1. The homily discusses the transition back to Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar after Pentecost. It notes that the upcoming weeks will focus on walking through the Gospel of Matthew. 2. Matthew's gospel highlights Jesus' conflicts with religious authorities and calls disciples to help those in need. Today's reading focuses on Jesus sending out disciples with instructions. 3. The homily argues that being a disciple and living as Christ calls is difficult and requires courage. It encourages examining where one sees darkness and light in their life and society, and having the courage to live the gospel and be a light for others.

1. 1 Deacon Jim Knipper
21 June 2020 12th
Sunday in Ordinary Time Princeton, NJ
You may have noticed that we are back to wearing green vestments – something we have not seen
on a Sunday since February. And it is a reminder that we have reentered Ordinary Time of our
Liturgical year…ordinary in the sense that the Sunday’s are simply numbered – today being the 12th
Sunday. But in many Christian denominations, the Sundays are numbered as they relate to
Pentecost. So today is the 3rd
Sunday after Pentecost. Personally, I like this nomenclature, which
we actually used prior to Vatican II, because it is a weekly reminder of our baptism and our mission
– that as disciples of Christ, we are sent out to spread the Good News. So how will the next 21
weeks of marked time help us understand what discipleship needs to look like in this year which is
like no other that we have known?
Well, we will spend these weeks walking through the Gospel written to us by Matthew who is a
convert writing to a community of Jewish Christians – thus a writer who feels the wounds of being
rejected by the Jews. So we will hear passages where Jesus is in conflict with the Scribes and
Pharisees as he breaks away from certain Jewish beliefs giving new meaning and weight to many of
the Judaic Laws. And at the end of his Gospel, Matthew will summarize our mission that as disciples
of Christ we are called to feed the hungry, care for the sick and are to welcome the stranger.
Thus as we reenter this Liturgical Season of Ordinary Time, or this post-Pentecost season, it is no
surprise that today’s Gospel finds us in the middle of Matthew’s 10th
chapter - which is often called
the Discourse on the Mission – for it is focused on the selection and job description for the disciples.
We will hear more of it next week, but allow me to go back a few lines so that you have a greater
context as to what the disciples were called to do.
They were to find those who are lost…to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and drive
out demons. They were not to take any payment and matter of fact were told not to take any extra
clothes, shoes or even a walking stick – and for housing, they were to find a home of a worthy
person and to stay there. They were warned that they will be disliked and will be handed over to
authorities and will be hated because of their teachings of Jesus. And as they go forth preaching
the Gospel they will experience persecution and rejection by their own people. Overall a job
description that lacks a great deal of appeal!
But then again we shouldn’t be too surprised. After all, today’s Gospel reinforces what we already
know 2,000 years later – that being a disciple is not that easy…living a life rooted in Christ is not that
easy…standing up for those living on the margins and who are persecuted is not easy. Speaking up
for those who are trying “to breathe” in this society regardless of race, creed, color or sexual
orientation is not easy and calming those who are currently living in fear – is not at all easy. For
discipleship requires courage.
In a recent interview, African-American, Fordham Jesuit, Bryan Massingale said this, “Thomas
Aquinas taught us that courage (fortitude) is the precondition of all virtues. For without courage we
are not able to be ‘prudent and just’ because courage is that virtue that allows us to surmount the
fear that comes with following the Gospel. Moral courage is what translates conviction into action.
So this is the reason why we need courage – especially in the pursuit of racial justice.”

2. 2 Deacon Jim Knipper
You see, Matthew’s Discourse on Mission reminds us that courage is derived by our ability and need
for us to let go…let go of our fears…to let go of trying to be in control…to let go of the need for
power, prestige, and possessions…to let go of judging others in order to make our small-self feel
important and superior and privileged.
But, for most, all that letting go of being in control feels more like suffering. Something that none of
us really enjoy and yet all of us were thrust into during this Great Pandemic Pause of the past 3
months. But it would seem that some form of suffering is absolutely necessary, since the ego does
not surrender without a fight to its death. But this form of suffering, or darkness teaches us how to
live beyond the illusion of control and to give that control back to God, freeing us to have the
courage to be present in the here and now.
John of the Cross, Gerald May and others have written about "the dark night of the soul," – where
everything we believe in collapses and we see the old structures of our lives come crashing down.
But God teaches the soul most profoundly through that darkness – and not just light. And there is no
doubt that these past months have thrown all of us into a great deal of darkness: darkness in our
own personal lives with the impact of the virus and darkness in our communities as we face the
ever-present and deeply rooted sin of racial injustice. But we need to be reminded that God is in that
darkness waiting for us, guiding us, and being that spark of light for us to see and then grasp so that
we can then go out to the world as that Light. Trials and tribulations and darkness all teach us how
to trust in a very practical way that a good and loving God is always guiding us.
But like a child who is learning to walk – we will fall and fail – all of us in some way. But like that
toddler, we learn from our failings and we learn to pick ourselves up and so…we can then pick each
other up…allowing us to move forward together as one, remembering that even our mistakes will be
used in our favor, if we allow them to be. It is the way to transformative love. Darkness, mistakes,
and trials are the supreme teachers. Whereas success actually teaches you nothing; it just feels
good.
So this week, I invite you to take some time to examine what space you are living in right now.
Where is the darkness in your life and in our society? Where is the light – and how can we be
Light? What are you afraid of and what courage do you and I need to muster? The side benefit of
the quarantine is that we have been forced to live in the present moment. So embrace that and stop
wasting time obsessing over what has happened in the past or fretting and trying to control what will
happen in the future. We have spent so many months waiting to come back here and receive the
Body of Christ – it is time we focus on being the Body of Christ to all others…to be open to true
discipleship…to be open to the mistakes in our life without fearing the grace-filled darkness – and to
have the courage, honesty and conviction to live the Gospel and be the light to and for all people.