Rev. John Campoli, i.v.dei
His Love Ministries

Lukewarm?

by Deacon Jim Mackintosh

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I want to start today’s homily with a little quiz. It is not hard, I promise, and you will not have to study. What I am going to do is give you a word, and I would like you to think of the opposite, OK?

-fast… most of you thought slow.

-Long… Short.

-Hot… cold, this is easy, right?

-Young…old.

-Sweet…sour

And finally love… how many thought Hate?

It is here; I would disagree with many: hate requires passion, feelings, and emotions. In my experience, the greatest insult you can offer someone is not to hate them, but to be apathetic. Emotional engagement fuels our moral growth, as taking interest and caring deeply about others' welfare reflects true love and spiritual maturity. Doesn’t that truly sound like the opposite of love?

The famous author, George Bernard Shaw, once wrote, “The worst sin toward our fellow creature is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that is the essence of inhumanity.” We must always remember that those who intentionally hurt others are broken and hurt and cannot help themselves from lashing out. What they need is compassion, understanding, and love, not apathy. Look at today’s reading. Jesus looked upon the crowds and opened his eyes to what was going on around him. Jesus did not disregard those who were hurting, he did not pretend he could not see them, he never isolated himself from the reality of the world. He made himself aware of their needs by giving them his kindness and attention. I remember going to New York City when I was in eighth grade to see a Rangers game. Outside Penn

Station, as we were walking in, a homeless man was asking for money. My brother and I wanted to pass by or cross the street. My brother was so much more experienced than I was; he was a high school senior and said he would buy alcohol or drugs. My grandfather clucked his tongue, dug into his pocket, took out several single-dollar bills, and handed them to the man, saying to him, " Make sure you get something to eat, please! As we were walking into Madison Square Garden, he embarrassed my brother and me. He said when someone is down on their luck, you never question what they are going to do; if you are going to give, then give from the heart. No one questioned what I was going to do with the money in my pocket when they gave it to me, but who am I to question what they are going to do when I try to help them? My grandfather reminded us that Jesus does not call us to do an easy thing. He wants us out of our comfort zone and to look at the brokenness in the world. Jesus wants us to see the despair in the helpless. He spent his time with those people, and in some ways, we should as well.

The gospel tells us he had compassion on them. He did not insulate himself from their pain. He lowered his guard and made himself vulnerable. He did not repress the emotions that he was feeling. There is a word used in the Greek scripture that I could not spell if I wanted to, but I know it has been pronounced splagchnizomai … it translates as "guts" or the very core of being. The scripture writers were trying to say that Jesus saw the suffering, sin, and abandonment of these people and took it into himself. He felt that far more keenly than they did and was making it his own. Compassion that goes straight to the heart, creating a gut-wrenching feeling. Those who choose apathy decide to be emotionally vacant or absent, and those who choose compassion allow themselves to become vulnerable.

And the gospel goes on to name the 12 apostles that he had called and is now sending out to learn this very lesson. First, he tells them that the harvest is

abundant and the laborers are few, so he asks the master of the harvest to send out more laborers. That was not just these 12 men. This is you and me. And Jesus gave the authority to cure the sick of every illness and disease, and to drive out demons, and initially, they went only to the lost sheep of Israel. They were to avoid pagan territory and Samaritan towns, but they were to announce the arrival of the kingdom of heaven by saying it is at hand. Can you imagine how these 12 men changed by what they experienced delivering the message they announced, but by opening their eyes, leaving apathy behind, and genuinely understanding what compassion and love mean?

How many of us sit here now saying “no! No, I do not understand! I certainly cannot be called into these troubling situations. I am not equipped for it; I do not have the necessary skills.” Jesus understands our hesitancy. After all, did he not say the harvest is here, and the laborers are few? All over the world, Christians are praying for other Christians to intercede where needed and to remind everyone that tiny things can make big differences. Help where you can when you can. And Jesus wants us to do this voluntarily; he does not want us drafted. If you need to see what happens when one is, I refer you to what happened to Jonah.

One final warning to keep in mind when it comes to love versus apathy. In Revelation, Jesus says, “I know your deeds, you are neither cold nor hot, I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Surely not a situation any of us would want.