RANDOM ACTS OF VIOLENCE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 9^th Monday in Ordinary Time is,  “Random Acts of Violence.”

We’ve heard of the Random Acts of Kindness movement - where people pay for tolls of the next three or four cars that come through the cash toll booth. Or people just stop a stranger and compliment them for a neat dress or tie or shoes - or what have you.

An offshoot of this - I believe - has been the Flash Mob movement - when people are in a Mall or a train station - and all of a sudden 100 people start singing and dancing a choreographed song or two. Surprise!

I also wonder if the Make a Wish - or Kids Wish - or Twilight Wish - Foundations - are also offshoots of this attitude of Random Acts of Kindness.

TODAY’S READINGS

As I read today’s two readings I was hit by the violence in the first reading from Tobit. Tobit is about to eat a great meal and he sends out his son, Tobiah,  to find a random poor person and invite that person to share the meal with them. While out searching,  Tobiah discovers that one of their kinsfolk has been murdered, strangled, in the marketplace. Then Tobit goes and gets the body - this was before CSI - and then buries the dead person.  Today’s gospel talks about a man with a vineyard - who rents out his land to tenant farmers - who beat up and / or kill  the owner’s servants when they come for rent. Then they kill his son.

Violence. 

As one pages through the stories in our Bible - one can turn random pages and hear of random acts of violence - especially if one reads the crucifixion accounts. But way before that, the Bible has many stories of violence from Cain killing his brother Abel to the unnamed man who was beaten up and robbed on the road to Jericho. 

Today’s Mass - June 3rd - commemorates Charles Lwanga and the Uganda martyrs - 22 of whom were Catholic - and various others who were Anglican. If you read their story, it’s filled with sexual abuse of minors and then violent murders in Uganda - back in the late 1880’s.

We can have the same experience reading the daily newspaper.

I was visiting my sister and brother-in-law once and they watch the news from 5 to 6 coming out of Philadelphia - and then 6 to 6:30 - basically the same news - and then the network news at 6:30 to 7 - then Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune and then the local evening news from 10 to 10:30 or so. Well this time their son, Gerard, says, “Why in the world do you watch the news? The first 3 stories are always 3 murders in Philadelphia and the next 3 stories are 3 fires in Camden, New Jersey. Sure enough the news came on and he was close.

OKAY, NOW WHAT?

Okay, that’s true. I don’t remember what my sister said next, but they still do that - not randomly - but regularly.

Okay, is there a message in this for us?

One obvious message would be to shut the TV off and talk to each other or play cards or monopoly or do a jigsaw puzzle while talking to each other - or by oneself while reflecting on life and one’s day and one’s circumstances.

Another obvious message would be to join the Random Acts of Kindness movement.

Another message - I don’t know how obvious this would be - but what would it be like to picture ourselves as a News Program - and we’re giving the news 24 -7 - 365? 

It seems to me that violence sells - the negative brings the ratings - and the advertising dollars - and in saying this I’m being negative - but on our broadcasting network to make a deliberate decision - not to be random - but to broadcast good news each day. In general the ABC, NBC, CBS evening news has a feel good story as the last story in their show. Could I on my daily news program change that pattern - and broadcast good news most of the time.

But some would respond: “Well, most of the news out there is bad news!”  I would respond with a question: “Is it?”

I wonder if it is a question of being an optimist or being a pessimist. Which of the two am in the famous quote: “Two people looked out prison bars. One saw mud; the other saw stars.”  Which am I?

Last week, Father Kevin Milton and I saw the movie 42 - the story of Jackie Robinson -  and one of the scenes in the movie that hit me was that of a man scream nasty comments in Cincinnati - where the Dodgers were playing the Reds. Next to the man was his small son - watching his dad screaming horrible things at Jackie Robinson. Then the boy started repeating the nasty comments in imitation of his dad. Then both see Pee Wee Reese from Kentucky - right below Cincinnati - going over and talking to Jackie Robinson - shaking his hand - and putting his arm on his shoulder. Pee Wee Reese had received death threats about playing baseball with a black man.

The camera then focuses on the face of the boy seeing Pee Reese and then looking up to his father’s face. What next?

I don’t know about you - I hear too many people sounding like the TV news stations they listen to - from the Right and from the Left.

CONCLUSION

My suggestion is twofold: Read Bernard Goldberg’s book called Bias and become a thinker - when it comes to our mind and our mouth. By the way Bernard Goldberg is often on Fox News.

Second: think about the news’ broadcasts that come out of my mouth and choose life - not death - as the great quote in the Deuteronomy puts it:  I place before you life and death …. and then Moses says, “Therefore choose life.”

Choose random acts of kindness - not random acts of violence.