Monday, November 26, 2012

Weekly HOMILY for November 11, 2012: 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B -- To Become Christ-Like

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32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Terrnuova Hermitage
November 11, 2012

 

To Become Christ-Like

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato



The Consulate in Libya


We remember well that this past September some Islamic militants stormed our American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Four Americans, including our United States Ambassador, were killed.    Since that attack, our journalists have given us some insight into the challenging and sometimes dangerous work of diplomacy.

Newspaper articles have focused on our Ambassador in Benghazi, J. Christopher Stevens.  They portray him as personifying the best of our diplomatic corps.

Traits of Ambassador Stevens

Ambassador Stevens is remembered as a person who really gave of himself to his work, wherever he was.

He is described as a street-smart, low-key negotiator.  He knew how to get things done by building personal relationships.

Those who served with him in other diplomatic posts say that wherever he was living, he would let go of everything else and live that culture completely.  He gave of himself to the people and the tasks that were present.

Ambassador Stevens had a passion for Arab culture and politics.  This began when he was a Peace Corps volunteer and taught English in Morocco.

He spoke Arabic and would go out of his way to use it.  He would do this whether he was with government officials or with ordinary shopkeepers in Libya, as a way to show respect for their language and culture.

One quality that both his American and Libyan colleagues recall was his ability to listen.  He never felt the need to monopolize a meeting or a conversation.

Ambassador Stevens sought out local merchants, farmers and students, as well as diplomats, activists, and journalists.  He had a deep desire to listen and understand their perspective.

Our Secretary of State said that with his ability to listen and his personal humility, he won many friends for our country and he did that because,“he made these peoples’ hopes his own.”

Traits of the Kingdom

It is not my goal to make a saint of Ambassador Stevens. I imagine he was as human as you and I are.  But I do think that his personal and professional traits help to highlight what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel.

Jesus lifts up the humility and generosity of the poor widow in the temple.  He also puts down the self-absorption and self-importance of the Scribes.

He is teaching that we are like him when we embrace the spirit of a servant.  He moves us to respect everyone as a son and daughter of God.

Jesus calls us to find our fulfillment in the empathy and assistance we can extend to others.  He calls us to place the human needs of others who are less fortunate than ourselves above our own wants and narrow interests.

He wants us to give of ourselves with the inner, heartfelt, sincere generosity of the widow in the gospel.  And, like that widow, he wants us to humbly be with God in personal prayer and in worship here in church.

A Needed Message

Jesus’ message in this little story is important for us to hear.

Yes, it is a bit counter-cultural and perhaps counter-intuitive, but it is so important.

If we try to embrace these qualities and live in this way, our human self-centeredness will be kept in check.  The prejudice or hostility we may have will be softened.

We will find a satisfaction and completeness that we can find in no other way.  And most of all, in the process we will become most God-like, most Jesus-like, and that is our long-term mission in life.