Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent - A

Gen 12:1-4a; Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22; 2 Tim 1:8b-10; Matt 17:1-9

            

           This second week of Lent is a good time for us to reflect on the fact that Lent is not just a time of fasting, almsgiving and prayer. It is also a time of new beginnings. Lent should remind us that each year, each week, each day we have the opportunity to make something new of who we are and where we are going. Sometimes those opportunities come to us just in the normal course of our days, in our morning offering, or in prayer throughout the day. But sometimes they come as a result of an experience we have had of a special closeness to God.

            Have you had one of those encounters? Have you had the experience where you feel like you have had a glimpse of God? They are not all as dramatic as the call to Abram or the Transfiguration – but I do think that they happen more frequently than we might think if we are open to them. We have the opportunity for just such an encounter – a glimpse of God - in our sacraments – especially here in the Eucharist. I know that often we come here on a Saturday or Sunday and kind of go through the motions and we can think that we “get nothing out of it”. But aren’t there times when you come to the Lord’s table here and something happens – you are moved by a song, or a prayer, or a Scripture reading – and you feel that you have gotten a glimpse of  God that has touched you in some way, and deepened your faith, or renewed your hope, or amplified your love?

            It’s not always here in Church, is it? Sometimes we have these glimpses of God in moments of contemplating the beauty of nature, or smile of your child, or the touch of someone you love. Sometimes we get a glimpse of God when help suddenly appears for us out of seemingly nowhere. We get a glimpse of God when we see someone making a sacrifice to help someone else. We get a glimpse of God when we feel loved.

            God called Abram to leave everything he was and everything he had and go to a new place. Think about how hard it is to pick up and leave where you grew up, or where you’ve made a home for yourself – if you’ve done it, you know what I’m talking about. But Abram had had a glimpse of God – and had to follow where he was called.

            Those three apostles, too, up on the mountain – they got a glimpse of the glory of Jesus’ future resurrection. But after the bright light knocks them to the ground, Jesus tells them to get up, not to be afraid, but to go down the mountain. They had a glimpse of God but had to take that encounter to make a difference in their everyday lives.

            Both Abram and the apostles got that glimpse of God and had to learn that God is not contained in just the places that we expect God to be. If we are open to new beginnings this Lent, if we are deepening our prayer life to open ourselves up to those encounters with God, sometimes God breaks through the boundaries of our human experience. If we spend time this Lent in prayer, and paying attention to beauty we might get another glimpse of God. If we look for the good in others and notice the best about those we love, we might get a glimpse of God. If we go beyond our own wants and our own desires, we might get a glimpse of God.

            During this second week of Lent, look for those opportunities to get a glimpse of God. We can make this Lent a time of new beginnings, of being open to those encounters with God, those experiences when we get a glimpse of God – and let God change our hearts.

Racism and the Criminal Justice System

Justice Perspective – March 2014

Deacon Don Weigel

            “The new forms of racism must be brought face to face with the figure of Christ” – US Bishops, Brothers and Sisters to Us.

            There seems to have been so many commemorations of historical moments and movements lately.  In the last six months, we have observed the 50^th anniversaries of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the issuance of the first document of Vatican II on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, and even the Beatles’ first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

            This July we’ll undoubtedly commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act that outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities. Unfortunately, overt forms of discrimination may have been outlawed, but apparently racism is still alive and well.

            In an alarming new report based on data from the NY State Criminal Justice Services, it appears that “representation of the African-American and Hispanic populations is disproportionately high in each stage of the criminal justice process”. And, even worse, “the disparities grow at each stage of the process”. 

            The report was prepared by Open Buffalo, a coalition of a number of civic organizations whose goals are long-term improvements in justice and equity in the Buffalo area. The report shows that in Erie County both African-Americans and Hispanics have higher percentages of arrests, have harsher sentences for convictions, and are less likely to receive probation or have their case dismissed than their White counterparts.

            For example, African-Americans represent about half of those arrested for felonies, but are almost two-thirds of those sentenced to prison for felonies. By contrast, Whites represent about forty percent of those arrested for felonies, but only a little more than a quarter of those sentenced to prison. In other words, African-Americans convicted of felonies are sent to prison more often and for longer terms than Whites who are convicted of felonies.

            Similar patterns appear for misdemeanors, conviction rates, acquittals, and probation. When people of color are at an obvious disadvantage throughout the judicial process, how can we deny that racism plays a part in that disadvantage? As the US Bishops taught in their document Brothers and Sisters to Us, “Racism is apparent when we note that the population in our prisons consists disproportionately of minorities; that violent crime is the daily companion of a life of poverty and deprivation; and that the victims of such crimes are also disproportionately nonwhite and poor. Racism is also apparent in the attitudes and behavior of some law enforcement officials and in the unequal availability of legal assistance.”

            Long ago racism was regularly practiced openly against whatever minority was the object of public scorn at the moment: Irish, Poles, Jews, Blacks, Hispanics, and others. Now racism is less blatant, and more subtle, and, in some respects, even more dangerous because it is even harder to combat and easier to ignore.

            Racism still exists hidden in the structures of our society that are tilted toward the success of the majority and the failure of the minority. Apparently, the criminal justice system is one example of just such a structure.

            The Bishops tell us that this radical evil calls for an equally radical transformation, in our own minds and hearts as well as in the structure of our society. We must be willing to correct our own attitudes, and insist on a correction in the judicial system. But, they remind us, “There must be no turning back along the road of justice”.