22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
Jer 20:7-9; Rom 12:1-2; Mt 16:21-27

+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
31 Aug 2008

Chapter sixteen of Matthew’s gospel is important for Catholics because it recounts Jesus appointing Simon as the “rock-man”, Peter, on whom he would build the Church and early in the next chapter, six days afterwards according to Matthew, Peter is invited with James and John to participate in the miracle of the Transfiguration.

In between these two high points however Jesus rebukes Peter roughly, calling him “Satan” and telling him to get out of his way, to get behind him, simply because Simon does not want Jesus to suffer as He predicted He would.

This brings us to suffering and the Christian understanding of suffering which increasingly differentiate us as Christians from the explicit non-Christians around us.

Those who are anti-Christians or even explicitly irreligious are a much smaller group then the nearly twenty per cent of Australians, who say they belong to no religion, because many of the instincts, practices and beliefs of this group are still shaped by Christian teachings. We still find a large dose of Christianity in Australian common sense and we must work to keep it this way and spread Christian understandings even further.

Christians are called to love everyone, which does not mean that we must like everyone. Rather we must respect all people and try to help them, even when they are poor or powerless, disabled or ignorant, criminal or ungrateful, friend or foe. In other words, we must try to lessen the suffering of those who suffer, either directly or indirectly through supporting governments or agencies to do this work.

Some irreligious people who reject the ideal of universal love usually ignore the sufferers outside their circle of friendship, and are loathe to spend money on them. “Out of sight” means “out of mind” for them and they work to avoid suffering at every cost.

All traditional Christians who accept that we are redeemed by Christ’s life, death and resurrection therefore believe that good can come in some mysterious way from suffering; by battling against it and by accepting it bravely in faith.

For people who do not believe in God, suffering serves no useful purpose and it’s a brute fact, one element in life which cannot be avoided completely.

Let me give you a few examples of my general principle at work. The one human constituency which cannot speak for itself are the unborn. Aborted human lives cannot speak out against the injustice they suffer. Most mothers who abort their babies suffer psychologically and spiritually and we must always help women who are tempted or encouraged to abort. Some babies however are aborted for frivolous reasons, while advances in prenatal testing have allowed a quest for the “perfect baby” to develop. Unfortunately some parents choose to eliminate their unborn baby rather than allow them to go through life with some impairment. Hard work and suffering do regularly accompany handicapped people through their days, but they bring blessings on others and enjoy much happiness themselves. In any case, even in extreme cases, we have no right to kill them.

Other examples come to mind especially in the care of the aged. Many of our homes and hostels for the aged have excellent facilities, with all the Christian Churches sponsoring large networks. But many of the old in these homes have very few visitors. Out of sight equals out of mind is at work. I’m not sure whether Catholics visit their older loved ones more than non-believers but we have an obligation to do so.

If a strict economic rationalism came to dominate majority opinion in Australia (and the support for such a pure economic rationalism is now minimal), then little or no public money would be spent on the “unproductive” battlers, the most difficult of the disadvantaged, because there would be no return, no economic benefit.

With an increasing percentage of aged people, a limited work force through a low birth rate and rising health costs from new technology, we could soon confront increased pressure for euthanasia. The case will be made initially for voluntary euthanasia, but if legalised many, or even most of the euthanasias would be involuntary. People who have systematically excluded death and suffering from their personal experience are not well equipped to care for their aged and sick family members.

Two final points. Our Lord makes it quite clear that following him involves some sacrifices, some form of suffering. We have to take up our cross, which he explains elsewhere will often be light. But we have to acknowledge that following Christ cannot mean that we always take the easy route.

Another major difference between us and those who do not believe in God is that we believe our God is good and just. Ultimately the whole interconnecting systems of life are just and reasonable. The scales of justice will balance out in eternity, because each one of us will be judged and have to answer to our good God for our behaviour. To use Matthew’s terminology “The Son of Man . . . will reward each one according to his behaviour”.

The preceding phrase of Our Lord, “What then will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life”, does not refer to the ruin or loss which comes from death or a failed career, but implies the loss of his soul in eternity. I think that the translation “What then will a man gain if he wins the whole world and suffers the loss of his soul” better renders the meaning for us.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.