IF YOU WANT JUSTICE,

WORK  FOR  PEACE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “If You Want Justice, Work for Peace.”

That’s a saying that Pope Paul VI gets credit for - putting it out there on January 1, 1972  in a message for the celebration of the Day of Peace.

We all know the beatitude: “Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.”

We all know and say the Peace Prayer coming from the tradition of St. Francis of Assisi. “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace….today.”

TODAY’S READINGS

I thought of Paul VI’s message, “If you want justice, work for peace” when I read today’s readings.

Jeremiah 25 - today’s first reading -  proclaims - that “The Lord’s name is justice.”

How do you describe, how do you define, justice.

I like to say it means fairness - the very word - every kid screams in games or on  how he or she feels they are being treated. “It’s not fair, Bobby can stay up later than me.” “It’s not fair, the teacher like Sally more than me.”

Paul VI was saying: if we treat each other with fairness and equal respect, we’ll have more peace in the family, in the world, in our groups.

The Psalm response for today was: “Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.”

Today’s gospel describes Joseph as a righteous man.  He treated Mary well.

THE CATHOLIC SOCIAL DOCUMENTS / TEACHINGS

Paul VI gets credit for putting into one short sentence the essence of Catholic Social Teachings. “If You Want Justice, Work for Peace.”

I keep hearing in meetings - and in writings -  the call of our Catholic Church to evangelize the world.

Sometimes I wonder just what evangelization means. Is it pushing for  a  strict and narrow agenda - liberal or conservative positions? Is it simply to teach, preach, stress the gospel to our world?

If Catholics knew our Social Justice documents - and then tried to work them into our lives - our families and our neighborhoods - and our world, then I think things would be clearer what Christ was about.

I would be strongly in favor of pushing that agenda: that everyone knew Rerum Novarum [Leo XIII, 1891], Quadragesimo Anno 1931, Mater et Magister [1961], Pacem in Terris [1963] , Populorum  Progressio,   Humanae Vitae [1968]. Labore, exercens [1981], Caritas in veritate, [John Paul II, 2009  and Laudato si [2015] from Pope Francis on the environment.

However, if the Church stressed and preached on the social justice teachings, there would be complaints and screaming.  People would say, “This is politics!” “This is socialism.” “You can’t preach in the pulpit about Labor Unions or Capital Punishment or the Climate.”

THE CROSS

The cross is central to this church building - this large crucifix on the front wall of our church here at St. John Neumann.

Christ was crucified for a reason.

I wonder when I think about what we’re called to preach about: Do we ever preach messages that could get us killed?

It was Jesus’ call to die to self and selfishness and to sacrifice and care for others.

Read Matthew 25: 31-46: I was hungry, I was sick, I was naked, I was in prison and you visited and tried to help me.

Read Galatians 6:2: “Bear one another’s burdens and this way you’ll fulfill the law of Christ.”

Listen to these words from St. Basil the Great, “When someone steals another's clothes, we call them a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.”

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily for today was: “If You Want Justice, Work for Peace.”

This message from Pope Paul VI is a one sentence message that is central to the great collection of Social Justice Encyclicals or Letters from our recent popes.

If people knew this is what we stand for, would they still stand with the Church?  Or would they walk away - because their religion stays inside the church buildings?