I have been spending a bit of time lately thinking about Fr Kevin McKelson, who died during the week. He was my parish priest when as a new priest I was appointed to Bidyadanga, (Lagrange Mission). He used to tell me that Fr Worms, who was his first parish priest when he came to Broome taught him to tread very gently on the Kimberley earth, as it belonged to another people, many of whom had had their spirit broken. Fr McKelson learned, lived and taught the lesson of the art of reconciliation. That is the message of Isaiah today when he urges: Comfort O comfort my people. This is a word of encouragement, a call to awake from sleep and to take our place in society. In my years living and working with Kevin McKelson, he never stopped urging people to stand up and take their place in society. If we do not, he used to assure people, others will stand up and take it for themselves. If we want good to happen, we have to stand up and be counted.
John the Baptist proclaimed this and provided witness by his life. The Gospel account tells us as much about what John the Baptist looked like and ate as his words. If he lived today he would be a media hit with his strange getup and alternative diet. As John the Baptist was, we are being called to be a bit alternative in Advent. There are issues about which we should stand up and being counted and upon which we can make a difference.
The time leading up to Christmas can be a time of giving and sharing, or a time of consumer frenzy and a time of extreme greed and avarice. We have the opportunity to make a difference. In the continuing question of the detention of asylum seekers, we can voice an opinion and make a difference. Yesterday I read in the newspapers about the debates on same sex marriage. Christians have the opportunity to contribute to the debate and say clearly that marriage can only be about a man and a woman who provide the safest place for the rearing of children. It is not justice or equality to have enshrined in law that two fathers or two mothers is just as good as God’s plan through the natural order.
People have been talking to me all week about how kind and loving Fr McKelson was, but also that he spoke his mind. He did not compromise the faith to be popular. I recall on occasion where his life was threatened for maintaining a moral stance when those around him stepped away. As Christians we need to have the courage of our convictions, and John the Baptist leads us in humility, courage and faith.
St Paul believed that the end of the world was imminent. In one sense he was marking time, but even within that framework he urges us to lead good lives because only then will we experience true peace.
As dvent continues let us make the decision to stand up and enter the season, to fill in the valleys and break down the barriers, to build a better and more godly world starting with ourselves.
Homily Second Sunday of Advent year B 4th December 2011, OLQP Broome.
No comments:
Post a Comment