Fr. Jeff’s Weekly Homily

August 19, 2007
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

READING 1: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
…draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he should die.

Psalm 40:2, 3, 4, 18
Lord, come to my aid!

READING 2: Hebrews 12:1-4
Brothers and sisters: …let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us…Consider ho he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.

GOSPEL: Luke 12:49-53
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

If you notice some of our favorite movies are epic struggles. People are beaten down by an oppressive force and a hero comes to rescue them. Often, as in Braveheart and the Gladiator the hero suffers and dies for the cause. Sometimes in our movies the good guy looks bad and the bad guy looks like the good. We could be confused if we didn’t already know that Bourne’s identity is good although he appears to be a renegade, a rogue, a troublemaker and the CIA chief is bad, although he appears to be all knowing, comforting and stable. The reason these movies have such appeal is because they are our stories; they are the story of our salvation.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem so long ago our hero arrived; he established a beachhead in this world. The age old struggle between good and evil escalated in a marked division. Hence, he proclaimed the two greatest commandments are Love God with your whole heart, your whole mind, and your whole soul (does he leave anything out?) and love your neighbor as yourself (when you remember the story of the Good Samaritan, does he leave anyone out?). Jesus came to make it clear that the things that draw us closer to God also draw us closer to each other and to all God’s beloved. Sometimes evil masquerades as good and good doesn’t look like the smart thing to do. It is easy to get confused. That is why we gather into a community; that’s why we look to the church for guidance; we have chosen sides in this epic battle and we have chosen Jesus’ side.

Coach Billy Donovan preached “team” from the first day he started coaching at Florida . Through the years he coached many excellent athletes but when he finally got players who believed what the coach preached, he showed what he could do with believers by winning two national championships.

As we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of our Queen of Peace Catholic Community, we realize this is a team effort. We take a core team approach, which we learned from the M.O.M.S. ministry, and apply it to everything we do here. We have accomplished a lot in these 20 years, but it is not the bricks and mortar on this beautiful campus alone, even more it is a story of community, of team work, of the movement of the Holy Spirit. Everything we are, we are because God loves us and we love God and each other. Congratulations everyone; please enjoy this short version of our parish history [show video now].

“God is good.” “All the time”…and so are you, thank you!

Fr. Jeff McGowan
Queen of Peace Catholic Community
Gainesville, Florida