14th
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle C
July 7, 2013 7:30
and 9:00am
Saint
Margaret Parish, Bel Air
Unfinished America
This
may sound like a strange request, but if you have a $1 bill in your wallet or
purse, please take it out for just a minute.
And no,
I am not going to collect them! Go to
the backside of the dollar bill and notice what we call the Great Seal of the
United States of America.
One
side of the Seal – the side on the right – features the American eagle. The eagle is clutching arrows in one of its
talons and an olive branch in the other, with 13 stars above its head.
Now
notice the other side of the Seal – the side on the left. This shows, under the eye of divine
providence, a pyramid, but notice that the pyramid is unfinished, with no top
on it.
The interpretation
I have read says that the designers of our Great Seal saw America as unfinished. They were conveying that America is a country
that always remains incomplete.
Building
a nation of liberty and justice is a never-ending task. It began 237 years ago and continues right
down to today.
The Contributions of Catholics
The
question I want to ask this Fourth of July weekend is this: What can we as Catholic Americans, or for
that matter all Christian Americans, what can we contribute to the unfinished work
of our country?
What
can we, as persons of faith, contribute?
I see two contributions that are rooted in today’s gospel.
Contribution 1: Think Broadly
Our
first contribution might be to think broadly.
Luke in
today’s gospel says that Jesus sends out 72 disciples. That number is significant.
It goes
back to the story of Noah and the flood in the Book of Genesis. Noah’s children had 72 sons.
So, the
number 72 is symbolic of everyone on the earth – all persons and peoples. Our contribution then can be to think beyond
myself and beyond what is good only for me.
We in
Harford County need to think of the well-being of Baltimore City. We in Maryland need to think of the
well-being of the entire country.
We in
the United States need to think of the well-being of the entire world. When we fail to think this way, we easily get
into a dog-eat-dog world.
Distance
and mistrust and hostility easily develop.
But when we do think this way, we are more connected with others.
And then
trust and harmony have a much better chance.
So thinking broadly is the first contribution we can make.
Contribution 2: Live Simply
And our second contribution is to live simply.
Jesus in the gospel tells the 72 disciples to carry “no money bag, no sack, no sandals.” In other words, take only what you really
need.
I think Pope Francis is giving us a good example of
this. He lived in a simple apartment in
Argentina, is now living in a simple apartment in the Vatican, dresses simply,
and on it goes.
By his example, he is already calling the Church and all
of us to a simpler lifestyle. One thing
I think we all could do is look at what we intend to buy and see if it is a
need or just a want.
And if it is only a want or a desire, do I hold off from
buying whatever it is and use the money in a different way? We also need to look at waste.
Do we waste food or water or our energy or electricity and
oil? Can we make a conscious effort to
cut out the waste?
Living more simply helps us to stay in touch with what is
really important. It keeps us from just
living on the surface.
It also keeps us in touch with the great disparities in
our world, where 3 billion of the 7 billion people live on $2 a day or
less. So living simply is a contribution
we can make.
Conclusion
Of course, there are other contributions we can make, but
to 1) think broadly and 2) live simply are rooted in today’s gospel.
In doing these things, we will be respecting others and
creating an environment where the peace that Jesus talks about has a chance to emerge.
