Homily from the Parish Priest for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mass Readings: Isaiah 53:10-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45
In about 1994 I was at a university union event which involved debate speeches by some current politicians. At the reception afterwards I remember meeting a young MP who, interested to meet an even younger Jesuit in formation engaged me in quite a long conversation about his vision for public life and how his Catholic faith was the basis for all he hoped to do. That young MP was David Amess. Over the last 2 days the mood of the country has been one of shock and horror at this dreadful murder and amidst that there have also been tributes offered which show that his commitment to a faith which strives to make a difference in society is alive in our Church and society today. For me it’s caused me to reflect on our witness as Catholic Christians, a commitment to play our role in society prophetically and generously, standing up for the principles of Catholic social teaching, to wear our faith more on our sleeve. Sometimes I hear the criticism of some that faith and politics don’t go together – we don’t come to church for that I sometimes hear. That our role in the Church is confined to the individual human soul, the life of prayer, being more in touch with our inner peace. Thank God at Farm Street I hear also we are a place of oasis in the middle of the city where many can find that inner peace, chat things through, get closer to God. And yet the life of faith can never turn us in on ourselves in a selfish way. The life of faith is always directed outside of ourselves, towards others, towards society as a whole, and especially towards the weakest, to those on the peripheries.
This section of the Gospel is all about the call to a faith which makes a difference. Jesus proclaims as Gospel values indispensable for the life of faith striving for justice, equality, respect for all people and especially for those in society who are the weakest. Values of service and sacrifice rather than selfishness and superiority and woe betide ambition. To think we can secure seats on his right or left is the very enemy of the Gospel. Be it naked ambition in our jobs just out for our own engrandisement and self-fulfillment and financial betterment, uncontrolled egoism, and in the Church the scourge of clericalism which promotes careerism in the Church and a club mentality. I feel I need to look at my own life all the time and examine how I act against this tendency as, simply by saying or doing nothing about it, I am complicit in it. He who is not with me is against me. Rather in the Gospel we have a clear picture of who Jesus is and what the Kingdom is about: he is the servant King. And the hallmark of the Kingdom of God is that those on the margins, those who are weakest, the poor, those with a lowly or no status in society, are to placed at the head of the table.
During these 4 weeks of October we are focusing in the newsletter article and in our homilies on what the Jesuits worldwide are calling our 4 universal apostolic priorities, preferences for our work focus for the next 10 years. And this weekend we focus on our call to promote going to the peripheries where we serve the weakest. That is not to say we must abandon our service to all people. Of course not. That would be absurd. But it does reflect Jesus’ call to all of us if we are to respond to him authentically. During the pandemic here at Farm Street I have found the gap between rich and poor one of the most urgent issues to address if we are to begin to respond to our true mission. As many know we have spent the time of lockdown feeding the homeless in a massive outreach project which has also involved many local businesses, many of whom are also struggling. It has brought the plight of those on the margins, quite literally on the margins of the parish sleeping rough on and around Regent Street, Piccadilly, Park Lane and Oxford Street, into close relief. And in drawing together large teams of volunteers this call to action has awoken faith. A faith which is determined to make a difference, to bring the values of the Kingdom to our world. Faith always leads us out towards the margins and away from ourselves.
This is a busy time and of course we are also embarking on a major listening and consultation exercise in the universal Church, the Synod called by Pope Francis, and here in the Diocese of Westminster we have begun a pathway which will involve group meetings in November co-ordinated by a team led by our Synod representative Janet Obeney-Williams. Synod is I know a churchy word but it simply means accompanying, walking with each other. In the next couple of weeks there will be details of these group meetings in the Parish to kick off our part in the Synod. Right at the moment there is work being done centrally in the Diocese on preparing for these meetings. The keys to the Synod Pathway are careful listening to each other and from this discernment in common. Pope Francis has much to say about the nature of discernment – indeed it flows out of his Jesuit identity. For me a key message about the nature of discernment in the synodal way is contained in what the Holy Father said when meeting with the last worldwide meeting of Jesuits a few years ago. Francis is crystal clear what he means by discernment and so y the Synod process. The end target of discernment, he warned Jesuits, is never about how we ourselves, about our own sense of peace and fulfillment – that is part of the process – but it is always about others and in particular about going to the peripheries. If we discern something just for ourselves that, he said, is not proper discernment at all. And so the Synod wants to hear the voices of others who normally don’t speak. The Pope wants to hear from you and we want to hear from you. Despite the fact that there is a structure for meetings and collating of feedback anyone from anywhere can submit the fruits of your discernment any time and it will be heard.
We move forward together in this process and we ask prayers for it and for all involved. May Our Lady teach us more clearly the call of her son to be a servant leader who proclaims a Kingdom which looks not to ourselves but outside of ourselves and especially to the weakest.
Fr Dominic Robinson SJ