20th Sunday in Ordinary Time: August 16/17 2025

A Calvin and Hobbes cartoon pictures Calvin, who is probably 4 or 5 years old, sitting under a sign out by the street which says, “a good kick in the pants for a dollar.”  When Hobbes, a talking tiger and Calvin’s playmate came along he asked: “how’s business?”

“Terrible,” Calvin replied. “Sub-par. And I don’t know why, because there are so many

people who just need a good kick in the pants.” Yes, there are many people, probably

including some of us, who just need a good kick in the pants, to motivate us, to get our attention, or because we’ve done something wrong.

Many people need that good kick, but most would not appreciate it.

That’s what Jeremiah, or any of the prophets in the Old Testament for that matter, were up to, giving the people in Israel a good kick in the pants both to get their attention and to motivate them.  But when those in Israel heard Jeremiah’s predictions that Jerusalem would be destroyed if they did not re-prioritize their lives and get back to being faithful to God, they did not appreciate the message, they just wanted to destroy the messenger. . .

Throughout his ministry, Jesus, too, was just trying to give people a good kick in the pants. . . or according to the Gospel today, to light a fire under their feet, . . . and we know what happened to him.

Knowing how he would be rejected and would have to suffer for proclaiming God’s kingdom, Jesus felt it only fair to warn his followers that they may be in for a lot of pain and suffering if they chose to follow him.

Pain and suffering, of course, come to everyone, whether we are good, bad, or indifferent. If we do not live good lives, often we have to suffer for it, and many times even those who are perfectly faithful to God have to suffer too, as we hear today, suffering the pain of separation and division, even within families, just for following Jesus!

Author Scott Peck begins his book, The Road Less Travelled with a very keen and true

insight: Life is Difficult (and I add - -for everyone). But most of us, with our bigger barn

syndrome and the grass is always greener outlook, clearly think life is easy for everyone

else, except for us . . . But once we accept that keen and true insight, life is difficult, suddenly it takes the edge off, and life can become a little less difficult, at least a little less frustrating. Sure, life isn’t always fair, but who told us it would be??

I think many of us have this notion that if we do what God wants us to do, God should do

what we want him to do, and most of us want God to make our lives easier, less stressful, less difficult.  But most of the time it’s not the difficulties that come our way that causes us pain or suffering, but the attitude we take toward them. 

Dr. Richard Carlson in his book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, tells the story of a journalist

interviewing two bricklayers working at a construction site.

The journalist asked one man, “what are you doing?” The man said, “I’m just an underpaid and overworked bricklayer wasting my time piling bricks one on top of another.” He asks the second man what he was doing and this one said, “I’m the luckiest person in the world. I get to be part of great and important projects. I help turn single bricks into magnificent structures which will be here long after I am gone.

Two men. Two opinions. And they are both right. . . Because we see in life what we want to see. If you want to find ugliness, you will find plenty of it. If you want to find fault with life you can find lots of reasons to do so. But the opposite is also true.

There are times in my ministry as a priest and in my life - when I feel like the luckiest

person in the world. I’m grateful that I am in a position to be able to help people, and

sometimes that includes giving someone a kick in the pants. . .

And then on the other hand, there have been moments when I felt like Jeremiah, sinking into the bottom of a well where everything looks dark and hopeless. . .

And bottom line, it’s my faith that gets me through each and every time.  Although sometimes I forget, I know that God knows better than me, that God is in charge and I am not, and God always has a better plan than I do, and most times the plan eventually comes out of the dark into the light. . . I only need to keep my eyes on Jesus, . . . As the letter to the Hebrews tells us.

Because Jesus’ work and life seemed to be a great failure when it ended on the cross, but that wasn’t the end of the story, for now Christ is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  That’s probably why Jesus taught us several weeks ago to pray NOT to be led into temptation, not to grow despondent, but to keep alive in us the hope of eternal joy that God has promised to those who are faithful, the kingdom which is God’s pleasure to give us. . .

Let’s always keep hope alive for ourselves, and for our world. AMEN