HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE 25TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

The 19th century Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov, was also an important contributor to the evolution of the short story. His principle, known as ‘Chekov’s Gun’, forbade including elements that are not going to be ‘paid off’ later in the story. “If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall,” he wrote, “then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.” Given how little space there is in a short story, every detail must count. St Mark, the short story writer of the New Testament, followed a similar rule, dispensing with many of the healings and teachings reported by the other three evangelists and offering slimmed down versions of the stories they tell in common.
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