Connecting with the lonely and isolated to proclaim God's Kingdom - Homily 11th Sunday Cycle A

 

The Gospel that we heard today comes right after Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and his travels to towns and villages proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and curing many of their illnesses and diseases.  

Many of those whom he cured were thought to have been enduring punishment from God because of their illness.  

As a result of their conditions, they not only suffered physically or mentally but were also excluded from worship in their faith communities.  

The synagogue was the center of worship for the Jews and was also the hub of social interaction for the people. 

This exclusion resulted in isolation and loneliness.

For many this isolation was much worse than the effects of their illness. 

Jesus knew their conditions were not due to punishment, and he cured them to restore their relationship with their faith community to make them whole again.  

These people needed to be treated with love, not isolation and exclusion.

Jesus is moved with compassion, and he takes the initiative to do something about it.

As I was traveling this past week, I heard the news on the radio of a US Surgeon General health advisory that was occurring in the United States, an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. 

It was said that this epidemic was occurring prior to the COVID-19 pandemic where over half of U.S. adults were experiencing significant levels of loneliness. 

The COVID-19 pandemic made it even worse.

The effects of loneliness on physical health can increase risk for premature death comparable to smoking daily.   

The impact of loneliness on mental health can double the risk in developing depression.   

The US Surgeon General stated: While the epidemic of loneliness and isolation is widespread and has profound consequences for our individual and collective health and well-being, there is a medicine hiding in plain sight: social connection.

A Harvard Study, Loneliness in America, indicated that the pandemic has deepened an epidemic of loneliness.  

It reported young adults are some of the most significantly affected by loneliness. 

Over half of the lonely young adults in the study reported that in the past few weeks that no one “had taken more than just a few minutes” to ask how they were doing to make them feel like the person “genuinely cared”.  

A recommendation of the study to alleviate loneliness was “Working to restore our commitment to each other and the common good.”

It stated: Loneliness is a bellwether not only of our country’s emotional and physical but moral health.

In this age of hyper-individualism, the degree to which Americans have prioritized self-concerns and self-advancement and demoted concern for others in many communities has left many Americans stranded and disconnected.

We need to return to an idea that was central to our founding and is at the heart of many great religious traditions: We have commitments to ourselves, but we also have vital commitments to each other, including to those who are vulnerable.  

To carry out His mission to care for the people Jesus appoints the twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and illness.   

They are then sent out with the instruction, not go to pagan territory or Samaritan town, but to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to proclaim the “Kingdom of heaven is at hand” and to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons. 

These twelve disciples, except for Judas Iscariot, are the apostles who would become the first bishops to go out to establish the Church after Jesus' Ascension.  

Their mission was to not only cure the people of their diseases but to restore their relationship with the community.

Jesus in his great love for us gave his life in sacrifice to reconcile us with God and save us, even though we were sinners. 

This is the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus sent his apostles to proclaim. 

He continues to care for us today through His Church, the Body of Christ, made up of bishops, priests, deacons, religious, and lay people who gather in worship through the Eucharist to remember and participate in His saving action of love. 

When we come together as a Church community each week do so because of our need for God and each other.

There are so many people today in isolation and loneliness in our culture who are like the people Jesus had pity for who were troubled and abandoned.  

How can we proclaim the Kingdom of God to them and cure their illnesses and diseases and drive out demons?  

We can start by following Jesus' instructions to go to the lost people of Israel, which for us is our own family, friends, and neighbors. 

If there is someone we have not seen or heard from in a long time we can send a card or a letter to let them know we are thinking about them.  

Or we can make a phone call to see how they are doing and really take time to listen to them. 

That may be followed up with an invitation to meet them for a meal, an activity they enjoy doing, or even to join you at Mass. 

Connecting with people on a human level and letting them know you care for them may be just what they need to break out of their loneliness and isolation.  

And through this human connection, we can share with them the good news of the God who takes the initiative to save us because of his great love for us and to make his Kingdom present in our world.