THE FIRST HOMILY OF OUR NEWLY ORDAINED DEACON, BROTHER ATHANASIUS
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?” said Jesus’ disciples. In the Gospel it refers to the real presence of our Lord in the Eucharist, but for us the ‘hard saying’ of our Lord is probably something completely different. For some this ‘hard saying’ is the call for wives to be subordinate to their husbands. In fact it is so hard that our courageous bishop’s conference offers a conveniently censored version of this passage to be read at Mass. However at the present time it is this very same clerical hierarchy that has become a ‘hard saying’ for us. Whether it is the findings of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report or the web of scandal surrounding ex-cardinal McCarrick, the very fact that God has chosen to use not just weak and fallible men, but evil and hypocritical ones as instruments for our salvation seems not only hard but outlandish and irrational. This is indeed the ‘God of surprises’ Pope Francis talks about.
This is where the cliches come in “God brings good out of evil’, ‘with faith all things are possible’, ‘man’s evil poses no limit to God’s goodness’ blah blah blah. The thing about these cliches is that they are not just cliches, but profound truths that provide profound insight on the relationship between divine and human action. However, without a lived experience of these truths or a concrete example of them, they do become hollow cliches for us which is why the example of Joshua is so important for us.
In our first reading we find Joshua leading the people in a solemn profession of faith in the Lord and in a renewal of their covenant, that alliance between God and man that gave the Israelites a true home in the promised land. In fact this little passage represents the very summit of Joshua’s life and the culmination of his life’s work, since it comes at the end of a long series of victorious battles that resulted in the people of God wrestling the promised land of Israel from a slew of enemy tribes. And Joshua knew full well that his invincibility in battle depended on meditating upon the law of the Lord day and night so that he would never ever deviate from it. Much like Joshua, we too are promised invincibility in our own spiritual warfare provided that our intellect is in conformity with the truth and that our will leads us to act in conformity with that truth. And while we we all have the potential to be all-conquering spiritual Hercules, we need to look to role models like Joshua for guidance on how to fulfill that potential.
In his first biblical appearance Exodus remarks that Joshua ‘mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.’Now, while you might be involved in your faith community as a catechist or a as a member of a prayer group, lets just say that Joshua had a special charism to serve his fellow Israelites by participating in a kind of outreach ministry that involved reaching out to other faith groups (with a sword). The important insight here, is that the more involved and dedicated you are to the faith and religious practice the more it burns when your visible religious leaders fail you.
Joshua got this first taste of human failure when, returning from Mount Sinai with Moses, he finds Aaron, the high priest and a spokesman chosen by God himself leading the elders and all of Israel in idolatry. Even more shameful than this was Aaron’s response when questioned by Moses: Aaron explains that the Israelites had given him gold and that he ‘threw it into the fire and there came out this calf.” I actually consider this verse to be a perfect instance of the kind of shameless obviously false self serving lies that five year olds specialize in. And it was this very verse that came to mind when I read about Cardinal Wuerl having his archdiocese set up a website to protect his reputation. This website included an article that criticized the grand jury report for not highlighting all the good things he had done regarding child protection as if grand juries are formed to investigate the good actions of citizens.
So how did Joshua respond to this kind of scandal: he does absolutely nothing noteworthy. The Levites slay all those who are not on the Lord’s side and Moses offers to make atonement which ends up taking the form a plague from which Joshua would also suffer even though he was blameless. While he supports the special vocation of the Levites and Moses have for setting things straight, he himself recognizes that his role is simply to continue in his fidelity to the law.
This doesn’t mean Joshua withdraws from participation in the life of Israel, rather he continues to help his people by serving as a scout that reconnoiters the land of Israel. However, as part of this service, Joshua is once again betrayed by his coreligionists. All the the scouts agree that the promised land is fertile and full of food way better than manna and quail, but all the other ones except one feel that the struggle needed to secure the land is too difficult for them. In short the courageous Joshua gets lumped in with a bunch of cowards. Now you have to understand that in herding/pastoral cultures, courage tends to be the most celebrated virtue, since it is the one needed to fend off the wolves, lions, and bandits that threaten the livestock that are vital to those cultures. So for Joshua being known as a coward is like being called a racist or a pedophile now. And this kind of humiliation is what we Catholics get stuck with, guilty or not, as part of the aftermath of all this crisis. As someone who walks around the streets of Pamplona, Spain everyday literally wearing my religion on my sleeve, I can tell you I have been called a child molester and a fascist and have even been challenged to a fistfight, all due to past sins or even perceived sins of my fellow Catholics.
So after suffering this kind of humiliation and almost being stoned for wanting to fight for the promised land, what did this great biblical protagonist do? Well he doesn’t quit the Israelites in rage and run off to join the Amalekites, no he simply suffered with his people. God had Israel atone for its sin by waiting for 40 years so that the entire generation of cowards would die off before entering the promised land. While Joshua was guaranteed entry to the promised land, he would have to wander the desert shoulder to shoulder with those losers for 40 years despite being blameless himself.
The hard words of our Lord also exist in what he didn’t say. He never promised us a saintly hierarchy, or a mediocre one, or even a not evil one nor did he promise us that we would never be humiliated by our brothers in the faith. Fortunately our Lord did promise us something way better than all that: THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE. Those words are the words of consecration Fr. Dominic will say in a few minutes. For it is by these words that Christ becomes present among us body and blood, soul and divinity. And when we eat his flesh and drink his blood Christ abides in is and we in him. And it is when he abides in us that we become an all conquering spiritual Hercules, like Joshua.
This is where the cliches come in “God brings good out of evil’, ‘with faith all things are possible’, ‘man’s evil poses no limit to God’s goodness’ blah blah blah. The thing about these cliches is that they are not just cliches, but profound truths that provide profound insight on the relationship between divine and human action. However, without a lived experience of these truths or a concrete example of them, they do become hollow cliches for us which is why the example of Joshua is so important for us.
In our first reading we find Joshua leading the people in a solemn profession of faith in the Lord and in a renewal of their covenant, that alliance between God and man that gave the Israelites a true home in the promised land. In fact this little passage represents the very summit of Joshua’s life and the culmination of his life’s work, since it comes at the end of a long series of victorious battles that resulted in the people of God wrestling the promised land of Israel from a slew of enemy tribes. And Joshua knew full well that his invincibility in battle depended on meditating upon the law of the Lord day and night so that he would never ever deviate from it. Much like Joshua, we too are promised invincibility in our own spiritual warfare provided that our intellect is in conformity with the truth and that our will leads us to act in conformity with that truth. And while we we all have the potential to be all-conquering spiritual Hercules, we need to look to role models like Joshua for guidance on how to fulfill that potential.
In his first biblical appearance Exodus remarks that Joshua ‘mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.’Now, while you might be involved in your faith community as a catechist or a as a member of a prayer group, lets just say that Joshua had a special charism to serve his fellow Israelites by participating in a kind of outreach ministry that involved reaching out to other faith groups (with a sword). The important insight here, is that the more involved and dedicated you are to the faith and religious practice the more it burns when your visible religious leaders fail you.
Joshua got this first taste of human failure when, returning from Mount Sinai with Moses, he finds Aaron, the high priest and a spokesman chosen by God himself leading the elders and all of Israel in idolatry. Even more shameful than this was Aaron’s response when questioned by Moses: Aaron explains that the Israelites had given him gold and that he ‘threw it into the fire and there came out this calf.” I actually consider this verse to be a perfect instance of the kind of shameless obviously false self serving lies that five year olds specialize in. And it was this very verse that came to mind when I read about Cardinal Wuerl having his archdiocese set up a website to protect his reputation. This website included an article that criticized the grand jury report for not highlighting all the good things he had done regarding child protection as if grand juries are formed to investigate the good actions of citizens.
So how did Joshua respond to this kind of scandal: he does absolutely nothing noteworthy. The Levites slay all those who are not on the Lord’s side and Moses offers to make atonement which ends up taking the form a plague from which Joshua would also suffer even though he was blameless. While he supports the special vocation of the Levites and Moses have for setting things straight, he himself recognizes that his role is simply to continue in his fidelity to the law.
This doesn’t mean Joshua withdraws from participation in the life of Israel, rather he continues to help his people by serving as a scout that reconnoiters the land of Israel. However, as part of this service, Joshua is once again betrayed by his coreligionists. All the the scouts agree that the promised land is fertile and full of food way better than manna and quail, but all the other ones except one feel that the struggle needed to secure the land is too difficult for them. In short the courageous Joshua gets lumped in with a bunch of cowards. Now you have to understand that in herding/pastoral cultures, courage tends to be the most celebrated virtue, since it is the one needed to fend off the wolves, lions, and bandits that threaten the livestock that are vital to those cultures. So for Joshua being known as a coward is like being called a racist or a pedophile now. And this kind of humiliation is what we Catholics get stuck with, guilty or not, as part of the aftermath of all this crisis. As someone who walks around the streets of Pamplona, Spain everyday literally wearing my religion on my sleeve, I can tell you I have been called a child molester and a fascist and have even been challenged to a fistfight, all due to past sins or even perceived sins of my fellow Catholics.
So after suffering this kind of humiliation and almost being stoned for wanting to fight for the promised land, what did this great biblical protagonist do? Well he doesn’t quit the Israelites in rage and run off to join the Amalekites, no he simply suffered with his people. God had Israel atone for its sin by waiting for 40 years so that the entire generation of cowards would die off before entering the promised land. While Joshua was guaranteed entry to the promised land, he would have to wander the desert shoulder to shoulder with those losers for 40 years despite being blameless himself.
The hard words of our Lord also exist in what he didn’t say. He never promised us a saintly hierarchy, or a mediocre one, or even a not evil one nor did he promise us that we would never be humiliated by our brothers in the faith. Fortunately our Lord did promise us something way better than all that: THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE. Those words are the words of consecration Fr. Dominic will say in a few minutes. For it is by these words that Christ becomes present among us body and blood, soul and divinity. And when we eat his flesh and drink his blood Christ abides in is and we in him. And it is when he abides in us that we become an all conquering spiritual Hercules, like Joshua.
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