In today’s Gospel Jesus asks the disciples “who do you say that I am?”…Peter proclaims that he is “the Christ”…the Messiah! And from this declaration, Jesus proclaims that “Simon” is blessed and that he has come to this insight, not by human knowledge, but Divine inspiration. In the Gospel of Matthew this is another pivotal moment. Jesus acknowledges that he is more than a prophet, more than a messenger…He is the “Son of God”! From this moment forward Jesus’ public ministry takes on cosmic proportions…from now on his mission is to the whole world, not just the People of Israel.

But what does this mean for me? Who do people say I am?….when I am not there to hear? Who do “I” say I am?….by my life…by my words and by my actions? The American educator, Parker Palmer, once proclaimed….”let my life speak”, but speak of what? Can people tell that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ by how I life my life? Is the message of God’s deep and passionate love for all people of every race and Jesus’ clarion call to love and care for others, evidenced in the way I live my life? As a Christian -- a disciple of Jesus Christ -- I am called to love God with my whole being and to love and care for my neighbor as if they were myself! And yet down through history to this very moment in time Christians have perpetrated sins of racism, bigotry, antisemitism and misogyny and outright hatred of their neighbor whom Jesus has commanded they love. And yet we call ourselves followers of Jesus. We cannot hate our neighbor, act with racist and bigoted hearts and believe that we are living as Christ has called us to live. We must ask ourselves: do I harbor hatred, distrust or ill will towards my neighbor? We must name and call out the sins of racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny when and where we see them!

It is in this way that “our lives will speak” to the world the truth of who Jesus Christ is. That is how our lives will be prophetic! What prophetic witness will I give today to who Jesus is by how I live?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

Today’s readings overturn our presumptions about the relationships between “insiders” and “outsiders”. From the Prophet Isaiah to Psalm 67, from Paul’s letter to the Romans to the Gospel of Matthew….we are treated to God’s vision of who is “in” and who is “out”. Some of us may feel a bit disconcerted by what we encounter in today’s readings. It seems there is something innately human about drawing boundaries between those who are like us and those who are different…”insiders and outsiders”. Down through the centuries wars have been fought, nations destroyed and societies pulled apart in efforts to protect social boundaries that delineate who are the insiders and who are the outsiders. Slavery would be a perfect example of a social construct that delineated between peoples and that destroyed individual human lives, families and entire nations! All based on social constructs of what made a human life matter and be of value.

Today’s readings call on us to reflect on our own social constructs…who we treat as insiders and who we treat as outsiders…whose lives we believe matter and whose lives we believe don’t matter! What scripture makes clear is that we are called by God to work to eradicate all social structures and attitudes that exclude and marginalize “the other”. In today’s Gospel we see that even Jesus is challenged by the Canaanite woman to “revision his mission,” and to proclaim the Reign of God so that it goes beyond the People of Israel and includes absolutely everyone! Because each one is a child of God and, yes, even the Canaanites are included! There is no place for racism or bigotry or xenophobia or misogyny in the Reign of God because we are all God’s children -- and racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny are all sins against the Reign of God! Everyone is invited and as St. Paul reminds us “the gifts and the call are irrevocable”! The Word has gone out…all are invited to be part of the Reign of God…and the Word of God once spoken cannot be called back!

I believe that all of us who call ourselves Christians do well to reflect on all of this in light of the racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism and outright hatred displayed in the violence in what we saw three years ago in Charlottesville and the violence we have seen today against the Black Lives Matter protesters, protesting for racial justice, perpetrated by our very own government. We have to ask ourselves: Are there people I exclude?...How could I be more inclusive in my life? What socio-political and religious structures does the Gospel call me to work to change to be more inclu-sive so that no one is left out? In order to more faithfully follow the call of Jesus Christ what idols to slavery, exclusion, hatred, marginalization and war do I need to work to pull down in my life?...In this nation?...In the world?

Blessings,
Fr Tim