Eye for an Eye

Some say that humanity does not change, that society makes the same mistakes, doesn’t learn and so therefore has the same faults throughout history.  The historians tell us that ancient Israel was a social mess, akin to a schoolyard brawl, with everyone upping the ante on each other as they felt aggrieved.  In listening to the more extreme of the world’s political leaders you may be excused for thinking we are still in ancient Israel!  However, Exodus settled this by decreeing that if I hit you, you only had the right to hit me in the same way and no more. This revolutionary ‘eye for an eye’ developed in many cultures at the same time. Thus in the ancient culture of our land, payback emerged.

Jesus come along and surmises that society can stand another leap forward, so he challenges us in the Sermon on the Mount. He knew the Law, and knew that his listeners did as well. His challenge to his listeners, the same challenge that is to us, is not to carry hate, hurt or grudges.  He knew that his listeners could quote the scripture and tell him that they were following the law, but he knew they were capable of something far greater.

Two weeks ago a woman was killed on Kennedy’s Hill. I knew her well, as well as the woman accused of killing her. Since then many things have been said, accusations thrown and threats made. The word payback has been used many times in my hearing. However, last week I was fortunate to be at a meeting where people steeped in their own aboriginal tradition and law urged their fellow people to forgo payback, to avoid revenge and mourn quietly and peacefully. Each person at that meeting was connected with that tragic situation as family, friend, or witness. Each person could have demanded some way to violently display anger, frustration or grief, but chose not to take this path. Not long after, I was at a similar meeting in Balgo, where grieving community members spoke not of revenge, but of knowing what happened to enable some closure.

This sort of movement is only possible with the grace of God. It is not possible without this grace, for the gap is too wide. If we believe that this possible, it can be achieved. If we are able to live this new life, anger will dissipate; hatred and vengeance will ebb away, robbed of their life blood.

When I was studying, a mate a called Greg went through a period of teasing me. His level of teasing was similar to that among brothers, so I took it in my stride, even though it irritated me. I had decided to confront him when he came up and said: ‘Diggesy, you drive me mad. I hate the way you seem to be always happy. I‘ve come up to you about ten times, hoping to start a fight so that I could deck you, but each time you make me smile and I can’t do it anymore. Ok you win.”

 I had no idea that any of this was happening, but then it all dawned. Unbeknown to me, I starved him of his hatred and anger, and in the end it was unsustainable. In another age Abraham Lincoln was criticised of softness towards his political foes. ‘Why do you try to make friends with them?’ a colleague asked. ‘You should try to destroy them.’ President answered gently, ‘Am I not destroying my enemies when I make them my friends?’

The challenge is ours, and it remains for our lifetime. May we be given the constant grace to be bearers of peace and harmony, to be makers of friends, not enemies.

Delivered 20^th February 2011 OLQP Broome, 7^th week in Ordinary time Year A

Quotable Quotes

Many of us have collections of saying of famous people on our bookshelves. It may be a book of general quotations, or anecdotes or excerpts from speeches or books. Among those on my shelves are collections of Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul, Pascal, and others. These compilations give us a window into the life and teaching of these people. The part of the Sermon on the Mount we have just hears a similar compilation.  Through this collection of Jesus’ quotable quotes, St Matthew gives us a window into his life and teaching.

The first thing that St Matthew needs to demonstrate is that Jesus is the fulfilment of the Jewish law. He has not come to invent a religion, but rather he is its fulfilment. We are told that not one dot or stroke will disappear from the law. Connections with the Jewish law are central to this account of Jesus’s life, as they provide Jesus’ academic pedigree. A similar method can be found for those studying or expounding doctrine. The Church does not invent teaching, but can trace every doctrine back to the apostles and beyond. Every statement can be tracked through the history of the teaching of the Church. This method has a direct effect on us today, where my responsibility is not to tell you what I think, but to preach the gospel held in the church and make it relevant to us here in Broome today.

Christianity, which is the continuation of the Jewish law acknowledging Jesus as Messiah, teaches that following the letter of the law is not enough. Christianity is about relationship, not legalism. Enduring relationships have definite rules and boundaries, and these rules are followed with the heart as well as the head. That is why he has a shot at the Pharisees and Scribes, who were very careful to follow the law as written. That is why the comments follow about killing, anger, adultery and oaths. If we desire Christian authenticity, we must seek the relationship to which Jesus leads us in the Sermon on the Mount. 

Our first reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus guides us: If you wish, you can keep the commandments, To behave faithfully is in your power; and later: We have death and life before us. Whatever we like better will be given to us. At the start of this year we have the choice to commit to a year filled with new life, new opportunities and new relationships. This is particularly true for those of us here tonight who hold positions of educational responsibility within our Parish School. It will be ensured if we seek the wisdom of Ecclesiasticus, making our preference known through our actions and our heart.

Matthew finishes this teaching by putting the boot into those who like many words. If your answer is no say just say no and if it is yes, say yes!  

May God help us to say yes to life and goodness this year!


Homily preached by Fr Matt Digges in Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral, Broome, WA, on 
February 12, 2011 at the vigil Mass for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 

Standing My Ground

I received a book in the post yesterday as a gift for the 20^th anniversary of my ordination. It is called Standing My Ground, the autobiography of Matthew Hayden. The card with it simply thanked me for standing my ground for twenty years in the priesthood. He starts the book in this way:

I was born and raised and live my life as a Catholic. It’s a very important party of who I am. But there is already one Saint Matthew in the Church, and I am dead certain there won’t be another one coming from the ranks of recently retired Australian cricketers.

Hayden goes on to describe how his favourite saint is St Peter, the one who did his best,  let the side down a bit, but finally triumphed. Hayden’s Catholicism has been very public, and I have heard him called a hypocrite, along with as many who model faith. However, Hayden is very conscious of his weaknesses and sees in Peter someone who recognises the source of his strength.

This apparent contradiction, expressed so well by Hayden, holds a lot of us back. Our own weakness, very apparent to us and those that know us well, often stymies us from letting our light shine. As followers of Jesus, we are called to publicly witness to the truth we experience. This requires great honesty on our part, the same honesty Hayden displays in his introduction. At the beginning of Mass we admitted our sinfulness. The rest of the mass does not make sense without the penitential rite. It is our chance of saying how much we need the grace of God in our lives and the difference it makes. It is this process that allows you and I to stand before others honestly and proclaim that we are not perfect, but we are at least trying; we are not saints, but we know the right direction to move; we do not have all the answers, but we are not waling in the dark, because we know that the best place to find the answers to the great questions of life is within the family of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit.

We need to be clear. One of the great gifts of Pope Benedict is his clarity. In the build-up to his visit to Britain last year you may remember some of the outrageous anti-Catholic publicity that was circulation, topped off by the defamatory claims by the celebrity QC Geoffrey Robertson. The Holy Father said nothing, and on arrival to Britain, with some sections of the popular press predicting mass anti-Catholic demonstrations, he wooed people with honesty and clarity. A gentle, honest shepherd confronted a few bigoted atheists who had whipped up a storm of opposition. Honesty and gentleness won out, accompanied by clear teaching. Pope Benedict did not alter one word of his teaching to placate those who insisted that divine revelation was somehow faulty or not suited to the 21^st Century. He stood firm and won. In the words of our Gospel, he put his light on a stand where it could been seen by all in the room. At no stage did he insist others follow, but he proposed truth as the way forward, as we are urged by the gospel to do today.

The truth will set us free, and it will set free those around us. We are able to add salt to the diet of our conversation and lives so that we will be seen for who we are, people who know the truth and try to follow it in our own imperfect way, always learning, always growing. In his book Hayden tells the story of the 2003 cricket tour to Zimbabwe. It was a mistake, he says, to go and not to boycott the tour to publicize a stand for human rights.  In the end, he says, he got it all wrong. That, however, was not a reason tot retreat or drop the ball. No, it is an opportunity to acknowledge learning, growing and the getting of wisdom……sometimes we just don’t get it at the right time.

Today we are called to stand for who we are, to let our wonderful light of faith and life shine for ourselves, our families, friends and world. It is part of who we are, and I pray that we can all say and live, in Hayden’s words, standing my ground. 


Homily 6th February 2011, 5th Sunday of  the year, OLQP Cathedral