Gospel & Reflection for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

While attending Primary School with the Christian Brothers in Carrick, the back of each classroom was shelved top to bottom, and apart from footballs, basketballs, and sliotars on the lower shelves, the rest were covered with books and art utensils. Those books ranged from classics such as ‘Treasure Island’ and ‘Kidnapped,’ to the adventures of the ‘Hardy Boys.’ Having read some of them, I remember then coming across a child friendly version of Tom Hughes’ Victorian novel ‘Tom Brown’s Schooldays’. Tom Brown was the young protagonist of the story, attending a typical English Boarding School. He is an adventurous and resilient character who grows from an impulsive, mischievous boy into a responsible, compassionate, and principled leader, admired by all.

In the story, it happens that a new boy, George Arthur, joins the school. As George gets ready for bed the first night, he kneels down to say his prayers in the dormitory he shares with twelve others, Tom Brown among them. Tom notices first, a heavy shoe flying through the air to hit the praying boy. But it misses him and laughter and ridicule then follow. Arthur is upset but remains resolute. The incident shakes Tom though and he cannot sleep. He keeps thinking of his mother and the prayers she had taught him; prayers he had not said since coming to the school because he had been too afraid of also being judged and bullied.

So, encouraged by the example of the younger but fearless newcomer, the following night Tom also kneels down in prayer. Soon, the courage of two boys wins the respect and admiration of the entire school, as one by one, nearly all the pupils follow their lead.

Well, the importance and impact of spiritual resilience and moral courage are also at the heart of our readings this weekend.

We heard from the fascinating character that is Jeremiah in the First Reading. Called to be a Prophet, God tells him that people will not listen to him, and they will hate him! That is exactly what happened. “I hear so many disparaging me, terror on every side!” Yet, amid his fear and the reality of his situation, Jeremiah experiences peace. God had called him; God was on his side; and all he said and done was right and proper in God’s eyes. This did not make things easier for Jeremiah. He was a failure all his life and he died a failure. Nobody listened; no one accepted God’s way and truth. Yet, despite all of that, Jeremiah died knowing that he did God’s will and followed God’s commands, even if no one else did. His conscience was untroubled. His spirit was at peace.

Christ knew the same vulnerability. He knew that many were not listening and that some wished Him harm. Still, He persevered. He kept moving forward, kept speaking and witnessing, kept declaring Himself for God and as God. He encouraged His disciples to have a similar fearlessness, to have courage despite all that would happen and be said about them. He implored them to make a choice for God because by doing so, they too would be untroubled in conscience and in spirit.

Friends, how troubled or untroubled is our conscience and our spirit? In living up to God’s ways, His laws, and expectations, how are we doing? How do we manage those who disapprove, ridicule, mock, and undermine our faith, and cope with those events which conflict with our beliefs and morality?

Little by little, all of what we do hold sacred, all that we believe, and which influences the way we live, and approach life is being eroded away. In the week just gone, we saw another stripping away of any barrier to the preservation and the sacredness of human life, one of our fundamental teachings. The Government backed a proposed bill to abolish the mandatory three-day waiting period for abortion. Fair play to the seventy who voted against; questions for the seventeen who were ‘absent’; sadness for the eighty-six who voted in favour. But just another example, of the many heavy shoes that fly through the air in our direction, undermining what is sacred and meaningful for us.

But listening to the Gospel and taking it to heart, may God give us the courage, the resilience, and the dignity of Jeremiah and Christ to remain steadfast in our faith, untroubled in our conscience, and resolute in never giving up on doing what God expects from us, despite what others may think or do themselves.

Fr. Richard