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Homily for the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Sept 10, 2006)

Intro:   What does the saying mean: “You should never judge a book by its cover.”?
We only see the outside. We cant see what’s inside. Our limited vision leads us to prejudice, where we make faulty judgments about people because of the way they dress or the color of their skin.

John Travolta Story
Some people were telling me about a Doctor they know, who came from India years ago to train in New York as a plastic surgeon.  He decided to try to set up a practice in Santa Barbara, California.  But at that time in that rather exclusive atmosphere no group of doctors would hire such a dark skinned man with a foreign accent as a plastic surgeon. The only job he could get in Santa Barbara was working for a hospital as an emergency room doctor.
      One day there was quite a bit of commotion in the emergency room as all kind of people gathered around to get a peek at a man who had just been brought in.  The side of his face had been peeled back by a horrible dog bite.  This Indian Doctor did not know who the man was, but he knew the man needed attention. While no one else was taking action, this young doctor knew just what to do. He had been trained for this kind of situation. With his considerable skill as a plastic surgeon he set to work repairing the damage done to the man’s face. 
    Who was the man? John Travolta, the movie star.  Travolta was so pleased and so grateful that his face was left without a noticeable scar that he told everyone about the skills of this fine Indian doctor. After that he was soon out of the emergency room and into a very successful practice as a plastic surgeon. He went from being seen as second rate foreigner, to being a doctor to the stars.
His appearance and his skills did not change. What changed was the way people looked a him.

In a recent Maryknoll article, Sister Janice McLaughlin gives several examples of people who had their eyes opened by the power of God:
    Sister Trinita who was imprisoned and tortured by the Japanese during World War II, instead of criticizing blaming her Japanese jailers, spoke more about the charity of those jailers, who kept her in touch with the other Sisters; or gave her cold drink of water
    When Nelson Mandela became President of South Africa, after being imprisoned for over 27 years by the White regime, he sought to bind the races together. He even invited his former prison guards to his inauguration ceremony.

Conclusion: Sister Trinita and Nelson Mandela did more than overcome prejudice. We may never exhibit their kind of courage and compassion. But we can start by asking Christ to help us face our prejudices about skin color, foreign accents, style of clothing and many other things. Then we can beg God:
“Lord open my eyes and take away my blindness.”