Reflection for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C 2022

               In a futuristic 2008 movie one small robot is left on the earth to clean  the mess left by humans. It is such a huge undertaking the lone robot finds himself developing a personality and becoming lonely in the process. Meanwhile, the humans, to avoid the poisonous atmosphere of the earth, have boarded a spaceship and are orbiting the earth, obvious to their own situation. There is no real interaction between the humans because they have lost their own unique identities. One human could be right next to another human, but instead of talking face-to-face, they talk to each other through their hovering machine monitors. They have been content to live this way for years. They do not know of any other way to interact until their world is turned upside down by the intrusion of the very lonely robot they left on earth to clean up their mess.

            What does this movie have to do with today’s readings? The robot figure in the movie could easily represent the Christ figure, as Christ has also broken into our world and turned it upside down so. The robot points out to the humans what is real and makes them see that they are living an illusion . So , too, Christ has come to show us what is real.

           Jesus revealed to us that the way we live our lives can sometimes be artificial and hurtful. Not everyone on the spaceship is great that the little robot has come to change our lives. In fact. At first no one is grateful. This breaking into an artificial peaceful existence is a major disruption to the human ‘s comfort just as it is when Jesus breaks into our lives and challenges us to give up our comfortable existence and learn to truly live life.

         How many of us embrace the change to which Christ calls us? Those who are willing to embrace the change in the status quo, and then prophetically call others to see that change is necessary and good, many times are rejected by those closest to them.

           Jesus came to us as a catalyst for change and salvation. In order for us to become catalysts for change, we must embrace change in ourselves first. This is easy task, but by Jesus’ example and with God’s help it can be done.

God bless you all 

Fr. Dominic 

Your brother in Christ