You know, I don’t want to think that anyone goes to hell, but sadly that’s not true. So what is more important is to identify who is in most danger. You can see and hear me give this Homily on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0DoLFCLO_8
Our Readings today contain a warning on this to one particular group of people. Our 1st Reading (Malachi 3:19-20) tells us that they are “The arrogant and evil-doers”; and we only need to think who Jesus says such people were, to get the message. They are the people who have power and misuse it. In our world today there is no shortage of such people. Those who use their power to lead their nation into a war of aggression against innocent civilians or those who use power to amass money for themselves whilst ordinary people struggle in poverty; or those who have so much money that they can manipulate the financial markets to get even more, or those who don’t care about climate change provided their generation lives in luxury.
What is even more awful to me is the way that some of these people use the Bible to justify the way they behave. Our 2nd Reading (2 Thess 3:7-12) is a classic case where some have used it to insist that their employees work harder for less money, when actually this passage - “Do not let anyone have any food if he refuses to do any work.” is referring to a specific situation in the early Church where some had decided that the world was about to end so they needn’t do any work, and expected their fellow Christians to feed them. Remember that the Church in each town in those days was a small group who acted as a support community to one another. They always supported these who were genuinely in need like widows and orphans, but people who took advantage of this situation had to be stopped. To take such passages, or any others, and misapply them is a kind of blasphemy, and particularly to use them to oppress others rather than help them, to talk about poor people as if it was their fault for not working harder, with little recognition of the kind of wages some people receive.
We also have a warning today against people who try to imply that the wars and famines raging in our world, created mainly by people with too much power, are actually a sign from God. Jesus deals with this idea in no uncertain terms telling us not to get the wrong idea when things are tough. He says (Luke 21:5-19) “Take care not to be deceived ….. when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon…. Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.” And what must we do? Use any eloquence or wisdom that we have been given to stand for what is good and true and right, and realise that however bad things get, our endurance will win us our lives.
Of course, most of us are not very good at speaking out against injustice and corruption in high places, so we’re unlikely to be eloquent. Yet let’s not forget that some people have surprised themselves when something bad has happened that brings them to the attention of the media, and they’ve found that their straightforward talking is more effective than the clever words of politicians. Wisdom too doesn’t mean being clever. A very ordinary common-sense person can sometimes offer more wisdom than some so-called clever academic. In both cases, Jesus is telling us not to underestimate our abilities, because they may be there without us realising it.
Some Christians however have been called to challenge those in power in a much bigger and more dramatic way. In the late 4th Century to the delight of the ordinary people, St John Chrysostom was one such example. In one of his Homilies he declared :- Do you wish to honour the body of Christ? Do not ignore him when he is naked. Do not pay him homage in the temple clad in silk, only then to neglect him outside where he is cold and ill-clad. He who said: "This is my body" is the same who said: "You saw me hungry and you gave me no food", and "Whatever you did to the least of my brothers you did also to me"... What good is it if the Eucharistic table is overloaded with golden chalices when your brother is dying of hunger? Start by satisfying his hunger and then with what is left you may adorn the altar as well.” (Gospel of St Matthew Homily 50:3–4, pp 58)
It has always seemed a great pity to me that the Church hasn’t spent more time on following the example of St John Chrysostom, rather than focussing in on personal sins, especially sexual ones. It was, after all, the sins of the powerful and rich that Jesus was most concerned about. My guess is that too often the leaders of the Church have preferred to compromise with those in power rather than challenge them. It’s understandable. At the moment the Church in various parts of the world is trying to survive and grow in places where the powerful are deeply suspicious of us. Think of China and the way the Vatican has negotiated a deal with the authorities there, in which Bishops are appointed jointly. In doing so, the Church can grow, but in the process it appears to be implying that everything the Chinese Government does to its people is OK, when we know it’s not.
All we can say is that God understands that in this cruel world there are no easy answers for how Christians should speak and behave, and there is comfort in knowing that our attempts to try to bring goodness and kindness into our world, even in little ways, are accepted and glorified. Our Lady said, in the words we call the Magnificat, that God “Puts forth his arm in strength and scatters the proud-hearted. He casts the mighty from their thrones and raises the lowly. He fills the starving with good things and sends the rich away empty.” We may think we have little power to change the world, but God is powerful, and can work through us. But despite our best efforts, people who live for themselves and are not open to God may not be able to be saved, for God cannot force people to love him. Love must be free not forced.
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