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29 Sep 2013 - Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Jesus tells one his great stories to offer a lesson about the dangers of exclusion to those great purists and excluders, the Pharisees. First of all, change of status can be quick and permanent: The rich man goes from a lavish lifestyle to torment in the netherworld, while Lazarus is transported from abject beggar to the bosom of Abraham. But the rich man still doesn’t get it. He’s so spiritually blind that he still thinks Lazarus is his servant, and he shows only a flicker of conscience about warning his brothers, which is impossible anyway. He had his chance. He had the teaching given to Israel to instruct him in the ways of mercy. You are just as blind as the rich man, Jesus is saying to his listeners, and chances are you won’t get the message either, even though the testimony is right in front of your faces. If you can start welcoming the sinner now, however, there may still be hope for you in eternity.

Authors Joel Schorn

lazarus exclusion

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California regrets its past China syndrome

26 Jul 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Lord is just in all his ways, the psalmist tells us this Sunday. Humanity, however, often falls short on the justice meter. Last Friday the California legislature approved a landmark bill to apologize to the state's Chinese-American community for racist laws enacted as far back as the mid-19th century Gold Rush. The laws, some of which were not repealed until the 1940s, barred Chinese from owning land or property, marrying whites, working in the public sector, and testifying against whites in court. The new bill also recognized the contributions Chinese immigrants have made to the state, particularly their work on the transcontinental railroad. "It's symbolic to recognize that the state made mistakes," said assembly member Paul Fong, who cosponsored the legislation with assembly member Kevin de Leon. "These laws reverberate to this date because racism still exists." Said Donald Tamaki, a San Francisco-based attorney who helped overturn wrongful World War II-era convictions of Japanese Americans: "Part of what a humane society does is recognize past injustices and address them." Fong now plans to take the issue to the U.S. Congress, where he will request an apology for the Chinese Exclusion Act, the only federal law ever enacted to deny immigration based exclusively on race or nationality. Passed in 1882, the law was not fully repealed until 1943, after China and the U.S. became allies during the Second World War. The apology is the latest in a wave of official acts of remorse around the globe. In 2006 Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a similar apology, expressing regret to Chinese Canadians for unequal taxes imposed on them in the late 19th century. Last February Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized to his country's Aborigines for racist laws of the past, including the forced separation of children from their parents. Source: An article by Ling Wood Liu for TIME

california aborigines kevin rudd chinese canadians stephen harper chinese exclusion act donald tamaki paul fong chinese americans apologies

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Homily stories

27 Sep 2009 - Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Our track record as a church is, alas, not much better than the rest of society. We have our own sad history of excluding people from our pews, our sacraments, our schools, only because of their accents or the color of their skin. How we could have possibly justified such behavior when confronted with readings from scripture like this Sunday’s remains a mystery. These days, unfortunately, in too many places, this behavior continues, albeit a little more sophisticatedly. Homes have become so expensive that some people virtually ensure that those unlike them will not be able to live nearby or associate with them as equals. Let them work at fast food restaurants or watch the baby or clean the house, but not live next door. Instead of demanding affordable housing in all communities, money is spent building fences and gates to exclude others. Property values have become the driving forces in people’s lives, not human values. When behavior excludes people of goodwill who are doing the best they can, like Eldad and Medad, like those in the gospel kicking out demons, such exclusion becomes the antithesis of what is demanded of us as Christians. When we do what we do in God’s name for the good of others, we become equal in each other’s sight, as we always have been in God’s.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

value exclusion god's name

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Homily stories

30 Sep 2018 - Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Our track record as a church is, alas, not much better than the rest of society. We have our own sad history of excluding people from our pews, our sacraments, our schools, only because of their accents or the color of their skin. How we could have possibly justified such behavior remains a mystery. These days, unfortunately, in too many places, this behavior continues, albeit a little more sophisticatedly. Homes have become so expensive that some people virtually ensure that those unlike them will not be able to live nearby or associate with them as equals. Let them work at fast food restaurants or watch the baby or clean the house, but not live next door. Instead of demanding affordable housing in all communities, money is spent building fences and gates to exclude others. Property values have become the driving forces in people’s lives, not human values. When behavior excludes people of goodwill who are doing the best they can, like Eldad and Medad, like those in the gospel kicking out demons, such exclusion becomes the antithesis of what is demanded of us as Christians. When we do what we do in God’s name for the good of others, we become equal in each other’s sight, as we always have been in God’s.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

exclusion Eldad and Medad

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Homily stories

31 Mar 2024 - Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday), Cycle B

On the occasion of his 50th birthday, a man’s spouse decided to host a surprise celebration. The spouse booked a private dining room and sent invitations to select friends. No one knew who else was invited and all were told to keep it secret. Nearing the day of the event as people were making plans, good friends who were not invited finally got wind of the big party. Some were surprised but shrugged it off; others were shocked, confused, and deeply hurt. The decision seemed arbitrary and intentionally mean-spirited, and it caused rifts in relationships that took a long time to heal. As the spouse would surely come to learn, excluding people from social—or financial, political, or spiritual access—brings heartache to all involved. That is what makes the story of Easter so exceedingly joyful. No one is excluded from the table of the Lord. All are welcome. Indeed, the Lord has sent each of us a personal invitation through his death and Resurrection to feel the embrace of God’s love and enter into the glory of everlasting life!

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

exclusion welcome

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Homily stories

29 Sep 2024 - Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Our track record as a church is, alas, not much better than the rest of society. We have our own sad history of excluding people from our pews, our sacraments, our schools, only because of their accents or the color of their skin. How we could have possibly justified such behavior when confronted with readings from scripture like this Sunday’s remains a mystery. These days, unfortunately, in too many places, this behavior continues, albeit a little more sophisticatedly. Homes have become so expensive that some people virtually ensure that those unlike them will not be able to live nearby or associate with them as equals. Let them work at fast food restaurants or watch the baby or clean the house, but not live next door. Instead of demanding affordable housing in all communities, money is spent building fences and gates to exclude others. Property values have become the driving forces in people’s lives, not human values. When behavior excludes people of goodwill who are doing the best they can, like Eldad and Medad, like those in the gospel kicking out demons, such exclusion becomes the antithesis of what is demanded of us as Christians. When we do what we do in God’s name for the good of others, we become equal in each other’s sight, as we always have been in God’s.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

exclusion

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