SPEAKER_00: There are two very different ways to exercise power.
SPEAKER_00: First reading from the prophet Micah describes people who lie awake at night plotting how to get more.
SPEAKER_00: They wake up in the morning and immediately put their plans into action.
SPEAKER_00: They seize fields, they take houses, they cheat their neighbors.
SPEAKER_00: The powerful become more powerful by making someone else weaker.
SPEAKER_00: But notice something striking.
SPEAKER_00: Micah does not condemn them because they are powerful.
SPEAKER_00: He condemns them because they misuse their power.
SPEAKER_00: You see, power isn't in itself evil.
SPEAKER_00: Wealth is not evil, influence is not evil, leadership is not evil.
SPEAKER_00: Every one of those can be tremendous gifts from God.
SPEAKER_00: The question is always the same.
SPEAKER_00: How are they being used?
SPEAKER_00: The world often teaches us that power exists for self preservation.
SPEAKER_00: Climb the ladder, protect your position, win at all cost, make sure no one gets in your way.
SPEAKER_00: Look out for number one.
SPEAKER_00: But the gospel presents a completely different picture.
SPEAKER_00: The Pharisees have just decided they want Jesus dead.
SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus has healed the sick, restored the broken, preached forgiveness, revealed the mercy of the Father, and yet the response is to begin plotting his death.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Well, because love is threatening to those who have built their identity on control.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus knows exactly what they are doing.
SPEAKER_00: He could have confronted them publicly.
SPEAKER_00: He could have exposed their hypocrisy before the crowds.
SPEAKER_00: He could have called down angels from heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, what does he do?
SPEAKER_00: He quietly withdraws.
SPEAKER_00: That's not weakness, that is strength under control.
SPEAKER_00: And what does he do next?
SPEAKER_00: Well, Matthew tells us that the crowd followed him, and he cured them all.
SPEAKER_00: That little phrase is extraordinary.
SPEAKER_00: He knows people are trying to kill him, and yet he spends his energy healing other people.
SPEAKER_00: Most of us, if we knew someone was attacking us, we'd spend most of our time trying to figure out how we can defend ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: We would replay the conversation, we would perhaps put together a strategy, build our case, would look for allies, we would become consumed by this fear or by the conflict itself.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus remains consumed by his mission.
SPEAKER_00: The hatred of others never distracts him from loving.
SPEAKER_00: But then Matthew quotes one of the most beautiful descriptions of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench.
SPEAKER_00: Imagine holding a reed that has already been bent over.
SPEAKER_00: Takes absolutely no effort to snap it in half.
SPEAKER_00: Or imagine a candle whose flame is barely alive, one careless breath and it is extinguished forever.
SPEAKER_00: That's how many people that's how many people feel together today.
SPEAKER_00: Some are bruised by grief, some are bruised by divorce, others by sin or addiction, some are even bruised by anxiety and disappointment.
SPEAKER_00: Some are barely holding it on together, like a candle whose flame is almost gone.
SPEAKER_00: The world often walks past those people.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it even finishes the job by breaking them all together.
SPEAKER_00: But not Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He bends down with extraordinary gentleness.
SPEAKER_00: He strengthens the weak, he restores the sinner, he encourages the discouraged.
SPEAKER_00: He lifts up those who feel forgotten.
SPEAKER_00: What everyone else considers a lost cause, Jesus considers someone worth dying for.
SPEAKER_00: That's the kind of power God admires.
SPEAKER_00: The powerful in Micah use people to build their own lives.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus gives his life to rebuild broken people.
SPEAKER_00: That's the difference.
SPEAKER_00: Today we should all ask ourselves one question.
SPEAKER_00: Where has God giving me influence?
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps as a parent or a spouse, as a priest, a teacher, a business owner, a supervisor, a friend, every single one of us has some measure of influence over someone else's life.
SPEAKER_00: Do people leave an encounter with you feeling smaller or stronger?
SPEAKER_00: Do they walk away more discouraged or more helpful?
SPEAKER_00: Hopefully.
SPEAKER_00: Have I become someone who breaks bruised reeds or someone who patiently helps them stand again?
SPEAKER_00: The world has enough people who know how to dominate.
SPEAKER_00: The church needs disciples, faithful disciples who know how to heal.
SPEAKER_00: Because you see, every time we choose mercy over manipulation, encouragement over criticism, forgiveness over revenge, we reveal the face of Christ, that gentle servant in whom, as today's gospel says, all the nations will place their hope.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.