20th Sunday through year A

Introduction

We are already seeing various manifestations of racism and nationalism in our society. People and groups with a limited size of their reason and heart fight against minorities and people with a different skin color. They are often quietly supported by both smarter people and Christians. It is therefore useful for us to reflect a little on these issues from the perspective of our faith and our Christianity. Bible reading allows us to do this and shed light on this issue. The first reading of the prophet Isaiah takes us back to Old Testament times. On the one hand, there are Jews, a nation chosen by God, and on the other hand, other people, pagans. The Jews sought to separate themselves from them and considered them inferior. Nevertheless, the prophet Isaiah informs his cousins ​​that God is fond of strangers who honor and love him, who do not desecrate the Sabbath and offer him sacrifices. This message is to help Jews accept strangers who believe in the same God.

Sermon

The apostle Paul, on the other hand, comments on the opposite situation. Jesus’ salvation also passed on to the Gentiles, and so the question arises: what is their relationship to the Jews? He does not speak of any discrimination or racism, but: “God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable.” This means that the Jews will continue to remain a chosen nation, but their unbelief has served to spread the gifts and graces of salvation to all people. Finally, we have before us a meeting of Jesus with a pagan woman in her territory. She begs him to heal her daughter. Jesus refuses at first, but when he sees her faith and perseverance, he fulfills her request. In the first phase, Jesus first responds more sharply because he first wanted the Jews to accept his gospel. They were then to hand it over to the Gentiles. But in the second phase of the conversation, Jesus is enthusiastic about the faith of a woman and miraculously crosses the Jewish boundaries and offers himself with his message to the Gentiles as well.

The gospel and the Church have done a lot in history to make all people perceive as brothers and sisters, because Jesus redeemed them all and we all have one Father. However, we see that this beautiful message still needs to be announced to the world. That is why today’s worship of the Word calls us to be willing to help in this area, to be considered an important expression of our faith. Above all, we must realize that it is our religion and our Church that are most contributing to alleviating the various tensions in this area. We should be proud that St. The father often appeals that no one should suffer and be persecuted because of their nationality, skin color, religious beliefs and opinions. If the pope is such an enthusiast, we cannot go against him. We cannot say: let them drip; let them move; good that someone recharged them. We must help them to the best of our ability.

Of course, there are many specific problems that are caused by those we want to help. But we will not help them by multiplying their evil by ours. Christians have a duty to press society and political power so that everyone respects the law and that everyone is justly punished for those who break them. We know that this is one of the big problems for our company. It is technically called: enforceability of the law. Of course, there are many non-religious institutions in the world that are trying to work in this field. We Christians must also work with them. Even in our country, there are already many young and educated people who are professionally and professionally engaged in this direction. But it will not work without religious upliftment. Only where people can realize what they are, what their value is, where they are going, only there is something that can be done. The Lord God will not reward us for hating, for hiding, for separating, for even fighting others and minorities. Mother Teresa, which was  declared  holy, will not be beatified for seeing an Indian lying on the street when she saw him  and she wouldn’t help him.

You see what God’s word requires of us. You may have said so far that it doesn’t concern us that much. Unfortunately, because many Christians around the world are saying this, we now have many problems. This also applies to us. It also depends on us what the opinion will be in our surroundings when we encounter various types of intolerance and aggression. And not just opinion, but also concrete actions. Whether good or bad.