This weekend we come to worship in the aftermath of a human tragedy that has touched us all in some way--the shooting of the Congresswoman in Tucson, Arizona. We were all touched by this tragedy because the media focused our attention on it. Thousands of tragedies happen all over our city every day, and yet we don't think about them--tragedies no less poignant than that in Arizona, but we don't even hear about them. Because she was a congresswoman, this one we DO know, the media has forced us to look at it. And we see the harm that one weak individual can wreak on our world.
What the readings want you to see is that WE ALL have that potential. We can wreak havoc on our earth or we can make our lives a blessing on it. It all depends on us.
Last week we were told something similar--that our lives could be lived in such a way as to keep the light alive or we could "quench the smoldering wick" and watch the candle's flame die. We can live in such a way that the bruised reed will recover, and blow in the wind, or we can break it, and crush it underfoot. This week we are told again that our lives can bring light to the nations--not because the whole world knows our name, but because we'll make our tiny part of the world better, which helps ALL the world to be better. Our lives can be lived in a way that brings intelligence and goodness, kindness and sympathy to our world, or we can create pain. Both are "catching"--would you rather be spreading the "good" influences instead of the bad?
Now, you are teenagers, and teenagers are always volatile--not because you are dangerous, but because of what's happening inside your bodies. Your entire body chemistry is undergoing a dramatic change, that will turn you into adults, capable of being good wives and husbands, fathers and mothers, or priests and nuns in just a few more years. But, while the change is taking place, your hormones are off balance, you are mad one minute--shouting and saying things you don't mean to friends, parents, family and total strangers, then feeling embarrassed and small the next--incapable of finding anything to say at all. We ALL went through this--and we can assure you, YOU WILL SURVIVE!
Just know that in your moods of temper, you can cause a lot of hurt. Most people try to remember your age, and what's happening inside you, and they try to give you slack, but the closer people are to you--mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, the easier it is to really hurt them. So, the readings, while knowing it will be tough to do, ask you to try to rise above your hormones as often as you can, and be men and women of tolerance and understanding.
I encourage you to do this, too, for I've seen kids develop "habits" of dealing with anger during their teenage years that they find hard to break, even in their 20's. This weekend we celebrate the Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, a political "hero" in our American past. He was and is such an example to us and we need his example more than ever, right now. He, too, lived in an angry age. I don't know if you've seen television footage of his life and his marches for civil rights---I lived through that period. It was awful! Black churches were bombed and burnt, lives were lost, police chased marchers with batons and dogs, turned fire hoses on them. It was NOT a time of civility in our nation, and I would hate to see us return to that sort of depravity. He ALWAYS instructed those who marched with him and all demonstrators for rights and for peace to use NON-VIOLENCE, to NEVER return violence for violence. He instructed us all in peace and in civility. We were not to shout back when ugliness was shouted at us. We were to respect those who were not respecting us. We were to "lift ourselves and all humanity a little higher." When people called him names and slandered him, he responded with his "I have a dream" speech, that spoke of a time of mutual respect and harmony. I'm so glad for his holiday, for our offices are closed and I don't have to go to work, but most of all, I'm looking forward to his holiday because we need his words in this time of political tension in our nation. Remember: We learn behavior by doing it. I'm asking you to try to force yourselves to follow kinder behavior and gentler speech, especially in your homes. Why start there? Because those are the people closest to you. They know how to push all your buttons! If you can be civil with them, you can be civil ANYWHERE. But you have to try. And when you make a mistake, apologize. We all make mistakes. I apologize several times a day. Most adults do that several times a day. You should be apologizing, too. It's a sign of maturity, and it's an avenue to correct the bad effects of our unconscious behaviors that hurt others.
St. Paul tells us today that we are "called to be holy." That means we are called to be the kind of men and women who leave the earth better than we found it.
Today, the Text of the Gospel tells us that the "Spirit" descended on Jesus "like a dove." Well, that tells us something about Jesus. Doves--any birds, in fact--are skittish. They don't stay where they are frightened. They fly away. This tells us that Jesus was the sort of man who brought calm and strength to his world. As His disciples, let's try to do that, too. And may God bless you all. +
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