At the ordination of a deacon, the newly-ordained deacon comes before the bishop who presents him the Book of the Gospels and tells him: "Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach." It is very clear and very precise, and by extension not restricted to priests or deacons, but a call to all the baptised. The order is important as well. We must believe first, then we can teach by our lives, and finally witness by putting into practice what is taught.
In effect, it is a call to lead a life of integrity, so that what we hold in our hearts is lived in our lives. Surely that is the aim of us all as we strive to lead a Christian life. In our Gospel we are presented with the two sons who acted to a challenge in different ways. The first son, for whatever reason, rebelled against the authority of his father, which was a huge issue in that society. We can only assume that he was being honest with himself, and then was given the grace of reflection, a result of which he followed the direction of his father. His integrity remained intact.
The second son just said yes, he would follow his father’s direction, and for whatever reason he did otherwise. Maybe he just wanted to keep his father happy by saying yes, or maybe he really intended to go, or there are a host of other possibilities. What is clear is that he said one thing and did another. We must assume that there was some intention of following the direction of his father, but did not follow through. Each day we are given opportunities to choose, to remain faithful, to reflect on our decisions and amend them if it is needed. The admonition of the bishop to the newly ordained deacon can form a pattern for all of our lives. It is not something that we do once, but an action that is revisited in our daily lives, part of the ongoing process of conversion.
Many years ago I prepared a couple for the baptism of their child. As we were going through the Apostles Creed, the father stopped me and asked me to omit a line. He did not believe that one, he said, so he wanted me to leave it out. I explained that it was not a supermarket, and that I had to ask it, as this is our faith. He told me he would not assent to that at the baptism. The day of the baptism came and asked, with some trepidation, for the beliefs of the parents. The father answered positively and the baptism proceeded. Later he told me that my challenge had made him really think, and that he had come around to an understanding of the creed. What shone through to me was his the integrity of his approach, not just keeping me, his wife and extended family happy, but truly confronting the issues of faith in his life. He emerged, like the first son, with a stronger faith.
Today is Social Justice Sunday. Each year the Bishops of Australia put in front of us an issue of our society for our reflection and action. This year they have asked us to reflect on the situation of prisoners in the jails of our country. The challenge for our society is to discover a suitable and dignified method of rehabilitation that respects the rights of each of us in society to a safe social situation. It asks us for our attitudes to those in prison. There are alternatives to incarceration, and the statistics do not show the success of locking up large numbers of people for minor crimes. This is an opportunity for many of us to form an informed opinion on a major issue for our society.
Reflection which leads to action means that we are able to live by the will of our God. In doing so we will lead a life of integrity.
Homily, Social Justice Sunday, 26th Sunday in Ordinary time Year A, 24th September 2011
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