By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily while celebrating the annual Unity Mass, hosted by the archdiocesan Office for Black Catholic Ministry, June 25, 2023, at St. Philip Neri Church in Miami Gardens.
I am happy to join you today for this Unity Mass against racism. The Office of Black Catholics invites me every year to preside at this Mass during which we gather to find strength in God’s Word – and in the Sacrament of His Love which is found in our communion – our unity – in his Body and Blood.
We often hear that, “We are living through difficult times” – inflation, economic insecurity, rising crime in our cities, drug addiction, racial tensions, culture wars, and to be sure shooting wars, but what times haven’t been difficult?
Now some have described the difficult times we live in as being not so much an era of change but the change of an era. There is much uncertainty. And, in addition to that litany of challenges that I just listed, another sign of our times is that all of society’s institutions are being called into question. Certainly, in recent years, these institutions have been undermined to one extent or another because of corruption and greed and because of the abuse of authority and power.
Positions of service are turned into instruments of personal gain. We see this in politics, we see this in academia, in the media, in the entertainment world, and in business. Tragically, we have also seen this in the Church.
When society’s institutions are discredited, and our elites are perceived to be corrupt, people can feel as if they are left rudderless and because of that, many people seem to be mad as hell. There’s a lot of anger, a lot of outrage out there. The shrill polemics that pass for debate and argument today only seem to feed popular outrage, generating much heat but little light. Like, who is looking forward to the elections next year?
And might it not be that this anger, this outrage is just a projection of people’s fears? Doesn’t a cornered animal lash out and bite more because of fear than because of anger? Well, I think a lot of people today are covering up their anxieties and fears with anger, with outrage, with acts of violence.
Today’s first reading is from the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah certainly lived in difficult times. Israel was beset by enemies that were erasing her from the map, many of the Jews had fallen into idol worship. Jeremiah, perhaps, is the Old Testament prophet who most resembled Jesus. Like Jesus, he was lied about, he was persecuted, he was betrayed by false friends. Yet, though he was beset by “terror on every side,” he did not give in to fear. Though he faced discrimination and intimidation, he did not surrender to fear. Why? Jeremiah suffered threats, bullying and worse but he did not give in, he did not submit to his oppressors.
Why? He tells us himself. “The Lord is with me, like a mighty champion. My persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.” He’s not worried about seeking vengeance for the wrongs done to him. He trusts that the Lord will take care of that.
The Mass reminds us that we are not alone. Like Jeremiah, we can say: God is with us. We belong to Him – and since we all are members of One Body, the Body of Christ, we also belong to one another. Our unity is found – not in race, language, class, or economic status. Our unity is found in Christ who has made us all brothers and sisters. And we remain brothers and sisters, even when we fail each other or sin against another.
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus tells us: “Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.” “Do not be afraid,” he says again. “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” He repeats the phrase again, “Do not be afraid, for you are worth more than many sparrows...”
You know Scripture scholars say that they can find in the Bible 365 times in which God or one of his angels tells someone: “Do not be afraid.” You could say that’s a Bible verse for every day of the year. This must be an important piece of advice.
So, we can understand why God tells us, “Don’t be afraid.” Pope St. John Paul II visited over 100 countries and his first words upon arriving were usually, “Be not afraid.” Be not afraid because it is fear that most undermines the unity of God’s people. Even if it is only fear of the opinion of others – it is fear that can keep us from doing what we know is right. It is that fear of what others might think of us, or do to us, that we fail to “acknowledge” Christ in word and or deed before others.
We can become slaves of our fears – and sometimes fear can be just as strong as the shackles used to enslave. We only know freedom when we overcome our fears. Even a man unjustly imprisoned or enslaved can be free – if he has conquered his fear. Overcoming fear does not mean denying fear – after all we should fear the devil, we should fear sinning, but it means not allowing our fears to define us, to imprison us so that, as I said, we do not do what we know is right.
Jeremiah conquered his fears because he knew God was with him. And Jesus in the Gospel today tells us not to be afraid because his Father cares for us – even the hairs of your head are counted.
Do not be afraid, Jesus tells us, because you have immense worth in God’s eyes. If we see ourselves as worthless, or we allow ourselves to think of another as worthless, then what’s left to defend. We lose our sense of dignity, our personhood. If we give into our fears, those fears will only continue to divide us, and paralyze us.
Today, we celebrate our unity in Christ. As St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading: “But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one-man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.”
In unity there is strength, in unity there is love – and love casts out all fear.
“Sing to the Lord,” the reading from Jeremiah concludes. “Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked.”
