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Nothing
is
Concealed
That Will
Not Be Reavealed
June
22, 2008
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Philip D. Ropp
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Jesus
was not arrested by the religious leaders of his own faith because of
his
sweet, loving disposition. He did not
suffer at the hands of sinful men because of his unswerving loyalty to
God and
his devotion to the disciples placed in his tender care. He was
not bruised and scourged by pagan
soldiers because he healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, cleansed
the
lepers, or cast the demons out of the possessed. Jesus was not
nailed to the cross to die in
agony because he loved the multitudes and taught them, or because he
took pity
on them and fed them. Jesus Christ, the
son of God, the Messiah, the author of salvation, and the savior of
mankind,
died for one reason, and one reason alone.
The King of kings and the Lord of lords, whose lifeblood was poured out
for the redemption of sinners, was executed in this hideous fashion
because he
told the truth.
Unflinchingly,
unswervingly, without hesitation and without reservation, he told the
truth: Not merely the truth of our human
failure, but the truth of the divine retribution earned by
sin. Not merely the truth of death and despair
brought upon the human race by this sin, but the truth of escape from
this ultimate
hopelessness and degradation by the grace of this same God unto eternal
life. Because we believe this truth, it
sets us free from sin and death. Because Jesus spoke this truth, the
world
executed him on our behalf. This is the
truth of the nature of the world. This
is the truth that from the beginning of time was concealed. This
is the truth that in the divine person
of Jesus Christ was revealed. And to
this day, it is the conflict between this satanically motivated world
of sin
and death and the Godly motivated kingdom of eternal salvation as
revealed in
Jesus Christ that has brought the earth to the brink of
destruction. And so it is today that we look around us and
know full well the truth of what Jesus meant when he said that, “Heaven
and
earth will pass away…” And those that know him know full well the truth
of what
he meant when he finished this statement with, “…but my words will
never
pass away.”
That which was
concealed has been revealed. That which was hidden from the dawn
of time
until our Lord and Savior shed his precious blood on the cross for us
is now
the truth that saves us. And if we deny
this truth; if we ignore this sacrifice that was poured out for our
redemption
and for the saving of the nations, then we have no one to blame but
ourselves
when we hear theses eternal words of Christ and do not heed them.
We have no one to blame but ourselves when we
ignore the simple instructions of our Lord to, “Love God with all of
your
heart, all of your mind, and all of your strength, and your neighbor as
yourself.” Because this is the law and
the prophets; this is the bare bones simplicity of the message of
salvation
contained in these words of Jesus Christ. And it is these words that
will never
pass away. And it is these words by
which we will one day be judged. If we
are weighed in the balance against these words and found wanting; if we
have failed to love as Christ himself
has instructed us to love, then we will have no one but ourselves to
blame when
we are cast into that Gehenna fire by the very one who gave his life
for us
that we might live. This is the truth
that Jesus told. This is the truth that
was concealed and which through him was revealed. It
is the truth that resulted in the cross,
because it is a truth in which there is no middle ground. It is a
truth from which there is no
escape. It is a truth wielded by Jesus
Christ as a two edged sword, for to receive it and embrace it means
eternal
life, and to reject it and deny it means eternal damnation. It is
a truth so strong that it has the power
to save us no matter what torment the world may inflict. And so,
the words of Christ echo down across
the centuries to us today, “Take up you cross and follow me!”
In this den of
iniquity that we call the Saginaw
County Jail, selfishness and human degradation reign supreme. It
is Satan’s realm of hell manifested here
on earth, and we know this to be so because it is Satan’s ways that
bring one
here. This is the devil’s barn and when
we wear the suit of orange it marks us as his harvest. This
is
the palace of the Lord of the Flies and to reside within these walls is
no little cause for grave and sincere concern.
To wake up every day within this place, to go through the same
meaningless routine and stare into the same blank faces should be a
wake up
call to call out to God, “Lord have mercy!
Save me!” And many do. And because we know that where Satan
is
strong God is stronger, we know that he is with us always, even unto
the ends
of the earth, which is to be reckoned as not too far from here.
Because our Lord is with us even here, we
also have no one to blame but ourselves when the simple instruction of
Christ
to love God and neighbor is ignored, and we may be assured that the
ultimate
result of this will be the same: Gehenna fire.
And when we fall into the trap of selfishness and allow the darkness of
the human degradation within this place to overwhelm us, we find
ourselves that
much closer to the flame.
There are three
words in this place that we hear
all the time, “I, me, mine.” I cannot
tell you how many times in this past week we have heard words to the
effect of,
“I need prayer and a deck of cards.” Or,
“Pray for me and get me a pair of socks.”
Or, “That was mine and he took it, can’t you do something?” We
hear this to the point where I would be
remiss today if I did not stand before you as one of your chaplains and
call
you on it. I would be shirking my
responsibility if I did not appeal to you today to remember where you
are and
what it means to be here. And most of
all, I would be denying my own calling to love God and to love you if I
failed
to tell you the truth and bring the message to you today that Christ
has given
us in this scripture. For it is this
very selfish human nature of ours that was concealed, and it is because
of this
selfish human nature that Jesus died on the cross, that our need of
true
repentance might be revealed, that we might be saved. Esau sold
his birthright for a bowl of
porridge. Don’t sell yours for a deck of
cards. If your neighbor takes your
shampoo, give him your toothpaste as well.
Is this not what Jesus taught?
And if you think that heaven can be gained by praying, “Lord be
merciful
to me, a sinner, and please throw in a pair of socks,” you should know
that
you’re not fooling God, you’re not fooling us, and you’re probably not
even
fooling yourself.
The truth can be
harsh and painful, and it is the
cross itself that stands in silent witness to this. The truth can
be hard to see, can be
concealed, and it can be hard when it is revealed to us. But the
truth is also beautiful, for it is
what saves us. And the truth is that if
we love God unflinchingly with all of our heart, mind and strength and
our
neighbor unselfishly as we love ourselves, then our salvation is
assured. And if we do not, there is quite literally
hell to pay.
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June 22, 2008
Jer
20:10-13
Jeremiah said:
“I hear the whisperings of many:
‘Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!’
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
‘Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him.’
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
for he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!”
Ps
69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35
R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my children,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness;
in your great mercy turn toward me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!"
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Rom
5:12-15
Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned—
for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
But death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over those who did not sin
after the pattern of the trespass of Adam,
who is the type of the one who was to come.
But the gift is not like the transgression.
For if by the transgression of the one the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ
overflow for the many.
Mt
10:26-33
Jesus said to the Twelve:
“Fear no one.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the
soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
Lectionary for Mass for Use
in the
Dioceses of
the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998,
1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain
©
1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy,
Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be
reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium,
including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the
copyright owner |
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