister to God’s people at the altar.

   Mark said to me one day when we were discussing this, “Kathy, you don’t need anyone’s permission, i.e., the Catholic hierarchy, to do what God is calling you to do!”  I believe today that such affirming words as this enabled me 15 years later, after the fact, to pursue ordination to the priesthood within the Roman Catholic Womenpriests because the call was about so much more than a church law that said that I couldn’t!  So, for me, there was never any fear of what I might lose by saying, “yes” to God. 

   Jesus, our brother, had to deal with this same issue that Moses had, with his apostles objecting to others outside their select group of believers preaching what the Spirit had given them.  Jesus simply says, “If they aren’t against us, then they are with us!”  Jesus is always widening the circle, not making it smaller!

   My good friend and soulmate from my convent days, Mary Ann Sinclair, has said of it, “The road is wide!”  In other words, there are many ways to God, and we should never discourage any of them. Mary Ann is also a fine artist and made for me a wall hanging to proclaim this very concept. (For those reading this on-line, you can go to our website, http://www.allareonechurch.org to view this hanging). For those in front of me, that hanging is behind me.  Because the “road is [indeed] wide,” my friends, our community, All Are One is open to Catholics, yes, but to all other faith backgrounds as well, who want to gather and pray with us.  That is also why I open the homily time to all of you because I realize that the wisdom of the Spirit comes to each of us—me, as well as you. 

   So, does this kind of thinking simplify our lives?  No, it doesn’t, but it does make life, incredibly more rich.  Three years ago, when I preached on these Scriptures, I included the wisdom of a writer for the National Catholic Reporter, (NCR), Miriam Williams, and her advice bears repeating:

   In a piece entitled, A Strong Faith Can Handle the Test of Startling Questions, she is responding primarily to religious evangelicals and other conservatives who want to have their faith all laid out for them—do this, do that and you’re saved! Williams writes that [she] “believes a strong faith can handle the test of ‘tough meat’ (my apologies to my vegetarian friends) when it comes in the form of startling questions.

 What if God sees nothing wrong with women delivering the Gospel?  What if homosexuality isn’t a sin? What if it is, but God has enough grace to cover it? What if the Bible is literary, but not literal?”   She goes on, “I chew, I listen for God in the bites.  I digest.  I am energized and satisfied, even as I wonder how much longer so many people will feel full on theology that starves them.” 

   My friends, our lives as Jesus’ followers call us “to go deeper” as mystic, Hildegard of Bingen is known for encouraging.  We must move beyond the political, the seemingly religious, the pious, the law, in all its coldness and respond from our hearts as Jesus did.  We must look for the truth in these troubling times, not in rhetoric, but in actions of goodness, kindness, compassion—devoid of arrogance and self-centeredness—deep enough to realize that when I look into the face of another, suffering due to something that I believe or have done; I can see my own face, and in all of that, the face of God. 

   Being “prophets” my friends in a world so big and so diverse—so seemingly more divided than any time that I can remember in my 71 years, calls for us to be big-hearted people.  People are across the board with political, religious, and cultural views, but at the end of the day, the faith of any of us, as humans, does call us to simply do the “loving thing” –that is bigger than whether we agree politically, religiously, or in any other way.

   A personal example came to me, fresh and open as I wrote this homily.  I have three brothers, all followers of the former president, so you know that we do not agree on much politically.  None of them came to my ordination, so not much in common religiously, either.  But just this week, one brother’s oldest daughter tested positive for COVID, unvaccinated, and by week’s end, had to be taken to the E.R. with low oxygen levels.  Luckily, my brother and his wife are vaccinated, but could not convince their three children and spouses to do so.  Maybe now, that may change.

   So, even though this angers me, because it didn’t need to happen, my response can’t be a “political” one, but a “heart” one.  How as a parent would I feel? What would I as a parent in that situation need to hear? Love, of course! 

   As we struggle friends to live as Jesus did, in our world; we realize, as a friend reminded me recently—love is always, the hardest lesson.  Our brother Jesus minces no words in today’s gospel when he addresses leading others astray— “better to have a millstone hung around your neck and thrown into the sea” [!]

   All this can at times sound so hard to do, but what gives me hope and strength each day is the knowledge that Jesus always has my back— “I will be with you all days…,” he said.  Amen? Amen!

   My friends, we live in a time of COVID 19, and its stronger variant, Delta, climate change that has blasted the west with more and more deadly fires, and the coastal states with ever greater storms—more frequent and with ever more deadly amounts of rainfall.  In the middle states, especially in farming country, the breadbasket, we might say, of our nation, droughts have been prolonged.  What to do?

   Then, there is the political climate in this, seemingly, “great” country of ours that equals, if not “trumps” the seriousness of the changes in the environmental climate named above.  Rather than doing what is best for the greatest amount of the people, some, too many, so-called “legislators” choose what is best for themselves and what they think their constituents want to hear, so as to benefit their own re-elections, successfully doing nothing to address current problems plaguing our country.

   The fact that 24 attorneys general would file a suit against our president objecting to his call that large companies mandate vaccinations as a way to curb and slow and hopefully end a virus growing ever stronger, filling many hospitals to beyond capacity, so as to take all room from those with day-to-day medical needs, is to me, simply appalling.  What to do?

   Then, there is, since the time of our previous president, the equally devastating phenomenon of an ideology that appeals to the primarily selfish instincts of many within our country—those who don’t want their “freedoms” curbed in any way and who see our country as, “first, best, and great” among all others. 

   I believe I can speak with a bit of authority on the ideology of the previous president that became the mantra of too many in our country because it has majorly infected many in my family of origin to the point that discussion within that group is next to impossible. 

   And within our Catholic church—are we any better?  Those of you here last week will recall the discussion after the homily where one of you raised the issue of our Catholic belief, as expressed in the Gloria, that our brother Jesus is the “first born of the Creator,” asking, “Do we know that to be so, that Jesus was ‘first,’ or is that just our basic need to think so?” 

   A good discussion followed, and I believe, for the most part, we agreed that we don’t know, and a further consideration might be, does it really matter, or is it simply more important that Jesus did in fact come, to be one of us?  To Christians, the fact that Jesus did come, has made all the difference, just like Buddha and his teachings to his followers, and the belief in the Great Spirit for Indigenous People, and so on—each helping their followers to live their humanity to its fullest. 

   But probably the most puzzling to me has been to witness some within religious groups who have taken to following this selfish, mean-spirited ideology of our former president, giving it a new face to justify it, and even suggesting this ideology as the voice of a “new messiah.”  In this, I go back to Jesus’ words, “By their fruits, you will know them.”  If the words of anyone do nothing but separate people, then perhaps, we should question their authenticity. 

   And that brings us to today’s readings.  Wisdom literature presents us with a bit of foreshadowing of what to expect when we object to others not living for the good of all.  The most obvious case in point—getting vaccinated against COVID.  Objecting to the behavior of another is always a very tenuous thing to begin with and one I think most of us take on with a bit of trepidation.  Only when the stakes seem high enough, or are about a serious moral concern, do we take the chance within relationships, whether family or friends. 

   The Wisdom writer tells us how it might go: “Let us set a trap for the just, who greatly annoy us by opposing what we do.” 

   James, in the second reading, instructs us, “to pray for what you want,” but beware, “If you do not get [it], it is because you have not prayed properly.”  In terms that perhaps we can better understand, it might be good to say that our prayer might not have been pure or done for the right reasons. 

   With regard to COVID and people getting vaccinated, I have found myself thinking that the only way that the “anti-vaccination people will ever be convinced is if in fact they do get sick, but I have stopped short of praying for this.  This fact has happened though within hospitals and been reported that unvaccinated people, on their death beds have begged for the vaccination, because now, they understand!  This is such, “crazymaking” stuff!

   Our brother Jesus, in today’s gospel gives an added piece, I believe, as we live, move, and pray, and be part of our world.  He says, “If you would be first, [main object in a few of the apostles’ minds today] you must be last.”  I read this, connecting with James’ thought, that all we do should be for the highest purpose and motive –or, as we always say here, do the most loving thing, above all.    Does that answer adequately or even, at all, the questions I have raised here today?  Probably not, but maybe it is a help for each of us to refocus our efforts, especially when the “crazy-making” times come.  Amen? Amen!

   My friends, I wrote this on a morning after not sleeping well the night before, so you can imagine that my level of faith and hope might have been somewhat diminished, due to tiredness, yet that seemed not to be the case—I will let you decide.  Additionally, the Scriptures for this Sunday are full of challenge, which for someone without enough sleep, might feel off-putting, but remarkably, it seemed not so as I wrote.  Again, I will let you decide.

   The three readings today are all about “relationships,” with God, with others, with creation—relationships with each and all.

   Isaiah’s reading today is a foreshadowing of the Messiah—about how this long-awaited One will appear among us—then and now.  As we spoke of it last week, God choosing to be among us was not just a “nice story,” “once-upon-a-time,” but for us now, in our time too.  Our faith in God, as I said above, is about “relationship” with this entity that we can’t fully know in this life, or perhaps, ever, even in a “next life.” 

   Many of us have no doubt read in more recent years of the work of cosmologists, Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, and a host of others who spent their scientific careers advancing the work of their predecessors, Copernicus, Newton, Einstein, and others to let us know, very simply, that our universe is ever-expanding—that we can’t, in fact, know its ending.  That is why our ideas about God, formulated for most of us, as children must grow too, so as to encompass a God more worthy of who this entity truly is. 

   Theologians such as Ilia Delio, Richard Rohr, and Diarmuid O’Murchu, advancing the work of Teilhard de Chardin, are doing just that in our present time.  These theologians are tapping into the grand scope of our universe, presented by cosmologists and astrologists, to confirm the other—that in fact God is part of this grand scope that we can’t fully understand.  These theologians are really answering Jesus’ question in today’s gospel: “Who do you say that I am?”

   Jesus, our human and spiritual brother, part of a Trinity that we have come to know and believe, as much as that is possible, to be God—Creator, Savior, and Spirit, chose to come and be One-With-Us, so as to show us the intent of this Original One—that we might as spiritual beings too, have a human experience, living to our fullest.  Within all these words, I simply want you to hear that our God, whom we can’t fully know is yearning to be, “in relationship” with us—each of us.  If we seek to know how to do that, we should keep our eyes on Jesus— “listening to his words,” “watching” his actions.

   Jesus lived for others—his whole coming into humanity was about others.  If we would follow in his footsteps, we must be “for others” too.  And the most present and immediate example of this is the need for all of us in this country to get vaccinated as our president implored us to do this past week.  This is a time to get beyond political parties, personal wishes for freedom and comfort—this present need is what will eventually, sooner rather than later, truly free us from an enemy we can’t even see—this action is about others, not just ourselves.  And the wonderful thing is that when we act for the good of others, we are helped too, in ways we can’t always imagine. 

   Isaiah speaks today of a long-awaited Messiah, one who will confront us, as we must “confront” others, to be our best selves.  This Messiah, the people of old would need to realize, was not coming to help them vanquish their enemies, but to help them to, one day, be “in relationship” with them.  It is always easier “to fight” than to make peace. 

   Yesterday marked the 20^th anniversary of the day here, in our country, that planes became bombs on 9-11-2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.  Newscasters have sought out survivors of that horrible event that took place in New York City, at the Pentagon and surrounds and the overriding thought in all the interviews was of “relationships” to loved ones who survived, to the thousands who didn’t, to the need of our nation to reach out and in some way try to help in a situation that initially made us feel so helpless. 

   And while not only one war, but two would follow, this wasn’t what was on the minds of any of the people who remembered this date, 20 years ago.  What they spoke about was where they were that day, and where the people who they were in relationship with, were on that day. 

   Last week, we ended the last of the two wars, the 20-year long war in Afghanistan.  Our president’s overriding message, in my mind, was about “relationships” —we all, on both sides, have lost enough, he said—it’s time to stop doing something that clearly isn’t working.  He has been ridiculed by some, but as the prophet Isaiah says today, and I paraphrase, all our adversaries will wear out like a piece of clothing.  This same prophet says that “God awakens my ear to listen,” and I would add, to see—see beyond our small world—to understand that we are to see how we are called to be in “relationship” with the wider world—each group of people and each nation given the chance of life and to live it to the fullest. 

   As we study more and more, and learn more about the fantastic cosmos that is, minute by minute, hour by hour, stretching out further, we must realize how insignificant we are and rather than puff up with pride over whatever we may have accomplished, rather, stand in awe, of all we are, “in relationship” with—all we are called to stand in solidarity with, to love and protect, rather than, conquer. 

   James tells us today that “faith” and action go hand in hand –you can’t really say you have “faith” if no action follows.  And that certainly brings us to our present day—so many needs—so much that calls for big-hearted people, each striving for our own good, yes, but for the good of all as well. 

   Jesus came among us to show us how much we are capable of as human beings—how flexible we can be, and of how, like the cosmologists who see a bigger universe than they ever imagined and the theologians who see a God even bigger and more inclusive than ever expressed by our small-minded churches—we can too.

   We are now, in our time, being called to see not only a God who lives in a building, or in a piece of bread—but in all created life, and when we can do that, we will have solved many, if not most of our problems and perhaps truly answered Jesus’ question in today’s gospel, “who do you say that I am?”  Amen? Amen!