Rivals in the Field (2011-07-17)

This is my homily for Sunday, 17 July 2011. I am a Catholic chaplain at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) campus and for the FDU Newman Catholic Association. We celebrate Catholic Mass - during Fall and Spring semester - every Sunday Mass (7:30 p.m.) at the Interfaith Chapel, 842 River Road, Teaneck, NJ. We resume our Sunday schedule on Sunday August 28, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.

[__01 ___] Sometimes, one group decides that its destiny/future is completely independent of another group.

Doesn’t this happen in a rivalry, a competition? Such is the nature of competition…

And, such exclusion and rivalry exists in religion – politics – sports…
• Sunni Muslim and Shiite Muslim Iraq
• Religious sectarianism within Christianity
• Republican vs. Democrat
• LAST YEAR …the men’s World Cup final between Holland + Spain
• TODAY … the women’s World Cup final between the U.S. + Japan.

[__02 ___] In the parable we have just heard, the Lord speaks about the weeds and the wheat which exclude each other … which crowd each other out.
They are competing for the same water, the same soil, the same sunlight … all in the same location.

Or, to borrow from the NFL (National Football League) -- in which the 2011 season may be cancelled due to disagreement between players and owners – the weeds and the wheat “lock each other out.”

But, what are the weeds and the wheat in our lives?

This parable is not really about cultural, geographic, or political boundaries.
Rather, the parable is about the boundary – rivalry – brokenness – difficulty between …

• “Fill in the blank….”
• Brother-in-law (& me …)
• My cousin (& me…)
• My Boss (& me…)
• Co-worker
• Classmate
• Divisions within my family

When our enemies are very far away in another COUNTY … or CONTINENT, they may seem much easier to manage.

However, if they are here – either physically in my backyard, neighborhood, or life. Or, mentally, inside my head … would it not be better to uproot them… to conquer them … … or run away from them?

That’s what we normally do with enemies - DELETE … DEFEAT …DEPART…. So, if we cannot eliminate (delete) them, we fight or flee.

Those are not the options in this parable.

Why … ?

And, why does Jesus suggest not uprooting …not DELETING or DEFEATING these adversaries…individuals who cause us difficulty right away?

By enduring – by persevering – we can learn 2 things...both HUMILITY and …. CONFIDENCE .

The Good News when our adversaries – those who cause us difficulty are also close to us…

[__03 (a)___] HUMILITY - The sin which I see in others might be my own. Jesus has given us the example of the splinter and wooden beam which might be in my eye or that of another…
The Lord asks, for example, why do we say…

“Brother, let me pull the mote out of thy eye, when thou thyself seest not the beam in thy own eye? Hypocrite, cast first the beam out of thy own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to take out the mote from thy brother's eye.” (Luke 6:42)

[__03 (b) ___] CONFIDENCE
Speak to … develop a 1-on-1 relationship even with those ..with whom we have a difficulty…

the Good News of FORGIVENESS --- we learn to love each other more by understanding ourselves and others as sinners in need of redemption.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says in 2 places, make friends with your accusers … make friends with the person who has something against you. Don’t just come to the church or the synagogue and expect God to forgive and reconcile you… Rather, go first and be reconciled with those who have hurt you… or those you have hurt.

This parable offers us a message about both

[__04 ___] This is facilitated by the weeds and the wheat growing together, even in our own homes… community…

The Lord our God is well aware that some people – and some tribes – do not get along well.

But, somehow, this difficulty is part of his overall plan. God does not encourage evil, this wickedness, but permits it. We might learn from it.

It reminds all of us to turn to him for help and protection..so that we might get the very best out of the soil in which we are currently planted.

[__baptism__] Coming here today is this family (_) for the baptism of their children. They are well aware that the world is a complex place where people do not always get along. And, they come here because they want their home to be a sanctuary – just as the church is a sanctuary – of God’s love and peace.

As children, we are taught – are we not the importance – of being generous, of being forgiving… of admitting when we are wrong.

We are taught about the sincere apology, the sincere act of contrition and sorrow toward another to say…I am sorry.

True love does then mean that we are coexisting not with those to whom we never have to say I am sorry… but rather with those who need God’s saving help and grace as much as I do.

The wheat and the weeds grow together. We really do need each other on our journey to salvation. [__FIN__]