Sunday Sermon for September 8, 2024, the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Readings: Is 35:4-7a; Jas 2:1-5; Mk 7:31-37
In the second reading today, St. James tells us that we are to show no partiality as we “adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord, Jesus Christ.” The context of this admonition has to do with the people coming to Mass or, to the assembly, as he calls it. However, given our situation today, I think this advice is something that is necessary for us not only at church, but everywhere else as well.
Before addressing the topic at hand, we need to be clear that there are distinctions that must be made. When speaking of not showing partiality, St. James is not saying that we should suggest that someone who is sinning horribly should be considered on the same plane as someone who is very saintly. A person who is a Catholic is very different from someone who is an atheist.
That said, we must remember that every person, no matter who they are, where they originate from, what they do, etc. is made in the image and likeness of God. Every person on the face of the earth shares in this dignity whether they know it or not. Beyond that, there is nothing that can remove or even reduce this dignity. Many people do not live according to their dignity, but that does not change the fact that they have that dignity.
As persons who are baptized into Jesus Christ, we have been given an even greater dignity to become members of Christ and sons and daughters of God Himself. Our natural dignity remains the same as everyone else, but now we have been endowed with a supernatural dignity. To be made in God’s image and likeness is more than we could ever ask or imagine, but to be made sharers in the divine nature and become God’s own children is something so profound that only God could conceive such a plan.
Our Lord tells us that if we are God’s children, then we need to act like Him. He lets the sun rise on the good and the bad and allows the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. This brings us to the point I would like to address. There are so many ways we can separate people. St. James speaks of the wealthy and the poor, but some people try to separate people based on skin color, language, employment, etc.
To this we can add all those who are causing various forms of separation themselves: people with green or purple hair, people with pins sticking out of their face, people who dress in strange ways, etc. Today we have men claiming to be women and women claiming to be men. We have people who think they are animals. The list could go on, but this makes the point.
As Christians, our Lord has commanded that we practice charity. He even told us to love our enemies. This is not easy, but He did not say the road to Heaven would be easy. Can we love these people who are so very different from us? This can be very difficult, but when God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah, He spoke of our vindication and being saved by divine recompense. When God came to save us, it was through charity.
The Prophet goes on to say that on that day the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be cleared. So many of these people are broken, blind, and deaf. It is not that they are unable to see or hear; it is that they are unwilling to do so. Many of them have never been loved. From the way they present themselves, it is evident that they are looking for attention.
I am not suggesting that we support them in their oddities. Rather, what I am suggesting is that we treat these people with charity, that we recognize and respect their dignity, even if they do not. Someone simply saying hello, being kind, or offering a helping hand if needed can change a life. Perhaps it will make them think; perhaps it will lead to a conversation.
Looking beyond the sometimes bizarre externals these people present and responding to them as human persons might bring them to conversion. If their eyes are opened because of your charity, maybe they will be willing to open their ears to hear the Truth.
This may seem as distasteful as sticking your fingers in someone’s ears and spitting on their tongue. When Jesus did this for the man in the Gospel, it changed his life forever. Pray for the charity and humility needed to be true children of God and, when it comes to acting in charity, show no partiality as you adhere to faith in our glorious Lord, Jesus Christ!
Fr. Altier’s column appears regularly in The Wanderer, a national Catholic weekly published in St. Paul, Minn. For information about subscribing to The Wanderer, please visit www.thewandererpress.com.
