(Transcript from a homily given at the Novena of Grace, St Ignatius Church, Portland, Oregon. Spring 2019)

I want to thank you again for inviting me here and for your very warm welcome. I’m discovering what a powerful blessing it is to pray so consciously for all of you and for all of our deepest desires, and I am grateful for that opportunity.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. What good is it to gain the whole world and lose ourselves?” Lk 9:22 - 25

What strikes me first about this reading is that it ends with a question — a really big question. I’ve heard this passage many times before, it is quoted often. I realize that in the past I’ve responded to myself, “Well, clearly THAT would not be a good thing” and then moved on. But this time, I decided to try and come up with a better answer.

Discernment and courage are so closely linked. Discovering what words, especially holy words, really mean is hard work when we are seeking clarity, not just about what they mean in general, but what they mean for me, in my life. Seeking clarity is something I have done many times, often in complicated situations, where achieving clarity would mean taking action. And that’s where courage comes in because taking action almost always requires being brave.

I have had to ask organizational leaders who lost their way to leave their position. I have had to stand up and use my voice when the path of others veered off course. I, like many of you, have had to stand up — in our families, our work, our schools, our church — stand up, be brave, and tell the truth.

For me, the process of discernment is a little like unpacking. First, the box needs to be opened. Then, everything has to be removed, all of it, all the way to the bottom. If what’s in the box is unpleasant or messy (think of Pandora here), then this part can be very hard. Everything needs to be sorted and divided into what stays and what goes. And even what stays has to be carefully identified so it is understood what will happen with what remains, then the task is done. Arriving at knowing what needs to happen is clarity. Doing what needs to happen is often courageous.

“I believe it is this same cross, the cross of revolution, that we are asked to carry today.”

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. What good is it to gain the whole world and lose ourselves?”

Reading and re-reading this passage, taking it apart piece by piece, was a long process for me. I lived with it in my head for days on end. I read other’s insights. Here is what remains after my unpacking.

The cross that Jesus would bear came to him because his message threatened the power structure of the world in which he lived. The greatest commandment, “Love God with your whole heart and love your neighbor as yourself” was a breathtaking concept, sweeping away distinctions between the rich and poor, between Jew and Gentile, between the sinners and those who saw themselves as the righteous. It was revolutionary, and revolution seldom comes without suffering.

I believe it is this same cross, the cross of revolution, that we are asked to carry today. That it is the same message of Love, of God, and of each other, that we are asked to carry out into a world where corruption and exploitation and oppression are on the rise, in faraway lands and in our own backyard. A world where the excruciating sounds of suffering are rising. A world where seeking the truth seems to have gone out of fashion. A world where resources are used increasingly to advance the agenda of the few at the expense of the many, where fear is closing people’s hearts, the better to protect themselves.

It is this version of the world, I believe, that the reading asks us to consider carefully before losing ourselves in all of it: in the pull of the metrics of worldly success, money, prestige, privilege. We are being called, rather, to embrace our deepest connection to God and to each other, to be measured by how well we care for each other, how often we stand up for justice, how bravely we act against the growing darkness of hate.

The answer, then, to the question “What good is it to gain the whole world and lose ourselves?” is all around us, because in order to achieve the goal of worldly possession, we would have to let go of the greatest commandment: “Love God with your whole heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” And to let go of this is to gain nothing at all, nothing but darkness.

We are meant to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves, always. If this is what the words of Luke mean, then what are we to do?

The world needs leadership, leadership grounded in the good of and for all. The opportunities for leadership, for being a witness to Love, for providing signs of hope, are all around us. They exist in each and every encounter we have with one another: at home, school, work, play. The thoughts we have, the words we use, the actions we take are all powerful when grounded in love.

Many of these opportunities to act are simple but powerful. I’m at Book Club (and, maybe I’ve even read the book!) when the talk turns to someone we all know and the words are harsh and judgmental. I can participate, I can remain silent, or I can nudge the group towards Love by reminding all of us that the words we say are ultimately heard, sometimes quite literally in this digital age. Or, there’s the “joke” at the expense of a minority, or the turning away from a request for help, or the stubborn refusal to reconcile. These are all opportunities to act bravely with Love.

In this particular moment, I am drawn to the words of my favorite Irish writer, John O’Donoghue, whose words on the Irish tradition of blessings fill a book. These words are so timely now as we experience firsthand the power of blessings through this Novena. John felt that we must bless our world now and one of the ways to do so is to respond to the call to be fully aware, acting in justice and love:

We must have the courage

To turn away from it all.

And come to kneel down before the poor,

To discover what we must do,

….to find our way home.

May we pray together that we might help each other to live in our true home, the home of Eternal Love, because that is where we will find courage and hope; that is where our deepest desires will be fulfilled.