Homily delivered last Sunday at St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church, Baltimore, by the Rev. Joseph Muth:
Lent is a time of repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation and these themes continue in the readings this weekend.
I begin with Psalm 137
“Beside the rivers of Babylon we thought about Jerusalem
and we sat down and cried.
We hung our small harps on the willow trees.
Our enemies had brought us here (to this place)
as their prisoners, and now they wanted us to sing and entertain them.
They insulted us and shouted, ‘Sing about Zion!’
Here in a foreign land, how can we sing about the Lord?
Jerusalem, if I forget you, let my right hand wither.
Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don’t
think about you above all else.”
In today’s gospel, Jesus says that those who were killed by the falling tower (of Siloam) were no more guilty than those who were not. Turn Back to God!!
Those who were killed because their blood was mixed at the sacrifice were no more guilty than others. Turn back to God!!
Jesus says, “You will all come to the same end unless you repent.” This statement is not directed only to individuals but to the nation of Israel. Suppose this message was also directed to the Nation of America. Do you think America needs to hear a similar challenge and call? Unless you repent you will perish.
At the end of the second reading we are told that even if you think you are standing upright (another translation says “standing up to temptation”) watch out lest you fall.
Does America need to hear this message??
-- We all live under the illusion and have been tempted by the same temptation to think that America is great and can do whatever it wants in the world, wherever, and to whomever, with no repercussions.
-- The illusion and temptation that America is like the burning bush. There is fire all around but we are not consumed. The fire goes on but we are untouchable.
-- The illusion and temptation that we can protect ourselves from violence and evil on the outside when our city and county streets run with blood on the inside.
-- The illusion and temptation that if we lock up, detain, oppress, arrest, and build walls to keep aliens, foreigners and immigrants out; we will be the America that we used to be and long to be---we will at last be safe.
-- The illusion and temptation that we can force our will on another nation despite our lack of knowledge of who they are.
-- The illusion and temptation that we can put yellow ribbons and flag ribbons on our cars that say 'Support our Troops,' while that very nation treats those same troops shamefully when they are wounded and transported to Walter Reed Hospital.
-- The illusion and temptation that we are a blessed, righteous, and holy nation and yet are too afraid to tell our leaders to stop----we’ve had enough----and not in my name!!
If we just go on singing our patriotic songs and live our life all will be well.
How can I sing songs about the Lord, the songs of Zion, the songs of America in an America I do not recognize? How do I sing these songs when our country has become a foreign land?
I know America, I love America. Americans are very generous, but this is not the America I know and love.
The call of Jesus is to the nation and he gives this call to us for our own nation in our own time. So if we too are asked to respond to Jesus to turn back to God then maybe we need to use our God-language to understand our predicament.
O Lord, forgive us for how the Iraqi people are treated in our name!!
Forgive us for how our own wounded soldiers are treated in our name!!
We repent, O Lord, because we turn our heads and walk away.
We repent, O Lord, because we do not raise our voices in protest, anguish, and outrage; call on Congress, or write letters
We are complicitous in this evil and we accept our own powerlessness and let it continue so that we can have a safe and secure existence and enjoy our false sense of security that the scriptures tell us about today:
1) The false sense of security in the Old Testament reading whereby people thought that since Yahweh had led them out of the desert they will be fine. They did not realize they still had to be faithful and responsive to the covenant. They were lulled by God’s action on their behalf. They were lulled into inaction—God will now do it.
2) The false sense of security in the New Testament; we have Moses, spiritual food and spiritual drink, we can do what we want ---we have it all— even if you think you can stand up to temptations because of what you have, be careful, lest you fall.
3) The false sense of security in the gospel because we are not like those who had their blood mixed, or had the tower fall on them. We are better than they are, after all, they deserved it -- until the towers fell on us one day.
When Walter Reed hospital begins to look like the streets of Baghdad what is happening? We don’t have to worry about another bomb falling from the outside, we now have one tearing us apart from the inside.
The Church itself has been silent too long!!
To rephrase Psalm 137:
How can I sing about the songs of America
When I feel like I am in a foreign land?
America, if I forget who you really are and
do not point out where you are wrong,
may my right hand wither. If I do not raise my voice may
my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth.
On this third Sunday of Lent continue your journey of drawing close to Christ, The Word of Life -- stand for him and do not be lulled like the people of the Old Testament or the New Testament, or the America we now have. Take to heart the word of the old gospel song, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness . . . On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand—even the American soil . . . all other ground is sinking sand.”
Let your hope help you in the creation of a new America true to its creed!
Let your hope help you in the creation of a Church that will not be silent!
Let your hope remind you that, like Moses tending the flock, God is in your ordinary life!
Let your hope remind you that each and every nation is Holy Ground!
