2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time
Cycle B
January 17, 2021
A New Beginning
A New Beginning – that’s the message I am seeing today.
In our Old Testament passage, a young man named Samuel experiences God calling him to take a leadership role. This marks a new beginning in his life.
In the gospel, three men experience Jesus drawing them to become disciples.
This marks a new beginning in their lives.
I am thinking that we as a Church need a new beginning right now. Our country is in a real crisis.
I believe that religion can play a role in transforming this into a moment of healing and hope. As our churches can eventually reopen fully, we need to review how we are presenting God and faith.
And we may need to revise how we are doing that. Maybe we need a new beginning.
1. A Lens of Oneness
The first thing I believe we need to do is to look at all people through a lens of oneness – a lens of oneness.
We – all Americans, in fact, all human beings – we are all one. We are all sons and daughters of God.
Now, right now, we need to become who we really are. We need to look at each other through a lens of oneness.
I have had an experience that, at least for me, really illustrates what I am saying. About a year and a half ago, I was offering Mass one Sunday at Saint Matthew’s Parish in Baltimore.
Saint Matthew’s is a multi-cultural parish – about 35% white and 65% persons of color from 60 different countries of origin. It is a vibrant community of faith.
This one Sunday was right after a terrorist attack on two Catholic churches and one Evangelical church in Sri Lanka. People were killed.
Well, eleven Muslims, six men and five women, attended this Sunday Mass at Saint Matthew’s. They did this in solidarity with us, their Catholic brothers and sisters.
I should add that the pastor of Saint Matthew’s and the Imam of the nearby mosque and their leaders had developed a good relationship over recent years. Well, just think about the image I am portraying for you.
That’s what I mean by seeing through a lens of oneness. I and, I believe, we as a Church, we need to begin to see everyone, no exceptions, through this lens of oneness.
2. Words of Oneness
The other thing I believe we all need to do is to speak words of oneness.
This should really flow from seeing through a lens of oneness. We need to do this both within the Church and in the public forum.
We especially need to use respectful words for those who disagree with us. There are both progressives and traditionalists within our Church, but we are all part of this faith community.
There are Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives in our country, but we are all Americans. We need to use words that lift up what we believe or think, but without putting down others; we can disagree but we cannot demonize.
This is an issue in our Church, and we need to get a handle on it. For example, in recent months, surrounding the election, some American priests and bishops have spoken some harsh, alienating, and divisive words directly and publicly aimed at others in our Church and in our country.
Sadly, these talks got picked up and spread rather widely by some in our Catholic community. I believe that this has contributed to the violent tone in our country.
You know, we need to light lights and refrain from cursing darkness. In a way, it’s simple.
If you go into a dark room in your home on one of these January nights, you don’t curse the darkness and try to chase it out. Instead, you flip on a light switch.
That’s how we are to live our faith. Jesus never said: “I am the curser of darkness.”
He said: “I am the light of the world.” So, in the same way, we need to use words of oneness and be the light that Jesus wants us to be.
Conclusion
These are some of my thoughts at this moment.
Seeing through a lens of oneness and using words of oneness – both of these resolves need to be part of a new beginning for us as Catholics. If we do that, we will make a very helpful contribution to our Church and to our country at the same time.
