From the time that we are very young, to the day that we die, we are taught to conform. "Don't you want to be like everybody else?" they ask. And so, in an effort to fit in, we change our behavior. "Don't hold your fork like that" or else, you'll be different." "Don't wear that color socks with that color shoe, or else, you'll be different." "Don't throw the ball that way, or else, you'll be different" "Don't write with that hand, or else, you'll be different." It is the way that socialization takes place. We learn the boundaries. We learn what others want us to be. And sometimes this is good. And sometimes this is not so good. Look at what we wore back in the 1970's. Man, I look at those pictures, the hair and the clothes, and I think, what we're we thinking? Why in the world didn't somebody stand up and say, "Hey, in thirty years you are going to look like a complete idiot, change that shirt"? Leisure suits, silk shirts, wide belts, today they seem scary. And our hair! How did barbers stay in business in the 1970's? In every single picture that I have from the 70's, everybody looks like they need a haircut. Didn't we get haircuts back then? But that's what everybody thought was "cool" back then. It's like "Far Out, Man." We wanted to fit in. Nobody wanted to be different. It's still the same today.

And so we come to Mass today and what's Jesus doing? Jesus is asking us to be radically different from everybody else. You know, most of the time, most of us are O.K. with this Christianity thing. We can go to church. We can live a good life most of the time. We can even go to Confession for those times when we can't live a good life. And in the Church, everybody's doing it. So it's not so hard. It's not very difficult. We think that we can be a Christian and not stand out. It's like, "I'll follow you, Jesus, just as long as nobody knows I'm following you, just as long as I don't have to be different." Well, guess what, guys? Today Jesus is telling us that we have to be different. If you want to be just like everybody else, then Christianity is not the religion for you. Because to be like Jesus, you are going to stick out like a sore thumb. You'll be different.

Today, St. Luke gives us what is truly the most radical of Jesus' teachings. Love your enemies. We don't want to do that. If you love your enemies, then they really can't stay enemies very long. And what are we going to do if we don't have any enemies? This is radical stuff! Isn't it enough just to love others? It's really not so bad when you don't know them. We can just love them from a far. Why I do love my Christian brothers and sisters in India, and China, and in Uganda. No, isn't the real problem loving the people you have to live with, and who get on your nerves, and who push you to the limit. And worst of all, Jesus is saying that we are to love those who have done bad things to us. This is the extreme. This is not a love that we are naturally capable of. This is a love that can come only from the supernatural. You talk about being different! There is only one source of this kind of love. It only comes from that guy hanging on that cross. How can Jesus ask us to forgive our enemies? He can ask because He forgave those who put nails in His hands and feet. This is the Guy that we want helping us to love and forgive, not Dr. Phil.

And if this wasn't radical enough, Jesus goes on! How about turning the other cheek when somebody hits you? Where I come from, you don't start fights, but if somebody is foolish enough to hit you first, then you make sure that it doesn't happen again. How can you turn the other cheek? How can He ask this? Well, He doesn't just ask it; He does it. He shows us how to do it. That was the All-Powerful, Almighty God Who got beat up pretty badly in Jerusalem two thousand years ago. He could have smote them. He could have turned them into a pile of ashes. Talk about picking a fight with the wrong guy. But that's not what He did, is it? Oh it doesn't stop there, we are to give to those who steal from us. We are to loan to those won't pay us back. We are to love those who hate us. We are to speak well of those who say terrible things about us. My brothers and sisters, this is radical Christianity. And this is the way that we are supposed to be living. Not on our own, but only with Jesus living and loving through us! Is this the way that we are living? It's time that all of us gave even more of ourselves over to Him.

Jesus is calling us to be different, to be very different from everybody else. If you're here looking for comfortable conformity, man, have you come to the wrong place. Jesus won't allow that. Jesus' harshest words were reserved for those religious folks who had made their religion so comfortable, that it wasn't even religion any more. Today, Jesus is challenging us. Lent begins this Wednesday. It's the perfect time of year for radically re-examining your life. Be different. Let the Holy Spirit live and breathe in you. Things will change. You won't be the same. You'll be different. And it's a good thing.

May God bless us as we head into our Lenten season, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN!!!

St. Maria Goretti... Pray for us!!!