Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 6, 2025

A few years ago, I was preparing to go on a trip and, in my preparations, I was watching one of those Rick Steves videos; Rick Steves is like a tour guide.  And, at one point, he mentioned the issue of pickpockets, which made me a little nervous.

So, I started watching YouTube videos on how to avoid getting pick-pocketed. And, I learned, there’s all these techniques, like how to tie your backpack to the leg of a table, or how to keep a secondary fanny-pack under your shirt. And, as I was clicking on these videos, one popped up on how to not get mugged in New York City. So, I clicked into that.


And, in that video, a guy was explaining that, if you are passing a stranger, and they, in a very friendly way, say something like, “Hey, come here,” or, “Can I ask you something,” the wise response would be to raise your hands and, in a very loud voice, say, “No thank you,” and keep walking, and, in that way, you’re drawing attention to the situation and you’re not getting any closer.


And, he further explained that people who are trying to be polite and don’t know better, will go in closer to the stranger and, what will happen is, when you get close enough, they will show a gun or a knife, or say something threatening, like, “Give me everything in your pockets.” And they can do this in broad daylight because, to a passerby, it looks as if you’re having an intimate conversation. But, if you respond loudly and keep walking, the mugger can’t make you a target.


…In a similar way, when Jesus is sending out his 72 disciples, He knows they’re heading into hostile territory. The territory He’s sending them into is not Jewish but pagan. Those people generally did not like Jews and they certainly did not see anything good about their religion. So, Jesus tells them, “Greet no one on the way,” because, to do so, would open them to very unnecessary risk. Jesus knew they were not strong enough to fight off robbers; they would not survive such an encounter and be able to reach their destination.


…We too, as practicing Catholics in Buffalo, find ourselves in hostile territory. For example, last week, I was called by a dear friend who asked if I was listening to WBEN radio. I said “no,” and she started to lament how many awful things were being said about the Catholic Church in Buffalo. And I just told her to turn it off; in other words: walk away from that.


…Listening to very negative talk, whether it’s on the radio, social media, television, or the newspaper, is like taking the very unnecessary risk of stopping for a stranger in hostile territory. And, in this case we don’t risk losing our wallet or purse, but our faith. 

…Fear and hate, which comes from people who are hurt and do not have the internal resources to cope in a healthy way; fear and hate are used by them to rob others of their peace, joy, and faith. Fear and hate are lies told to us to make us turn against each other and to convince us to give up our mission; in this case: to turn against our local church and leave the faith which has been handed down to us by Jesus and the Apostles.


We’re on a mission from Jesus, and Jesus knows that if we stop to listen to the words of Satan, we are not strong enough to fight that hate and fear transmitted. Therefore, we must keep moving forward. Let people feel what they want; let them speak words of absurd ignorance, but we must not allow them to rob us of our joy, peace, and faith. The territory is hostile and what we risk to lose is far too valuable; listening to hate and fear is not worth the risk of failing to stay in the Church Jesus founded.



Scripture readings for this day: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070625.cfm

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