St Ignatius Parish

9^th Sunday of Ordinary time ~ 1 June 2008

Pat O'Sullivan, in his new book Prayer and Relationships has this story of a priest on his way to Beirut airport, when they were attacked. When the shooting stopped, two soldiers appeared, and one of them ordered the priest to take off his cross. The priest answered that he would never take it off, and after some time the priest told the soldier that if he wanted to, he could take it off. The soldier did and threw the cross away. The soldier then said to the priest: “You must never do that again.” But the priest answered “No, you must never do that again; you are much greater than what you have done.” The soldier argued that the priest just did not understand, that there was fighting going on, and shooting and that they were all in danger. The priest insisted that he too had been shot at, but to the soldier: “You are greater than what you have done.” The story ends with the soldier retrieving the cross and handing it back to the priest.

So how do we understand that we are greater than what we do? Where is our true greatness?

To embrace the values that Jesus sets forth throughout the Sermon-insisting upon forgiveness, non-retaliation, love of enemies, and so forth-is to embrace a very vulnerable way of life as far as the standards of the world are concerned. It would seem to mean building the “house of one's life” upon a very shaky foundation indeed. Jesus insists, however, that taking his words to heart and following his way is to build our life on true greatness, on the rock, not of convenience or wealth or self satisfaction or self preservation, but on the rock of God's faithfulness.

We may not have bullets fired at us, or be in that kind of danger, but we do harbour hurts. And we know how important it is for us to be right, and make it known that we are right. And yet we are greater than all that, and the invitation of Jesus is to enter that reality, within the heart of God.