SIMPATICO

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Good Friday is, “Simpatico!”

I’m taking this theme from the second reading we heard tonight. [Cf. Hebrews 4: 14-16; 5: 7-9]

The author of the Letter to the Hebrew is describing Jesus – as a great high priest. He writes, “Brothers and sisters: Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.”

Then he writes, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses….”

Then he says that Jesus is approachable.

That’s my basic message in this Good Friday homily. Jesus is approachable, because he can sympathize with us. Jesus is “simpatico.”

OUR EULOGY

Wouldn’t “simpatico” be the one word we all would want in our eulogy? Wouldn’t we want our kids to describe us as approachable – understanding, sympathetic, empathetic – in a word, “simpatico”?

I’ve told at least 2 dozen people over the phone in my life – who live at a distance – and they are looking for a priest to talk to about a problem, “Go to churches in your area for Sunday Mass – and sit there and listen to the priest and watch him – and then ask and listen to your gut, “Could I talk to this guy? Is he approachable? If not, go to the next church?”

Looking back at our life, what principal, what coach, what boss, what teacher, was our favorite?

Of course we would want people that challenged us, people whom we learned from, but I’m willing to bet that one of their key ingredients – if not their best quality – was their ability to sympathize – to understand.

As the State Trooper on the highway approaches us with ticket pad in hand and we were going only 10, ten measly miles, over the speed limit, don’t we hope he or she has simpatico?

Don’t we hope the judge we approach – when we’re trying to get out of jury duty – has 10,000 ounces of simpatico? We gotta get out of this. We have take care of our Aunt Lizzy on Monday, baby sit for our daughters kids on Tuesday, etc. etc. etc.?

I remember I was on Jury Duty in New Jersey and I was in Jury Pool G and they were selecting jurors. We were standing in the back waiting to be called one by one to be one of possible 14 jurors in a case. Members of our pool would go to a seat, sit down, be asked a few questions, and then selected or rejected by the prosecution or the defense. Our occupations were listed next to our name. My name was called. I got to the seat – sat down – and no sooner had my butt touched the chair – did I hear the words, “Rejected” or whatever the word was. When those of us who were dismissed got back to the big holding room, we rejects were talking and someone said of me to our group. “Priest. Automatic reject Father. Automatic. You heard the case. Two guys raped another guy in prison. The prosecution would expect you to obviously be sympathetic.”

That hit me. Of course. That’s what people would hope in confession or whatever from a priest. Smile.

JESUS – SIMPATICO – BIG TIME

If we read the scriptures with this idea in mind, it’s obvious that Jesus was big time simpatico. This is what the Letter to the Hebrews we heard tonight pointed out.

He was born in a stable with animals. He came from a poor village. He reached out to people others were avoiding. He said, “Let the person here without sin, cast the first stone!” when the Scribes and the Pharisees wanted to trap him by bringing to him a woman caught in adultery. [ Cf. John 8:1-11]

That Jesus was filled with sympathy for others hit me as I was putting together this sermon today for Good Friday. That Jesus was filled with sympathy is the heart of the matter.

The word “simpatico” – originally coming from the same spelling word in Italian – then becomes the same word in Spanish, “simpatico,” and “sympathique” in French, and “sympatisch” in German. All have in the word, the original Greek and Latin words “pathos” and “pathia” meaning feelings, emotions, experience.

Good Friday is all about “The Passion of the Christ.”

Jesus cried, screamed, almost despaired, was lonely, felt all alone, needed companionship, these days, these nights, during this week of Passion – when he was celebrated on Palm Sunday, when he celebrated a big meal with his disciples, one of whom betrays him, when Peter, James and John, his 3 best friends, slept when he asked them to stay awake because he need them, when they all run away when he’s arrested, when he imprisoned, beaten, bloodied, crowned with thorns and beaten again and made fun of.

This Good Friday afternoon when he was judged and condemned to death, he didn’t get any sympathy from Pilate or the crowd, who chose a thief over him, screaming, “We want Barabbas!” and then they screamed, “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”

As priest I’ve gone through this Good Friday service a good 46 times. Now I’m not sure about this, but I sense, the younger the crowd, the louder the rejection – the older the crowd the more hard it is to say, “Take him away, taken him away! Crucify him.” and to yell, “We have no king but Caesar.”

SUFFERING AND SINS – MISTAKES AND MESS

Suffering and sins, mistakes and mess, make us more sympathetic – or can make us more sympathetic.

I often reflect on the quote I heard 40 years or so ago, “Suffering enters the human heart to create there places that never existed before.”

I always remember Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story where one woman says to another woman – a woman who is very proper and very priggish, “You know you ought to go out and commit a really good sin and then you might understand the rest of us.”

How many women have told me they have much more sympathy towards those who had an abortion after their moms or daughters told them that they had an abortion?

I remember hearing a priest give his A.A. talk and in it he told about all the mistakes he made in his life and I said to myself, “If I ever got messed up, here is the first priest in the United States I would call up and head to see.”

How many dads have told me that they became much more understanding of men who are gay, after their sons came to them and told them they were homosexual?

The Letter to the Hebrews says Jesus our High Priest went through it all – all except sin – but he can sympathize with our weaknesses – so let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

TONIGHT – THIS GOOD FRIDAY

Tonight – this Good Friday evening – stand under this gigantic cross and understand why well over a billion people in our world – still hang with him.

Tonight as you come from all parts of this church to kiss the cross of Jesus – know it’s the person who died on this cross – we’re centering in on – the one who died in excruciating pain. This is the Christ – this is the one whom we can always go to for sympathy – simpatico – love – passion – the one who knows our feelings – our passion – our passions.

Tonight, let us realize the more we unite with Christ, the more we will leave this church – and become simpatico with all the rest of us poor slobs and sinners in this world of ours. Amen.