Sunday 22A, 2008 Print print this page                 

CLOSE THIS             Back to Homilies

The Olympic Games was a respite from all the bad news we see on telly and read about all year.
10 000 athletes from 200 nations competed in a friendly atmosphere.
We could admire their achievements and love their friendliness often even during a race.
It is reassuring to know that this is what we humans are really like.
If we are not lead or forced into hostile conflict;
if we are not neglected or tormented into fearful and hostile reactions we get along fine with everybody.
And even more than that,
we are quick to treat people as family, brothers and sisters.
We are created in the image of God and our instinct is to be good and loving.

St. Paul in the second reading asks us to discover who we really are,
kindred spirits created in the image of God.

The first reading and the Gospel speaks about suffering and death.
Jeremiah is fed up being a prophet.
He reproaches God and himself as well:
“You have seduced me Lord” he complains
“and I have let myself be seduced” – he laments.

He hates his task of telling people what they are doing wrong;
he does not want to be a laughing-stock of the people. He regrets ever having got involved.
He admits having tried to quit,
having tried to forget about the Lord and his messages but it could not be done;
the Lord would not let him go.

Jeremiah is very human, he wants peace not conflict;
he wants to be part of the people not stand apart;
he is concerned for his own safety, he wants to preserve his dignity, he hates being misunderstood.
Yet he is drawn into an apparent conflict between God and people.
Jesus lived in the same tension and calls us to do the same;
to live between the world and the effect it has on us and heaven and being the image of God.

We must learn to live with this tension, cope with it and even make use of it.

CLOSE THISa>