The First Reading: Isaiah 35: 1-8

The Second Reading: The Letter of James 2: 5-10; 12-13   

Gospel of Mark 7:31-37

Hold that image: Jesus restoring a man’s hearing, offering him a new beginning – a new life using spittle – his own saliva.  That is an earthly vision if there ever was one. Evidently, God’s spirit is active  through the very elements that constitute a human being, and all that Nature comprises. Earthy thought, indeed! Earthiness is part of the mindset we must cultivate. Remember Genesis “then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”  Add a little spittle, a little essence of  Jesus, and we can be born again.  Hear better. See better. Act better. 

Laudato Si insists reminds us of our bodies and insists that our lives are not  “just about us.” Human beings and Nature are interdependent. Remember: we are not the only species to have come from the ground. It is written: “Out of the ground the Lord God made grow every tree” and “out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the air.”  That is our deep truth.  And truth evokes responsibility, remembering that God placed Adam and Eve on the earth: “to cultivate and care for it.”  

We have heard these words at the beginning of our lives–from childhood for most of us. And we have heard them many times since– yes!  But in these perilous times, we have come up short! We find ourselves lacking in creative cultivation of what surrounds us; failing to prioritize the interconnectedness “of all things now living.”  Many of us are suffer from inertia.  After all, what can we do?  The answer should be quite clear: Return to the Paschal Mystery!  It is TIME  for a stronger identification with Christ, the earthbound Incarnation of the Word. 

Ah, but the eternal pattern of Dying and Rising is growing out of favor these days. We like the rising, we don’t like the dying.  Yet did not Our Lord say, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit?” What prevents us from surrendering to death, to change, to rejuvenation and renewal? The Letter of James warns us against Favoritism – a frequent source of inertia. Indeed, our society encourages us to favor ourselves over others. 

Western culture insists we participate in its vision of progress – and who doesn’t like progress? But this progress is based on an economy that advances some at the expense of others. Parts of the world, even people in our own country, go without, or go with less, so we may have more. The earth’s resources are depleted, and animals suffer through it all.  Thus, WE SIN, as Scriptures says, “you are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.”   It is the Law of the Gospel that convicts us. Not the laws of our culture, for these days our society appears to foster hedonism along with progress.  

But take heart! Strength lies in numbers, friends, and from the number of people here, and the people and parishes we represent, there is hope that our collaboration will turn the tide of earth’s Calamity.  How? Through repentance, through prayer, solidarity, and true Worship. Thank God we came to Mass tonight!  We need God’s help, and with God’s help we shall overcome.

 The task before us is daunting — nothing less than turning our society inside out! But “inside out” is the Gospel, is it not?  “The Great Reversal” lifted up the lowly, empowering the deaf to hear contemporary prophets, awakening the weary and downhearted, revitalizing the faithful so that every animal, vegetable, and mineral our land, for our future will flourish. Hear it! See it! Live it! 

Tonight, we ask Jesus to strengthen us, to remind us that as we consume His Very Essence in this Eucharist, the Incarnation of the Holy extends through us. Connecting our bodies to His –from the ground up! Now is the time to enflesh Isaiah’s words anew all in our  Imitation of Christ, to ‘strengthen hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak.” Even knowing that at times those hands and knees may be our own. 

1. This homily emphasized that, like all plants and animals, God designed humanity to come from the earth. Do you feel comfortable or uncomfortable with this image? Why or Why not?
2. What are your thoughts about the “Great Reversal” of our society and culture to create a more
   inclusive world-view with other peoples and with Nature? What might need to be “reversed?”
   What may need to be retained?
3. How do you navigate the reality of change and proposals for change? Share fears, anxieties,
   hopes, and dreams.