25th Sunday of Ord Time Cycle B
Anyone
here know who Spike Jones is? There is an old Spike Jones routine, where in the
middle of a musical number the phone rings: bringgg, brrring, brrringgg.
The music stops, the lead singer picks up the phone - one of those old
handsets – and says, “You don’t say!?
You don’t say! You don’t
say?” and then hangs up. The chorus
shouts, “Who was it?” and the lead singer responds, “he didn’t say.” (uproarious laughter fallows)
Two
weeks ago I preached on the Gospel where Jesus heals a man with a speech
impediment, and I reflected on some of the kinds of speech impediments that we
all may suffer from. Not physical speech impediments but emotional,
psychological and spiritual speech impediments, that keep us from speaking up,
from speaking the truth, from asking forgiveness, for speaking for justice and
against bigotry, from praying when we need to, and so on.
And
today in the Gospel we see the disciples with a speech impediment. We heard: “Jesus was teaching his disciples and telling
them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and
three days after
his death the Son of Man will rise.”
But they did not understand the saying, and they
were afraid to question him.” They did not
say.
Were
they afraid that they might look stupid if they questioned Jesus? Or they did not want to appear to be kind of
slow and not in synch with Jesus? Anyone
ever do that, hide your lack of comprehension or understanding by remaining
silent?
Or, and this is most likely, they really did kind of understand what Jesus was saying but really did not want to know and have to face the hard truth of what Jesus was telling them. So they did not ask, because they were afraid to question Jesus and have their fears confirmed. They didn’t say.
But
when they get to home at Capernaum, and Jesus asks them a simple question, “what
were you arguing about on the way?” they again are struck dumb. The Gospel says simply “they remained
silent.” They didn’t say. Presumably they did not want to admit that
they discussing who among them was the greatest. How embarrassing. //
What
am I discussing on my way during this life on earth? When I get home and Jesus asks me, “What
were you discussing and arguing about on the way?” What concerned you? What held you attention? What did you focus on during your life? What pre-occupied you on the road of life?” Will I be able to say, Oh, I preached the
Gospel by what I said and did. I was
concerned with other people, trying to listen to them, help them, support and
educate them. I followed Your way,
Lord.”
Ha, I wish! Or when Jesus asks me or you or you or you, at the end of life’s journey, “What were you concerned about on the way?” will we be silent, struck dumb by shame and embarrassment, like the disciples in today’s Gospel, knowing we had been concerned almost exclusively with our own little selves? //
My
sisters and brothers, Jesus is the very Word of God made flesh. Jesus is the
fullest expression of God the Father, so full and complete that He is God. As St John proclaims in the prologue of his
Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God.” Who better to heal us of our speech
impediment, our focus on our own greatness and importance, and free us to speak
the praises and glory of God, preaching the Good News of the Gospel by our
lives and our words?
In
the Gospel today the disciples (that is us!) are unable to speak, out of fear,
of embarrassment, out of shame. Jesus
can heal us so that we can become Apostles and missionaries, like Peter and
Paul, like Mary of Magdala and Phoebe, no longer silent and dumb, but speaking
in word and in action the praises of God.
Speak out!
