31 August 2025 #aGospelworld

Today’s readings are at the heart of what we call “the radical message of the Gospel.” A long time ago in a galaxy not too far away, I taught Confirmation to 8th and 9th grade students using a Confirmation curriculum from Matthew Kelly called Decision Point. One of the mini-sessions was called “Be A Rebel”… as in, forget the tattoos, the sneaking out at night, the weed-smoking, the sexual dabbling, because lots of teens are doing those things and it’s nothing special anymore. You’re just going along with the crowd, with your intellect untried, your body abused, and your soul numbed. You want to stand out in the world? You want people to remember you?

Be a rebel. Be the person God created you to be.

Rebel against the daily-drama-and-trauma and just-following-the-crowd. Do something admirable with your life. Follow Jesus. Jesus was a Rebel; he befriended the lonely, the hurting, the outsider, the sick, and the poor. That’s radical. That’s rebellion. You dislike your world the way it is now? Make it something different. Be a rebel.

The same can be said for us adults.

Our reading from Sirach reminds us to live our lives in humility: Seek what we are capable of changing, acknowledge our limitations, and admit we can do nothing without the Lord. It’s only in that mind-space we can converse with the Lord about the changes we want to make in our own lives - so that we can see where we are called to enact change in culture. St. Mother Theresa said, “I used to think prayer changed things. Now I know that prayer changes me - and I change things.”

Wise words, both.

And how do we approach this honest conversation with the Lord? St. Paul advises us (and the Hebrews) to remember that we do not converse with Him out of fear, in gloomy darkness, or blazing fires.  No. We enter into conversation with Jesus (and the angels, the saints, the Father and the Holy Spirit!) in love. Jesus wants what’s best for us, for his love is borne of the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate love.

He is a rebel who died for his cause: You.

So. We’ll practice humility (Sirach) and converse with the Lord in and out of love (Paul), and then we’ll learn what radical message Jesus wants to give us. In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ message is all about forgetting what the world wants of us - fame, fortune, and honor - and remembering what God asks of us… to use the gifts we’ve been given to help those less fortunate. You see, humility isn’t thinking less of ourselves, it’s thinking of ourselves less. The radical message of the readings today is to leave the world in a kinder, gentler, more loving place than we found it. Like Jesus did.

Now that’s rebellion for you.

With thoughts of new school routines, new freedoms, new opportunities for our kids and ourselves to make our mark in the world, maybe we should humbly ask the Lord what part we can play in his rebellion. #aGospelworld