| HOMILY: 2014 Province Chapter By Fr. Antonio Pernia, SVD |
Powerless
Servants of Humanity,
Humble
Witnesses of the Kingdom
Readings: 2 Sam
7:4-5,12-14,16
Feast
of St. Joseph
Rom 4:13,16-18,22
March
19, 2014 Mt 1:16,18-21,24
Maryridge, Tagaytay City
One thing striking about St. Joseph is that his
identity is defined not in reference to himself but in reference to others. He
is the “son of David”, “the husband of Mary”, “the father of Jesus”, “the man
of God”. Even the one phrase in the gospels which seems to define him in
reference to who he is in himself is actually in reference to someone else – “a
righteous man”, that is, “an obedient servant of God”.
So, Joseph may very well be the model for the
kind of Christians Pope Francis wants – Christians who are not inward-looking,
preoccupied only with their own problems and affairs, but outward-looking,
concerned with the problems of others and the affairs of the world. Christians
who, in the words of the Pope himself, are not infected by the disease of
“spiritual narcissism”, too much turned in on themselves that they do not have
the slightest regard for the needs and the problems of others.
As we know, Pope Francis has spoken against a
“self-referential” Church, a Church preoccupied with its own concerns, worried
about its own self-preservation, instead of being truly concerned about the
affairs of the world, seeking ways of being of genuine service to humanity,
especially the poor and marginalized among them. He says he wants to move the
Church from what in Latin America they call the “conservation mode” to a
“missionary mode”. Thus, he dreams of a truly missionary Church, more
outward-looking rather than inward-looking, more concerned about affairs
“ad-extra” rather than about issues “ad-intra”. In his own words, a Church
“bruised, dirty and hurting because it has been out on the streets, rather than
one which is clean but unhealthy because
confined and clinging to its own security”. Thus, he envisions the Church not
as a bureaucratic institution but as a “field hospital”, where the wounds of
humanity may be bandaged, cured and healed.
With this dream of Pope Francis, we are at the
heart of the Church. As we know, Vatican II reminds us that “the Church – the
entire Church – is missionary by its very nature” (AG 2). Just as fire exists
by burning, so also the Church exists by mission, or for mission. Mission is
not just a dimension added on to the identity of the Church, as if the Church
can have an identity apart from its mission. Mission is the very identity of
the Church. The Church exists for Mission. Its reason for existence, its
“raison d’etre”, is evangelization, is proclamation of the Gospel. Thus, as
theologians now sometimes say, it is not so much the Church that has as a
mission, as Mission that has a Church. Mission is everything the Church is.
That is why it is very appropriate that Mission
has been the main category under which your reflections during your Province
Chapter have been undertaken – at least, as I understand it from the theme of
your Chapter, “Spirit-fired, We risk with hope for Mission”. Often, in
Religious Life, we worry about questions regarding our identity, our relevance,
our vocations, our institutions, and not pay enough attention to the question
of our mission. But like in the case of the Church, so also in Religious Life,
mission is not just a category added on to our identity. No, mission is at the
very heart of our consecrated life. We are consecrated for mission. Thus, we
need to be first clear about mission in general and about our mission in
particular, and then the other things in Religious Life will also become
clearer – identity, relevance, vocations, institutions.
Today, when we speak of Mission, we need to
immediately consider the “new evangelization”. I believe the fundamental
question in the new evangelization is like the question about “how to make a
donkey that is not thirsty drink water”? That is, how do we make the people of
today who do not feel the need for God believe? No amount of pushing or pulling
will make the donkey come to the pool or bucket of water to drink. The only way
is to bring in another donkey which is truly thirsty and which drinks water
with delight and put it in front of the first donkey. And so, the first donkey,
seeing the second one drink water with delight, may begin to ask itself whether
he too would benefit if he came to the bucket of water and drank.
What we need today, in the new evangelization,
are not nice homilies and great sermons, not theories and theologies, not words
and books. Rather, what we need are men and women who are not afraid to show
their thirst for God and are not ashamed to drink with delight from the living
water of the Gospel. People in our society today, seeing these men and women
drink water with delight, may begin to ask themselves whether they too would
not benefit if they drank from the life-giving water of the Gospel.
What we need today are good shepherds – shepherds
who are good because they carry the smell of the sheep. What we need today are
spirit-fired religious ready to risk everything for the sake of mission. Let us
pray in this Eucharistic celebration that St. Joseph may guide us on the path
of the new evangelization. Let us pray that we may have a share of St. Joseph’s
profound humility, so that we may share the Good News never from a position of power
and superiority, but always from a position of humility and powerlessness. For,
as religious missionaries, we are called to be powerless servants of humanity
and humble witnesses of God’s Kingdom.