Father Donald Sawyer Our Lady’s Maronite Catholic Church

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April 24, 2005 Sermon

Today our readings were very short, but I want you to listen to the words.  St. Paul said “you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you once lived following the age of this world.”  Listen to this because we often pass up the meaning – “following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air”.  Is he talking about the wind?  No, he’s talking about evil spirits.

In fact, every ancient city had some god or goddess that was protecting the city.  Literally, a spirit was protecting that city.  And there was a different spirit for each city.  For example, the spirit was different for Austin, different for San Antonio, for Victoria.  All cities were very different.

St. Paul said we “were dead in our transgressions and sins which you once lived following the age of this world.”  Jesus talks about the world and He says that you cannot love God and love the world at the same time – you love one and you hate one.  And He talks about how the world won’t love you anymore than it has loved Me.

So I want to stress this morning that there is this theme “in the air”, the power of this world, and it’s a different power.  And there’s so many people following and chasing after this worldly power, whether it’s the prestige of knowing the little passions of the time, whatever is the latest fad of the time.  And we get into it without even knowing it.  Nowadays, people want to be so fashionable, whether it’s a tattoo or body-piercing, whether it’s looking cool, or having the latest type of car.  It’s the way you act, the way you walk, and it’s trying to be “in.”  And it’s interesting, you can’t do both – you either love one and hate the other or vice versa.  And my saying is that if manure was fashionable, people would be eating it and telling me how wonderful it is.  Because, you’re not concerned with the taste when you want to be conformist and cool with it.

You know, this week people have been asking me “How do you like the new Pope?”  I haven’t met him, but I hear the news saying different things – that his nickname was panzer, which means a tank, and that he is a rottweiler, comparing him to a dog.  Now if I told you that all black people liked watermelon, what would you say to that?  It’s the same thing when it comes to calling him names.  They don’t even know the man and I, as a Catholic, resent them trying to label him.  And then they want to bring up that he’s German, like it’s bad.  Are Germans bad?  There’s such racism in this great democratic nation and we know that the history of this nation isn’t all pure and good.  And when they say that he’s German, that as a kid he was in the Nazi youth – but every kid was forced to join the Nazi youth.  Of course he resisted and later got out of it.  But there’s a whole presence of people themselves in Germany, they weren’t all just Nazis.  And I’m just tired of it.  It’s like people talking about a member of your family.  This is our family member.  And I think he will become a great Pope.

You know, we’re always comfortable with our old shoes.  I love my old shoes.  And when you get a new pair, it feels off, or like a new pair of glasses or a new hearing aid.  But at the same time, we were used to John Paul.  But this is a new man and he too will make his mark on the Church.  And who are we going to believe – the Holy Spirit, or are we going to trust ABC news, NBC news, the democrats, the republicans?  No.  This is the “age of this world” that St. Paul is talking about.

Did you know that the first hospitals were created by the Church?  It was back in the 300’s, the first hospital.  The first universities were – of course, monasteries.  If you look closely at the graduation gowns they kind of resemble what a monk was wearing, and the arches and the buildings look familiar because they were monasteries.  The first hotels were started by the Church, particularly in the Syriac Christian world, to house all of the pilgrims going to the holy sites.  The first orphanages of course were also run by the Church.

Did you know that in this country, and I love to talk about history, in the 1840’s there was a political party called the “Know Nothings” who were against the Catholic Church?  They were called this because when they were being interrogated, they “knew nothing.”  And when people talk about the KKK, they didn’t just burn crosses in black people’s yards, but they burned crosses in front of Catholics too.

If you haven’t seen the movie “Gangs of New York”, rent it.  It’s great.  It’s set in the civil war.  It’s about discrimination of persons, particularly the Irish, who took the brunt, at least in the northeast.  In Texas, with our great Texans – Travis and Stephen F. Austin - when they took this country, this Texas from Mexico, they systematically took Texans with Spanish land grants and they burned them out.  They killed them.  There are even chronicles of Spanish priests in Texas who wrote “I think this will be my last times here” and they disappeared.  No one knew what happened to them.  They are buried in unknown graves to this day - in this great nation, this country.

Did you know that when they started to build the Washington monument, the thing we see so indicative of Washington D.C., the Pope sent a large block, a cornerstone, to be incorporated as a symbol into the monument?  Overnight, the people came, and they took the stone because the Pope was trying to “dictate to America.”  They threw the stone into the Potomac, where it still sits there today, which I think is very symbolic and interesting indeed.  And we look at this – a sign that was in an antique store: “Irish Need Not Apply”.  And they were treated much worse in the northeast, much worse than the slaves were treated in the south.  We look at this and I think again about Catholic hospitals.  They were started because you and I as Catholics did not merit fair treatment from doctors and nurses in a public hospital - because you are different.

Catholic schools – we lost generations of Catholics because public schools were not public, they were Protestant schools.  If you ask my mother, she remembers to this day being in school and one teacher wanted to know “How many Catholics are in my class?”  When the hands were raised she said “You might as well transfer out of my class because I can’t stand Catholics.”  Or they would have Catholics debating Protestant kids.  The discrimination…

And this not just a long time ago: Did you know that it’s impossible for you as a Catholic to be appointed as a judge, to be approved by Congress, because you are Catholic?  Unless, you want to say “I withhold my Catholic beliefs”, which most of our Catholic politicians have already done.  They’ve sold out their own people.  Today, 10 or 11 judges have already been rejected.  Why?  Because they’re Catholic.  This is in our country.

Have you heard the term “Dago”?  How many Dagos do we have here today?  How many Micks?  Raise your hands.  Mackerel-eaters.  Catholics, Polacks, Mexicans.  There’s so much racism and prejudice in the way people think and the prejudice continues on.  I want to say to you: “Are you going to take it?”  Are you going to take it?  Are you going to be Uncle Tom?  I’m sorry, but we as a Catholic people are a sleeping giant.  Blame it on a lack of leadership from the Bishops or whatever, but we’re a sleeping giant.  You know, you don’t say anything bad about Blacks, or Mexicans, fine, or Jews, fine, or gays, that’s fine.  But you shouldn’t say anything bad about Catholics too.

Yesterday, I was asked to speak at the Austin Garden Show and give a slide show of the church, its plants.  But afterwards, this guy, I don’t even know his name, he’s on PBS a lot, and apparently he’s a Catholic from New York State.  And he was saying “When I was growing up, they taught about original sin, and when I look back I said ‘What a bummer, the world begins all messed up anyway.  I like to think that life is a divine lesson.”  It’s one thing when we as Catholics make private jokes and stuff - but to the public?  And I tire of it; in social settings especially.  I had one Jewish man who said “I hope you don’t mind, that you’re open-minded, I have a Catholic joke.”  And I said “Great, because I have some Jewish jokes for you too!”  That’s not bad.

I’m tired of it.  Are you tired?  This is the spirit of this world and when they talk about the Holy Father, it’s pure discrimination.  I remember a parishioner here, when the Austin American Statesman called and asked her would she like to subscribe.  She said “No, you only want to give Catholics bad press in your stories.  If it’s Jewish it’s fine, if it’s Protestant it’s fine, but when it comes to Catholics, you only want to accent the negative.”

Things like this have an effect, making a statement like that has an effect.  We all want to be nice.  But you know, I’m tired of being nice.  Let’s be truthful.  And what does Jesus say – Go and spread the Gospel to every creature.  This means not only standing up for who you are.  Someone said last night with some of his Protestant friends, “When you Catholics take Holy Water, you do like this and like this.”  I said “We don’t only do like this and like this.  We do it for a purpose – we’re taking the Holy Water and renewing our Baptismal promises and we’re saying we believe in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”  The guy says “Oooh really?”  We’re a mocked faith and we need to teach people and we need to speak up and not allow discrimination in any form.  “Go into the world and spread the Gospel to every nation and every creature” our Lord says.

Remember, how many people do we know, even in our own families, that are weak Catholics?  We don’t see them going to church, they’ve wandered off.  They’re weak, weak, weak.  They’re not enlightened.  They’re fooled by the world and how do we get through to them?  You don’t say “You have to go to Mass.”  I’m so sick of that.  “You have to go to Mass.”  You don’t have to do a darn thing, but die.  What they need is, they need the Eucharist.  Say “Let me tell you what Jesus has done for me, what He’s doing for me, about the joy that I have going to church.  Let me tell you what God is doing for me.”  This is the way to witness.  Go into the world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.

Today, I’m going to ask you to do me a favor.  And you may be a big democrat, I don’t give a darn.  You may be a big republican, I don’t give a darn.  I’m looking for what serves us best, ourselves and our families.  I want you to sign these cards.  They’re addressed to Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Honorable John Cornyn and it says don’t let anyone who is Catholic or pro-life be kept off the bench.  Okay?  Could you do that for me?  We need to speak up.  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.