July 18, 2021 (Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

“The Three C’s”

by Deacon John Kerrigan

In my opening remarks today, I mentioned that Costco is once again providing free samples; a small sign of our “return to normal.” However, an even more striking indication of this trend is the fact that theaters on Broadway plan to reopen in the Fall.

They will be offering some new productions as well as re-runs of several familiar and much-loved stage plays. The revival of The Music Man, a Broadway and Hollywood classic, was one that recently caught my eye. Why? Because its theme is so applicable to today’s readings as well as to events in our country at the moment.

Those of us of a certain age know the story well. “Professor” Harold Hill, the musical’s main character, travels from town to town promising to form marching bands for boys and, in the process, to build the young men’s character. There is, however, one problem: Hill is actually a con man. Rather than providing music lessons, he claims that, “You don’t have to bother with the notes.” Instead, he advocates what he calls the “think system.” With instruments nowhere in sight, he has the boys intone repeatedly the melody of a song. Hill’s usual modus operandi is to skip town once he has received money for the band members’ uniforms.

In today’s opening Scripture passage, Jeremiah denounces people like Hill, the political and religious leaders of 6th century BC Babylon: men who deceived, manipulated and misled the Israelites.

Harold Hill’s scheming also also bears a striking resemblance those individuals in first century Ephesus whom St. Paul describes as erecting walls and preying upon the divisions between the Jews and the Gentiles.

I’d suggest, too, that today we ourselves are dealing with factions that share many of the characteristics of the Music Man, modern-day versions of the purely self-interested leaders of Babylon and those who fomented hostility in Ephesus. Wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Who are these Music Men of 2021? All too often, I’m sad to say, we find them on the far left of the political spectrum advocating knee-jerk intolerance and “wokeism,” or on the angry far right, fabricating and espousing conspiracy theories.

Now, you might be saying to yourself, “Aren’t these people sincere in their beliefs rather than simply being hustlers like Hill?” No doubt many are. All too often, however, their polarizing world-views are overly-simplistic, or they allow themselves to be misguided and misled by the Professor Hills among their ranks. The fact of the matter is that extremism rarely leads to wisdom, integrity, and true justice.

Here in the Catholic Community at Stanford, I don’t know of anyone who might be called an extremist or an ideologue of the left or right. My guess is most of us would call ourselves “center-left” or “center-right,” or just a-political.

With that said, it is striking that today’s scripture passages call all of us not only to practice moderation in ideas, words, and actions, but also to be bridge-builders and shepherds. They challenge us to be modern-day apostles, working to influence dialogue, calling certain people to their senses. And how are we to accomplish this end? Primarily by modeling the type of discipleship on display in our readings.

Three tools that may help us in our efforts are what I like to call the three Cs: a spirit of contemplation, the courage to evangelize, and the practice of charity.

A striking feature of today’s gospel is the humanity found in the interaction between Jesus and his disciples. The latter have just returned from their first tour of ministry, their inauguration into the work of being an apostle. They are excited, filled with enthusiasm and bursting to tell their tales of healings and exorcisms. To their way of thinking, all that they need is the next project that Jesus might give them.

Jesus, however, disagrees. Where the disciples see opportunity, Jesus sees hyperactivity. He understands the disciples’ need to reflect on their activities, to practice… contemplation. And what is contemplation? In essence, it entails slowing down for a moment and allowing ourselves to understand the deeper meaning of events and of life.

Contemplation is an extraordinary gift during these fractious days of 2021. All of us need to take the time to ponder, read, study, and to examine points of view that that are different than our own, to consider challenging topics such as critical race theory and voter registration legislation. Yes, it takes time and patience to understand the difference between facts and platitudes, between what is true and what is not.

Our second “C” is the courage to evangelize. One of the implications of St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is this question: "Am I being an ambassador of Christ today to those with whom I am living, working, or teaching?" This question presumes that we know what it takes to be an ambassador of the Lord. Let me say that it demands constant attention to the gospel message and to other works from our Catholic tradition that inform us about Christ’s humanity and divinity. We cannot expect to be faithful and courageous ambassadors for someone whom we don’t know on a deep and intimate basis.

St. Paul put it this way, "Now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near, for Jesus is our peace."

Finally, the third “C” in our formula is charity. Let’s face it: you and I know some things but we don't know most things. It’s always wise to approach people and issues with a sense of humility. For example, I enjoy listening to podcasts where the guests disagree, but practice civility. This week I listened to a debate between New York Times’ columnist Ross Douthat and Heidi Schlumpf, the editor of the National Catholic Reporter. Their topic? The US bishops and their planned document on receiving the Eucharist. There were points on which Douthat and Schlumph agreed, and others where their opinions were 90° apart. However, throughout their exchange they never failed to listen to each other and to practice charity toward one another.

You don't need me to tell you that today there are many people who are searching, hungering for instruction, for thought-leadership. These are good people looking for a direction. They may be friends, classmates, coworkers, or people nearby who are in emotional or financial need. Or perhaps they are people who have lost confidence in their leaders, both political and religious. They are looking for answers and searching for meaning; often enough, they are like sheep without a shepherd.

Let’s return to The Music Man for a moment. For, in the end, the play turns out to be a story about redemption. As a consequence of falling in love, “Professor” Hill experiences a change of heart. He delivers the promised uniforms; he doesn’t skip town. The boys, for their part, perform a song, though the quality of their singing was something that only a parent might love! The Music Man ends up being a wonderful parable about truth prevailing over falsehood.

In the midst of the mini-dramas that will be found in our own lives this coming week as we search for ways to be of service to each other, may each of us take on a spirit of contemplation, find the courage to evangelize, and practice charity. Yes, let’s seek to imitate Christ, the Truth on whom our lives center, the One to whom we can always turn and return.