Ordinary 5

The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 58:7-10; Psalm 112; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16

After the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School ten years ago in which 20 children between the ages of six and seven years of age were killed, I finally thought – now it will happen. Parents, grandparents, and the populace in general will be galvanized and finally address gun violence and mass shootings in our country. But I was sorely wrong.

When California recently experienced four mass shootings in a week, I asked, what are we doing to ourselves? It is not the shootings that bother me anymore, I’ve become numb. I am concerned about the inaction of our people. Is this how we want to live?

A mass shooting is defined by the FBI as an event in which one or more individuals are “actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.” A U.S. statute defines a “mass killing” as “3 or more killings in a single incident.”

It is the 36^th day of this year and there have been 54 mass shootings to date in our country, more than one a day. In comparison with other countries in the world, this is a situation that is unique to our nation. Do we ever ask why?

Since the death of 20 children did not move us to ask the question and act, what are our values as Catholic Christians?

“Actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people…” Does this definition not render mass shootings a Pro Life issue? As heinous as abortion is, Pro Life must be an attitude that cuts across the spectrum of all human life. Are the lives of children eager to learn and engaging with their friends and teachers or a group of seniors studying the sacred scriptures somehow less than life in the womb of a mother? Is not all life sacred and from God? Is not every human being the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit?

How are we Christians to respond to this seemingly endless cycle of death that we enable by our inaction? Does our inaction stem from feelings of helplessness because of the complexity of the issue or is it rooted in the present polarization of dialogue in our society? Is this inaction a symptom of a spiritually sick soul? Is there a spiritual component to this issue? And how do we address this in a multi-religious nation? We want to know the motives of the perpetrators of these mass shooting, do we ever question what underlies our inability to act?

Jesus tells us that we are salt and light.

In relation to this recurring violent situation, what does it mean to be salt? Salt is bitter. Not everyone likes a bitter taste. Not everyone likes the teachings of Jesus about the dignity and sacredness of all human life, including that of the perpetrator. Yet when mixed with food bitter salt brings out the fullness of food’s flavour. What can that metaphor teach us? Salt preserves. What are we looking to preserve?

What does it mean to be light? Might being light simply mean asking the uncomfortable questions over and over again?

At the heart of our faith is the event of torturing and executing the God–man, Jesus of Nazareth. We see in the image of the crucifix the mercy and compassion of our God for us. We believe Jesus came to save us through his death. We pray before this image, we adore the cross and even mark our bodies with this sign.

But have we ever gazed upon the crucifix and encountered the underside of that horrific event?

The image of the crucified as starkly laying bare how we treat each other with inaction. Whenever Christians remain silent, people die. Whenever Christian do not act, people die.