What's hardest for you to say no to?

 Homily

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time A

St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas

30 August 2020

AMDG +JMJ +m

To be a Christian is to be a loser.  It's to be wrong.  It's to be on the outside.

Jeremiah has it right - to be faithful is to let yourself be duped.

God thinks in strange ways.  Not as human beings do.  Human beings love politics.  We love winning.  Grabbing our slice of the pie.  Coming in first.  

God chooses to come in last.  His ways are strange.  His mind is different.

What's hardest for you to say no to?  It's winning for me!  I hate losing.  I'm competitive to the core.  It bothers me that Catholicism is so easily ignored on this campus.  It's no fun getting our butts kicked while on mission here.

I love politics cause I'm human.  2020 is a great year for politics.  Who's in, who's out - who's winning, who's losing - who's right, who's wrong.  The political cauldron of 2020 is full - a pandemic, racial tension and rioting, a presidential election - fueled by a never-ending cacophony of fear and hate delivered through the hell of our smart phones.  I love every bit of it.

Because I think as human beings do - not as God does.

Peter went from being the Rock last week to being Satan this week. From receiving God's revelation to denying God's mission.  That didn't take long, did it?

Because Peter is human - he wants to win.  Get his slice of the pie.  Get that throne of David back.  Kick some Roman tail.  Win, win, win no matter what.

Jesus sees Satan.  God's mind is different - we're going to win by losing, by suffering, by dying, by being on the outside.

To be Christian is to be wrong - at least for now.  Not about tradition, or theology, or morality, mind you.  But about having to win, having privilege, being on the inside.  I'm wrong about those things.  

Metanoia -thinking differently - allowing my mind to be changed - saying no the the thing hardest for me to say no to - winning. That's what most needs to change - my stubborn mind that Satan lives rent free in.

God's way is to be on the outside, to be wrong, to be a loser.

At least for now.