16th Sunday In Ordinary Time, July20, 2014

Written by Fr. Fitz Wednesday, 16 July 2014 16:20

The enigmatic parables: Do they speak to our time?

At the heart of the message is The Kingdom of God.
It means God's way breaking into our usual way of doing things.
There is always an element of surprise about that.
As Christians, we must be open to surprise. This openess we call hope!

 

So today, the seed cast in the field, the mustard seed, the yeast ...
all these parables give surprising results.

Sometimes, we must look back at surprises to enliven hope for our day.

Nelson Mandela in South Africa was a surprise.

The imperial and haughty General MacArthur was a surprise
when he allowed the Japanese Emperor to remain on his throne.

And LBJ, son of the South and segregation, signed the civil rights bill.

Surprise!  And it would seem in each case God's Way won out.

Today at our border, children flee from the terrors  of Central America,
just as the refugee we know as "the child Jesus"
fled from to terror of Herod, into the foreign land of Egypt.

And at our border angry Americans scream: "Go home!"

Our Azizona sheriff of Pinal County orchistrated such a screaming demonstration,
tipping off protestors that refugee busses filled with children woud be arriving.

And soon yellow busses arrived, and the protestors ranted and screamed!

Only there was a problem: These wer the wrong kids.
They were local kids being bussed to summer camp!

So the red faces of the haters had egg on their faces.
And Sheriff Babeu had goofed, just as he had goofed
when months ago he emailed obscene pictures of himself posing.
He loves to pose for the camera, as do most haters.

So why do the children come?
Here is why written by a Sister living in Honduras.
What she has to say may surprise you:

"It is not surprising. They do this since in our country they cannot live.
Our government (in power because a coup which overthrew an
elected government and now supported by the USA)
... provokes the expulsion of its people for its own gain.
Remmitances from undocumented migrants
sustain the economy of Honduras and aid international corporations.
A boy, girl, or woman from our country is worth more outside than inside.

... If we go to the USA, it is because the USA's
neo-colonist and miltaristic policies
have made our lives here a living hell.
The USA's "strategic war on drugs" has filled our region with weapons of death."

So with help from the USA, "we have more weapons, more soldiers,more corrupt police
to care for the interests of the powerful."

"They have new weapons, new green vehicles, more ammunition:

"while our poor die in hospitals tht are not equipped...
and there is no work, so children must become agents for organized crime..."  
Or leave.

"While everyone was asleep,
the enemny came and planted weed all through the wheat..."
Today's Gospel.

Breakfast Question: Are we asleep to where the real problems lie ... with us?

Personal Reflection: Am I open to surprise?