Bishop Koenig’s homily the Sunday after the Roe v Wade reversal referred to the Gospel from Luke 9:51-62 recited at Masses June 25-26, which spoke of Jesus preparing to enter a Samaritan Village where he was not welcomed. Disciples James and John told Jesus they wanted to strike back at the villagers, but he rebuked them.
The bishop said:
For Jesus, it wasn’t the way of animosity and anger, but the way for Jesus was of reconciliation and love.
I’m thinking particularly of this in lieu of our current political climate in which certainly there’s a great deal of animosity that’s being expressed by the recent Supreme Court decision.
As we hear Jesus’s word to James and John today, we’re reminded that the way we’re called to proceed is the way of reconciliation in which we especially reach out to women who are experiencing difficult pregnancies. We especially continue to pray for mothers and fathers. And we continue to work to support those who are having children to ensure that children are brought into this world safely.
That’s the way. That’s the way of Jesus. That’s the way in which we’re called not to fight animosity with animosity but rather to face animosity as Christ would – with love, with reconciliation, with doing what’s best for this person and trying to help those people in need.
That’s the way of Christianity.
