Homily for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 14, 2006

There was a boy who found a turtle. He started to examine it, but the turtle pulled in its head and closed its shell like a vice. The boy was upset, and he picked up a stick to pry it open.

The boy’s uncle saw all this and remarked, “No, that’s not the way! In fact, you may kill the turtle, but you’ll not get it to open up with a stick.”

The uncle took the turtle into the house and set it near the fireplace. It wasn’t but a few minutes until it began to get warm. Then the turtle pushed out its head, stretched out its legs and began to crawl. “Turtles are like that,” said the uncle, “and people, too. You can’t force them into anything. But if you first warm them up with some real kindness, more than likely they’ll open up and cooperate.”

In today’s gospel, Jesus reacts warmly to the people before him. We learn that “Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Jesus then gathers some disciples around him, teaches them, and then sends them out on a mission of kindness and compassion. The directions they are given are full of healing and reviving. Think of the verbs that define their mission: cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. It’s similar to the uncle’s advice regarding the turtle: You can’t force them into anything, but if you first warm them up with some real kindness, then they’ll be open to the message you bring.

I recently came across a list of questions that had to do with what the author called “second-coming compliance.” He wanted to make sure we would be ready for Jesus’ return by going through a check-list, and determining if we are carrying out Jesus’ mission:

·      Have you fed the hungry lately?

·      Have you been building up one another with words of encouragement?

·      Have you been reconciling enemies, making peace, and comforting those who mourn?

·      What have you done to reduce the violence in your community? What about reducing the violent rages in your own heart?

·      In what ways have you hungered and thirsted for justice, and not sought vengeance?

·      Have you told people about God’s love for them?

·      Are your treasures stored up in heaven or in a safety deposit box?

If Jesus were here in bodily form in our day, I think he might feel the same way as back then. His heart would be moved with pity because the people seem to be troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd—people who have gotten the short end of the stick.

Back then, he sent out the twelve apostles to do something about it. Today it would be us.