November 13, 2016
Editor’s note: Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached a homily for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C) on November 13, 2016 at the Heritage Park Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center in Austin, TX. Instead of sharing that homily online, Fr. Rich has written a separate reflection for dissemination on the internet this weekend. It is also based on the day’s readings: Malachi 3:19-20a; Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19.
For the past eleven and a half months, we’ve been working our way through the Gospel of Luke. In this next-to-last week, Jesus speaks about the end of the world, predicting insurrections, persecutions, and trials. In light of the presidential election this past week, we seem to be in a time of trial. Some people think that it is the end of the world. But let’s remember: in almost every moment since Jesus uttered these predictions, people were convinced that Jesus spoke about their present moment.
Jesus also assures his followers that he will give them “a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.”
In this moment when our nation feels so divided, let us ask God to shower us with wisdom and mercy!
This year has exposed deep divisions in American society, including divisions of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, economic status, education level, sexual orientation, and immigration status. It seems as if everyone feels hurt, unheard, marginalized, powerless, and scared. And this has led to a rise in depression, fear, and anger in our country. What are we supposed to do, as a nation, to heal?
Before the election, it was alleged that Trump’s supporters were angry and out-of-touch, and that Johnson’s and Stein’s supporters were naïve. After the election. it is alleged that Clinton’s supporters are angry and out-of-touch, and that Johnson’s and Stein’s supporters have thrown the election. Everyone feels attacked. What are we supposed to do, as a nation, to heal?
The conventional wisdom is that we are to look for common ground. But is there common ground? Are we able to listen to one another, when professional polling organizations can’t determine what people saying? It’s become a common refrain: no matter where someone sits on the political spectrum, when they talk about someone or something elsewhere on the spectrum, they cannot understand how anyone could vote for that particular person or idea. What are we supposed to do, as a nation, to heal?
I have three perspectives to offer. First, my persective from statistics. Donald Trump made misogyinstic remarks – some of which included terms we did not want to explain to our children – prompting many people to say, “I can’t understand how any woman could vote for Trump.” Yet 42% of American women did. Donald Trump insulted Hispanics, prompting many people to say, “I can’t understand how anyone Hispanic could vote for Trump.” Yet 29% of American Hispanics did, a higher percentage than voted for Mitt Romney four years ago. Some people said, “I can’t imagine how an intelligent person could vote for Trump.” Yet 45% of college graduates did. Clearly, these women, these Hispanics, and these graduates had reasons.
Second, my perspective as someone who has lived in 15 different ZIP codes in 9 different states. My hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is probably the “rust belt” city that has staged the most successful economic recovery over the past several decades. It is flourishing with good-paying jobs. But my friends and family in the neighboring counties are struggling. The steel mills are long gone, but none of the past 9 presidential administrations – Democratic or Republican – have turned the local economy around. The American dream keeps getting harder to achieve. These friends and relatives cannot understand how some people seem to be more passionate about expanding access to euthanasia than about reducing prescription painkiller addiction. At the same time, other friends around the country are legitimately frightened that they will lose their access to healthcare, their ability to marry, or their freedom from harrassment.
Third, my perspective as a priest. In the past week, friends have confided to me: “I’m scared to tell my friends and neighbors who I voted for.” It’s not just women, Hispanics, and graduates who voted for Trump. It’s not just political conservatives, evangelical Christians, and rural farmers who voted for Clinton. It’s not just the people who chose in good conscience not to vote, or to vote for Johnson or Stein. When we declare that we can’t imagine anyone voting for a particular party or a particular candidate; no wonder we can’t talk charitably about our differences. What are we supposed to do, as a nation, to heal?
We are all children of God. God has made each of us worthy of love and compassion. God has given each of us the ability to share love and compassion with others. I, for one, will lead by love and compassion. I refuse to believe that a large portion of the American electorate is stupid. I refuse to believe that lots of Americans voted for the purpose of suppressing the rights of people who are different from themselves.
In the Catholic Church, we are concluding a year with Luke, the gospel of the Holy Spirit. We are also concluding an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. Today, Jesus speaks of insurrections and trials, but he also promises to bestow wisdom upon those of us undergoing those trials.
How can we find common ground? How can we rekindle compassion for one another? We must trust that God has gifted all people with wisdom and mercy, including the people who disagree with us.
Friends, we are all undergoing a time of trial. Everyone feels attacked, hurt, unheard, marginalized, and powerless. We’re all scared. And that’s common ground. But let’s stop being scared of each other – it doesn’t accomplish anything. All it does is isolate us from one another. Let’s be scared together. When we see injustice – and all of us see injustice every day – let us condemn the injustice, not the people. Instead of having compassion only for the people who agree with us, let’s have compassion for the people who disagree with us. We are each on trial, hoping to speak with Jesus’ wisdom, a wisdom that no one can refute. But everyone else is on trial, too. Let’s listen to the irrefutable wisdom that Jesus is speaking through them, too!
The Holy Spirit dwells within each of us. Let us recognize it one another. Or, to paraphrase a beloved prayer, “O divine Master, may I never seek so much to be consoled, to be understood, or to be loved, as to always seek to console others, to understand others, and – with all my soul – to love others.”