Homily: 5th Week of Lent - Friday - Hard Days Ahead

Today’s readings, just one week from Good Friday, grow more ominous as the enemies of Jesus seek to put him to death.  What threatens them the most?  He looks them squarely in the eye and speaks the truth.  They want to kill him in order to stop the message of the gospel he brings to them.

We all want to be liked and approved for what we do, but what do we do when our actions elicit not approval from others but criticism and even persecution?

Within hours of his election as Holy Father, Pope Francis was receiving angry criticism from those who hate the Church’s teaching on marriage and family.  This loveable and humble man is hated because he teaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ.    

God may call us, as God called Jeremiah and Jesus, to stand up for righteousness and truth even though this righteousness and truth may not be accepted in our communities, in our workplaces, or even in our families: to call people back to Mass who have fallen away, to call people back to prayer, to call people back to works of charity.

As we move into Holy Week with Jesus, we realize poignantly that being a faithful disciple of Jesus may not always be easy.  If we are honest, I think we already know this.  Facing temptation is hard: resisting that urge to argue when we are annoyed with someone and their uninformed opinions.  Choosing to act out of faith even when our feelings want to go in another direction is hard.

It’s easy to believe in Jesus when we are in the Church, surrounded by sacred images, preparing to receive Jesus in Holy Communion.  We must allow our Christian faith to shape our attitudes and behavior and decisions both at Church and in the world.

Even though, today’s Gospel began with a group of people wanting to stone him to death, Jesus spoke to the truth, and recall the last line of the Gospel: “And many there began to believe in him.”

We are on the verge of a very intense week in the Church year, and we reflect upon how the gentle and humble Lord Jesus calls us to carry the cross with him, to face persecution with Him, to speak the truth with Him, to suffer for others with Him, to call sinners to repentance with Him, to die with Him, that we may rise with Him for the glory of God and salvation of souls.