{"id":96,"date":"2009-10-10T11:56:53","date_gmt":"2009-10-10T11:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/10\/homily-for-october-11-2009-28th-sunday-in-ordinary-time.html"},"modified":"2009-10-10T11:56:53","modified_gmt":"2009-10-10T11:56:53","slug":"homily-for-october-11-2009-28th-sunday-in-ordinary-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/10\/homily-for-october-11-2009-28th-sunday-in-ordinary-time.html","title":{"rendered":"Homily for October 11, 2009: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

\"Thumbnail<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, a remarkable story popped up, about fashion photographer Michael Belk.  <\/span>His work has appeared in Vogue and GQ, but after many years of success, he felt compelled to do something more meaningful.  <\/span>Belk is a devout Christian, who had been deeply affected by the events of 9\/11. He decided to embark on an unusual photo project: to interpret the life of Jesus for the world today. <\/span><\/p>\n

And what he created is really extraordinary.  <\/span>It’s called “Journeys with the Messiah.”<\/a> It features photographs of Jesus, and he’s depicted as most of us would imagine him, with his beard and long hair and flowing robes.  <\/span>But the photographer has placed him in surprising contemporary settings. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One of the pictures depicts the incident in today’s gospel.<\/p>\n

Jesus is shown talking to a young man.  <\/span>But the man he’s speaking to is standing by a Ferrari, with a beautiful woman in the passenger seat. <\/span><\/p>\n

You see that and realize: no wonder the rich man went away sad.<\/p>\n

I think this story is one of the challenging encounters in the gospels.  <\/span>Christ is doing nothing less than telling his followers – and us – that it is almost impossible to get to heaven if you are rich.<\/p>\n

But this morning, I’d like you to think about this episode a little bit differently. <\/span><\/p>\n

It’s not necessarily about money, or wealth.  <\/span>It’s not necessarily about the material things that clutter up our lives – though I think that is an important part of this lesson.<\/p>\n

No:  <\/span>there is another level here, one that strikes at all of us, no matter what our economic class.<\/p>\n

Mark tells us:  <\/span>“The man went away sad, for he had many possessions.”  <\/span><\/p>\n

At bottom, I think, this is a story about what we possess – and what possesses us.<\/p>\n

[Continue after the jump…]<\/i><\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, a remarkable story popped up, about fashion
\nphotographer Michael Belk.  <\/span>His
\nwork has appeared in Vogue and GQ, but after many years of success, he felt
\ncompelled to do something more meaningful.  <\/span>Belk is a devout Christian, who had been deeply affected by
\nthe events of 9\/11. He decided to embark on an unusual photo project: to
\ninterpret the life of Jesus for the world today. <\/span><\/p>\n

And what he created is really
\nextraordinary.  <\/span>It’s called
\n“Journeys with the Messiah.” It features photographs of Jesus, and he’s depicted
\nas most of us would imagine him, with his beard and long hair and flowing
\nrobes.  <\/span>But the photographer has
\nplaced him in surprising contemporary settings. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One
\nof the pictures depicts the incident in today’s gospel.<\/p>\n

Jesus
\nis shown talking to a young man. 
\n<\/span>But the man he’s speaking to is standing by a Ferrari, with a beautiful
\nwoman in the passenger seat.  <\/span><\/p>\n

You
\nsee that and realize: no wonder the rich man went away sad. <\/p>\n

I
\nthink this story is one of the challenging encounters in the gospels.  <\/span>Christ is doing nothing less than
\ntelling his followers – and us – that it is almost impossible to get to heaven
\nif you are rich. <\/p>\n

But
\nthis morning, I’d like you to think about this episode a little bit
\ndifferently.  <\/span><\/p>\n

It’s
\nnot necessarily about money, or wealth. 
\n<\/span>It’s not necessarily about the material things that clutter up our lives
\n– though I think that is an important part of this lesson. <\/p>\n

No:
\n <\/span>there is another level here, one
\nthat strikes at all of us, no matter what our economic class.<\/p>\n

Mark tells us:  <\/span>“The man went away sad, for he had many
\npossessions.”  <\/span><\/p>\n

At
\nbottom, I think, this is a story about what we possess – and what possesses us.\n<\/p>\n

While
\nnot all of us drive Ferrari’s or wear Armani, a lot of us cling to other things.  <\/span>Things we possess that may be keeping
\nus from the Kingdom. <\/span><\/p>\n

We
\nmay possess envy. Or Pride.  <\/span>Or
\nCynicism.  <\/span>Or Anger. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We
\nmight be<\/span> possessed by ambition.  <\/span>Or
\naddiction.  <\/span>Or prejudice.<\/p>\n

These
\nthings might make us feel comfortable, for a little while.  <\/span>They may even make us feel rich and
\npowerful. <\/span><\/p>\n

But
\nthey are useless.  <\/span>They are
\nbaggage.  <\/span>They are just empty
\npossessions.   <\/span><\/p>\n

There are many ways to be attached
\nto the world – and to be possessed by it. 
\n<\/span>The challenge facing all of us as Catholic Christians is to detach, to separate
\nfrom it. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It
\nrequires surrender.  <\/span>In fact, it
\ndemands the kind of sacrifice that makes saints.   <\/span>And isn’t that what all of us are called to be?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This
\nweekend, Pope Benedict is canonizing two people who serve as powerful examples
\nof what it means to detach from the world.  They gave away everything
\nthey possessed, including their lives.           <\/span><\/p>\n

Consider Jeanne Jugan.  <\/span>She was a French peasant woman who was
\ndeeply moved by the plight of the poor. 
\n<\/span>She started a new religious order to care for them, the Little Sisters
\nof the Poor.   <\/span>That, in and of
\nitself, was heroic.  <\/span>But so was
\nwhat happened after. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Just a couple years after Jeanne
\nJugan founded the order, a priest was assigned to oversee it as chaplain.   <\/span>He knew a good thing when he saw
\nit.  <\/span>He had Jeanne Jugan
\ntransferred to another convent, where she spent the rest of her life training
\nand working with the novices.  <\/span>She
\nlived in utter obscurity, almost anonymity. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nchaplain was eventually removed from his post.  <\/span>Yet when Jeanne Jugan died, many of the sisters who lived
\nwith her had no idea that the woman who emptied bedpans and swept floors was
\nactually the foundress of their order.  <\/span>It wasn’t until an inquiry 11 years after her death that the
\ntruth came out.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Jeanne
\nJugan never told anyone.  <\/span>She never
\ncomplained, never fought back, never pounded her fist and demanded credit.  <\/span>She accepted a life of relative
\nunimportance and obscurity – and did it with humility and obedience and
\nlove.   <\/span><\/p>\n

I
\ntold my wife: that’s one reason I’ll never be a saint.   <\/span><\/p>\n

And
\nthen there’s Fr. Damien of Molokai. 
\n<\/span>Born in Belgium, he felt called to be a missionary, began studying for
\nthe priesthood, and before he was ordained was sent to Hawaii. After much
\nprayer, he made a choice that would change his life.  <\/span>He volunteered to go live among the lepers of Molokai.  <\/span>He knew that it would probably be a
\ndeath sentence.  <\/span>But he did it
\nanyway. <\/p>\n

Eventually,
\nof course, he too contracted leprosy, and spent years of suffering until he
\ndied from it.   <\/span>A century later,
\nno less a figure than Gandhi would declare that this Catholic priest had
\ninspired him in his own work among the poor of India.  <\/span><\/p>\n

“Sell all you have,” Jesus said in the
\ngospel, “and give to the poor and come follow me.”<\/p>\n

St. Jeanne Jugan and St. Damien did
\nexactly that – and followed Christ all the way to the cross. <\/span><\/p>\n

They stand before us today as
\nmartyrs – for, indeed, such selflessness and sacrifice are a kind of
\nmartyrdom.  <\/span>They gave away their
\nlives.  <\/span>But they also gave away what
\nmany might consider to be the riches of this world, some of the most precious
\npossessions.  <\/span>Status and
\nhonor.  <\/span>Security and health. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

They
\nsurrendered everything<\/span>, for those who had nothing<\/span>. <\/p>\n

One
\nof the beautiful details of this gospel is the way in which Jesus spoke to the
\nrich young man.  <\/span>Mark put it so
\nsimply: “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.”<\/p>\n

Jesus
\ndidn’t judge the rich young man, didn’t view him with contempt or scorn.<\/p>\n

No.  <\/span>He loved him.<\/span><\/p>\n

And
\nso he loves us.  <\/span>And so he speaks
\nto each of us now, no matter how rich or how poor we might be.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Give
\nup whatever is holding you back, he says. 
\n<\/span>Do the hardest thing you can imagine.  <\/span>And follow me. <\/p>\n

 <\/span>And
\nso we are left to ask: what are those things that are holding us back? <\/p>\n

 <\/span>What
\ndo I possess?  <\/span>Or what possesses
\nme?  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Am
\nI willing to give it away – surrender it — and follow Christ?   <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>It
\nmay be a Ferrari.  <\/span>But maybe not.
\nMaybe it’s not something you keep in your garage.   <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Maybe,
\njust maybe, it’s something you possess in your heart.<\/p>\n

            <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

            <\/span>   <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago, a remarkable story popped up, about fashion photographer Michael Belk.  His work has appeared in Vogue and GQ, but after many years of success, he felt compelled to do something more meaningful.  Belk is a devout Christian, who had been deeply affected by the events of 9\/11. 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Prior to that, Deacon Greg worked for 26 years as a writer and producer for CBS News, where he contributed to \"The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric,\" \"60 Minutes II,\" \"48 Hours,\" (Emmy Award, Writers Guild of America Award) and \"Sunday Morning.\" He was co-writer for the acclaimed documentary \"9\/11,\" hosted by Robert DeNiro. (Emmy Award, Christopher Award, Peabody Award, Writers Guild of America Award.) His radio essays were featured in the bestselling book \"Deadlines and Datelines\" by Dan Rather. He's also a two-time winner of the Catholic Press Association Award. Other places you may find him: AMERICA, U.S. CATHOLIC, CATHOLIC DIGEST, REALITY (Redemptorist Communications) and THE BROOKLYN TABLET. He also contributes homiletic reflections to the parish resource CONNECT!, published by Liturgical Publications. In November 2009, he began serving a three-year term as a consultant to the Communications Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Deacon Greg grew up in Maryland (Go Terps!) but he and his wife today live in the beautiful borough of Queens, New York. You can contact Deacon Greg at dcngreg@gmail.com.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/author\/gkandra"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/204"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}