By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily while celebrating the annual Unity Mass in observance of Juneteenth (June 19), hosted by the archdiocesan Office for Black Catholic Ministry, June 23, 2024, at St. Clement Parish in Wilton Manors.
At this Mass for Unity against Racism we see well represented the African diaspora present here in South Florida. African Americans are a diverse group. There are of course, those whose ancestors came here against their will, brought here as slaves; but an increasing number of Black people living in the US have migrated here looking for freedom and opportunity, the freedom and opportunity won during the civil rights era by the descendants of the enslaved.
Almost 5 million Black immigrants live in the US today. Black immigrants have contributed significantly to the growth and diversity of the overall Black population in the United States.
Some 2 million immigrants are from Africa. That is about 43% of Black immigrants in the US; another 47% come from the Caribbean, mainly Haiti and Jamaica, the rest come from Central and South America.
Here in South Florida, where many African Americans can trace their ancestry to the Bahamas, immigration has long been a factor in our communities.
This is important to acknowledge as we call for unity against racism – because today immigration has become a divisive topic in our nation.
Today when most people would hesitate to say anything – at least in polite company – that might be perceived as being racist, anti-immigrant slurs in the current climate often get a pass. The immigration system is broken, and often as we saw in the 80’s with the unequal treatment afforded black Haitians as opposed to white Cubans, the system is far from being “color blind”.
We do need to fix the broken system; we do need to make sure that the laws are enforced equitably and that our borders are secured. But we must not allow ourselves to demonize the immigrant, who is after all, a brother or sister made in the image and likeness of God. And very likely might look like you. But in any case, didn’t Jesus himself say, I was a stranger and you welcomed me?
But injustice prevails when those in power, when special interests use divide and conquer tactics to keep those without power squabbling among themselves.
Unity, brothers and sisters! Unity! Because today we all are in the same boat. And can we all not identify with the disciples on the boat in the storm: they felt adrift at sea: don’t we feel adrift at times; they felt up to their necks in difficulty: haven’t we felt the same as we face the twist and turns of our lives; they felt powerless in the face of the threat of the crashing waves: how often do we not feel powerless and overwhelmed?
The experience of the disciples is not alien to us, and we believe that Jesus accompanies us on our journey to God, he is “on board” with us.
In the light of the Resurrection, we know that Jesus is the Son of God, but do we have the faith that Jesus will stay with us even during threats and danger and storm. And to be sure, when we look around the world and see the chaos and disorder all around us, we might wonder if Jesus has chosen to sleep through the disaster. We know that his presence is no insurance against our own fear and anxiety. But to journey with Jesus is to journey through storms, not around them. The disciples went on to face shipwreck, hardship and rejection. And certainly many -like Jesus himself – came face to face with a violent death and martyrdom.
What kept them going is what must keep us going – a dogged belief that Jesus is Lord, he is Lord of all the chaos, a stubborn faith that there is no storm that will not be stilled at last by the peace of his presence.
Every Mass, every Eucharist, is a re-presentation of his death on the cross. Our communion in His Body and Blood in which we share should dispel all fear and inspire in us total trust. Jesus says to his disciples, “Why are you terrified? Do you not have faith?”. And, as we endure our storms of our lives, as we face those winds that buffet us and try to drive us off course, Jesus says the same to us; to which we must seek to respond in faith, “Jesus, I trust in you!”
Once the waters were calmed the disciples asked themselves: “Who then is this whom even the wind and sea obey?” We know the answer to this question – the disciples would not know, or they would not fully understand until after the Resurrection – for the answer to the question is that Jesus is the Son of God. To affirm that Jesus is God is what makes us Christians.
We face stormy seas – we face political, economic, social, and perhaps even natural hurricanes. But remember we are in the same boat, and Jesus is there with us.
Thus, this miracle of Jesus’ taming the seas that threaten to overturn their boat points to a greater miracle that is at the heart of Jesus’ mission Jesus brings peace to a stormy sea – and more importantly peace to his terrified disciples. Faith conquers fear – but that faith is not faith in one’s own strength or resources or technological know-how, rather it is faith in the person of Jesus Christ who, as we hear from St. Paul in the second reading, “died for all that those who live might no longer live from themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised”.
As Jesus calms the chaos of the seas, he also calms the chaos of our sins. He tamed the chaos that sin causes in our lives in his death on the Cross.
