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John 20: 11-18
"But Mary was standing outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, as she wept, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she replied, 'and I don't know where they have put him.' As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?' Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.' Jesus said, 'Mary!' She turned round then and said to him in Hebrew, 'Rabbuni!' -- which means Master. Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' So Mary of Magdala told the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord,' and that he had said these things to her." 

us and them

9/7/2019

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Us and Them, a homily by Fr. David Bellusci, O.P.
Friday | 13 | OT | C

Vancouver, July 5, 2019
​​
The reading for the Book of Genesis makes it very clear that Abraham wants his son Isaac to find a wife among the Israelites who believe in the One True God and not to find a wife among the Canaanites, who were pagans with pagan practises.

 
An interesting dilemma: a real problem. What if the woman Isaac finds among the Israelites does not want return to “his land” referring to Canaan? Remember, the servant must go to Abraham’s country to find the wife with Isaac. So, if she does not want to leave, then what?
 
Abraham actually gives priority to the land over Isaac’s future wife because if she is not willing to return with Isaac to Canaan, in that case, Isaac can find a wife among the Canaanites, “you will be free from this oath.” Why is the land of Canaan so important? Because this is the land promised by God. Abraham is discerning Isaac’s future based on what God has already revealed to Abraham.
 
Not everyone is willing to leave their homeland to go to a new land. Abraham knows this. The servant returned to Haran with Isaac the town of Abraham’s kinfolk where Isaac met Rebecca a woman of Abraham’s family with God’s help, whom Isaac took as his wife. What stands out in Abraham’s instructions is a separation of people, Canaanites from Israelites, pagans from believers. This sense of “us” and “them.”

When we look at Matthew’s Gospel it’s not all that different from the story in Genesis. Jesus chooses a tax collector as a disciple…
 
The tax collector along with the sinners with whom Jesus eats are part of the “them” category because tax collectors who deal with money had a reputation of not being any better than sinners.
 
And so, the pharisees, who belong to the “us” group of the holy and righteous, criticise Jesus for his behaviour. Well, Jesus’ actions are nothing more than associating with “tax collectors and sinners.”
 
“Us” the holy ones, and “them,” the sinners, we see the Israelite / Canaanite separation.
 
And let’s not be too critical of the Pharisaic dichotomy because we are like that. We tend to make judgments based on perception and not on facts.
 
The problem with perception is there are not facts, it’s only how things look on the surface – that’s perception.
And the pharisees are making a judgment on surface impression.
 
If someone is actually doing something wrong you can make a judgment: you are a thief because you have been seen to steal money. You are a drunkard because you were seen getting drunk and behaving like a moron.
 
But we need to take this a step further. Why does Jesus choose a tax collector to be his disciple and to eat with sinners? He does not do this so he can partake in their misconduct. This is the pharisaic perception that is wrong.
 
Jesus does this with the intent of leading others to conversion – to a change of heart – to a change of life. To bow before the True God. And this is only possible by being with them – not one of them. Not by exclusion, rejection and separation, but approaching, and reaching out.
 
The Israelites segregated themselves from whatever was perceived as unholy. With Jesus Christ, the radical change is that if someone is unholy because of how they live, how they act, what they do, then, you lead them to holiness, you do not separate yourself from them – you reach out. That is evangelisation.
 
This is the message of Our Lord: to lead others to the True God, Jesus Christ Himself, and, their lives will be transformed.
 
Let us ask our Blessed Mother to help us lead the broken, the wounded, to the only One who can truly give complete healing, Jesus Christ, her Son. Amen. 
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    Fr. David Bellusci, O.P.
    is a Roman Catholic Priest, and Assistant Professor 
    of Philosophy and Theology at Catholic Pacific College in Langley, B.C.

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  • Home
    • About Father Bellusci
    • Contact
  • TALKS
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
  • ARTICLES
    • Homilies
    • Catholic Pilgrim >
      • Photos
    • Book Reviews
  • FRASSATI
    • Reflections
  • Books
    • Pier Giorgio Frassati Truth, Love and Sacrifice
    • Roman Incense
    • Love Deformed, Love Transformed
    • Ontology Of Blue
    • Amor Dei in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
    • Beating The Drums
    • Readers Review
  • Sexuality
    • Humanae Vitae
    • Theology of the Body >
      • Introduction
      • Lessons 1-9
  • Guest Bloggers
    • Andrzej Skulski
    • Br. Gavin Rodrigues, O.P.
    • Lara Paniagua