The Risky Horizons of the Gospel

Summary of a Fr. Gerry Creedon homily from January 22, 2006

"So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh"

I HAD A CALL TO the hospital last week on a busy Sunday morning. With some reluctance I tore myself away from liturgical and other demands. My frustrations evaporated when I entered the room of a marvelously vibrant older woman from out the countryside. She wanted the sacraments before she would go for cardiac surgery, realizing that her husband had not survived a similar procedure. She laid out in colorful detail the story of her life, so that if she passed away I would know how to celebrate!

She recalled meeting her husband from the Midwest in college, falling in love and going out to meet his family in Indiana, where she claimed everyone is German and Lutheran. Her future mother in law inquired her religious affiliation and ethnic background. She answered, "Catholic" and received a frown, then "Irish," and her mother-in-law hung her head, declaring, "This will be the first breach in the family." They ended up best friends, eventually.

Hopefully those days are behind us. On this Octave of Christian Unity we pray for mutual respect and dialogue among all Christians.

The story of Jonah from today's first reading is instructive. He did not want to go to Nineveh. His mindset was formed; Israel was the Promised Land and Jews the Chosen People. When the reluctant prophet was thrown overboard in a storm he was carried by a whale and vomited out on the shores of Nineveh. The newer, cleaner translation has him 'Spewed out" on the sand. The city of Nineveh heeded the message and repented. The king was the first to sit in sackcloth and ashes. Our leaders are a little slower to admit fault. God relented. Jonah was not happy. He would sooner have these foreigners crushed!

The message of universal love and salvation does not always come easily.

Last week we celebrated Martin Luther King and his message of non-violence. We cannot be selective in the issues that affect human life. This week the March for Life protests the sacredness of the human person and the rights of the unborn child. As a church we need to accompany our protest with action to support women who face difficult pregnancies. Even before our diocese was formed Children's Services of Catholic Charities has been offering this help. I am proud that St. Charles' Borromeo Housing bears an historic witness to life by supporting women in life-affirming choices.

The message of universal love is also tested in our neighborhoods. The town of Herndon was divided about what to do with a congregation of day-laborers that included undocumented immigrants. Today's press reports a heated debate in Alexandria about a Safe Haven for citizens who are homeless and mentally ill.

In our parishes we are also challenged. Our Catholic schools have helped generations of immigrants to integrate into a new world. Yet many of our Latino members perceive our schools as private academies, outside their economic range. Our diocese has initiated a tuition assistance program to ensure that finances are nor a barrier. Last year St. Charles doubled its assistance. On Catholic Schools' Week St. Charles will hold an Open House to provide information on our programs, and offering the hand of welcome to all our families.

All of these varied activities and events that I have mentioned are tied together by a common thread; the call to move out of our comfort zone into the risky horizons of the Gospel. Let us with the apostles leave the familiarity of our fishing nets to follow Him wherever blows the wind.