Homily Twenty-ninth Sunday Year B

Reading 1: Isaiah, centuries before Jesus, led by the Spirit, prophesied about the future Servant of God, who would suffer for others. This Servant of God would do so by giving his life as an offering for sin. Through his sufferings he will justify many and their guilt he shall bear. Thus, the will of God will be accomplished through him.

Without knowing the fuller implications of his prophetic message, Isaiah was preparing the Chosen People for God’s plan to redeem the world through his Son, Jesus. His very name Jesus, means one who saves his people from their sins. As the Messiah, the Christ, did the great work of salvation by freely embracing death on the cross at the hands of others in total obedience to the Father.

As God is beyond our comprehension and as all that God does is beyond our understanding, so his will to become man and give his life for our life is beyond our comprehension.  He chose to be our justification for our choice of sin, for our rejection of the gift of sharing in God’s divine life. God could have chosen other options, but he chose this great sign of his infinite love to restore us to his divine life.

Take a few moments to reflect of this great sign of love Christ shows us. It is for my sins that he gave his life so that I could live in him, free from the bondage of sin in eternity.

Gospel: Picking up the Suffering Servant theme in Isaiah, Jesus defines is own ministry and that of his disciples. It is ministry of contradiction, a ministry of service. It is an attitude which goes against the desires and expectations of what people experience and are taught. Power and authority over others is the way of life of the world we live in. The more power over others one exercises, the more important the person is in the eyes of others and more the person is emulated. So the world thinks.

Jesus talks about real power through an attitude and a life of service to others.  He is not just advocating any service but ultimate service, namely, giving one’s life for the other. We see this in a person like Mother Theresa of Calcutta. But we also see in the lives of many, unsung heroes, who placed others’ needs before their own. We see this in a person who donates a kidney, so that another can a possibility of a healthy life.

But Jesus is not talking only about extraordinary acts of service but the day to day opportunities we have to imitate him in little ways of serving out of love, out of gratitude, out of response to him for what he has done for us. It is the little way of St. Therese of Liseux. She chose to do all things out of love for the other, no matter what it was.

To lord it over another is to be self-focus. To serve another is to be other focus. Service is an aspect of love, a manifestation of love. You can have service without love. Can you have love without service? Jesus is calling for an attitude of the heart and way of life that he himself patterned for us. Though he was the Son of God, though he was the Lord, he went out of his way for others. As Paul says in Philippians: “He emptied himself and was obedient even to the death of the cross.”

Reading 2: What is the focus of this reading? Though he was God, the Incarnate Word, Jesus, suffered in his humanity. Though he was sinless, he became sin by taking on our sins. He is our Mediator and intercessor. It is through him that we can approach the infinite God for mercy and the forgiveness of our sins.

We are taught two things in the reading. Because of who Jesus is and what he has done for our sake, we are to remain faithful to our acknowledgment of him as Lord and Savior and confidently go through him to the Father of mercies.

One of the things we may fail to do frequently in our journey towards holiness is to express our gratitude, primarily to God but also for others. Gratitude should be part of our daily lives as anything that is of value and important. It helps us to remember how much we are dependent on others for so much in our lives. One of the ways to ensure that we live a grateful life is at the end of the day before bed to take a few minutes before the Lord to recall the blessings we received during the day. Not only has God blessed us, especially in things we take for granted, but we have been blessed by God through others. Someone has aptly said: "Gratitude begets gratitude, just as love begets love."  God delights in a grateful heart.

"I am increasingly convinced that it is possible to live the wounds of the past not as gaping abysses that cannot be fulfilled and, therefore, keep threatening us as gateways to new life. The “healing wounds of Christ” encourages us to detach ourselves from the past and trust in the glory to which we are called." (Henri Nouwen)

The past is always with us. Unfortunately, we keep the past as a present reality and miss the grace of the present moment. Yes, we will never forget the pains or joys of the past. Yet, we are to learn from them and choose not to be controlled by them or allow them to determine us. Our wounds and pains of the past could be grace moments of the present to become a better person in the present. 

Paul helps us to  have the right attitude." Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)  The wounds of the past can become stumbling blocks or stepping stones to the glory that lies ahead, eternal union with God.

 "Detachment is often understood as letting loose of what is attractive. But it sometimes also requires letting go of what is repulsive. You can indeed become attached to dark forces such as resentment and hatred. As long as you seek retaliation, you cling to your own past. Sometimes it seems as though you might lose yourself along with your revenge and hate—so you stand there with balled-up fists, closed to the other who wants to heal you." (Henri Nouwen)

How attached are we to those things which are not of God, the things that keep us in the bondage of sin? We hear the words of Jesus--to live is to die. And yet, we are afraid of letting go these learned behaviors. I have heard people say to me, "if I let these things go, what will be left of me?" Jesus gives the answer: new life. Still, we hold on to the known and the familiar, even though it is destructive. Fortunately, Jesus does not give up on us. He continues to invite us to trust him and to learn the mystery "to dies to self is to live a new life." It seems like a huge leap, but it begins with the first step of trust.

 Are we living confidently in the Lord? Is our confidence in the Lord or in our selves? To have confidence in the Lord and in his promises is to put our trust in him primarily. For who am I outside of relationship with God? Who but the Lord can provide what I most need to be fully alive and fully happy? I am weak. If I put my trust in myself outside of God, I will eventually fall. But if I put my trust in the Lord, though I go through difficult times, the Lord will not abandon me. 

The word of Jesus comes to mind. "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit* to those who ask him?” (Lk 11:9-13)

I am confident that the Lord, who loves me, desires what is best for me. So he pours out his Spirit, who intercedes for me according to the will of the Father. God wills my eternal salvation and life with him. Thus, he will provide me with what is necessary for me to reach my destiny. My confidence is in him.

Homily Twenty-eighth Sunday Year B

 

Reading 1: How often do we pray for the gift of wisdom? The first reading’s focus is not natural wisdom but the gift of wisdom from the Holy Spirit. What is this wisdom? It is the gift that enables us to perceive things through God’s perspective. This gift of wisdom enables us to make the right judgment and choices in our daily life. On the other hand, when we are limited to ourselves and our human wisdom, our view is limited and blurred by the many circumstances, feelings, memories, experiences of our past. These color our perception.

 

But to see with the insight of God, to see as a situation is here and now, is to have the best information to make the right decision. Wisdom is the gift of God that he wants me to be open to and seek after. The psalmist says that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. To be able to see as God sees I must first approach God as he is with reverential awe, praise, glory and thanksgiving that is due to him.  The gift of wisdom comes to us to the extent there is a right relationship with God.

 

Pray for the gift of wisdom each day so that you can make the prudential decisions that will lead you to a closer relationship with God.

 

Gospel: What was the one thing lacking in the person in the gospel who came to Jesus, seeking eternal life? In another Gospel passage, Martha confronted Jesus about the fact that Mary, her sister, was not helping her with providing a meal for Jesus and his apostles. While Martha was busy with the kitchen chores, Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to his teachings.  Jesus’ response was that what Martha was doing was important, but Mary had chosen the better task.

 

What was lacking by the young man and what was chosen by Mary? Jesus, as the center of one’s life.  This is the wisdom of the first reading, to see what is essential and important from God’s perspective and prudentially choose it.

 

Keeping the Commandments can be a mere external obligation or it can flow from a relationship with God. The Israelites in the desert, though they were told the Commandments and entered into a covenant relationship with God, that relationship was not internal but external. The young man was doing the right thing, keeping the Commandments. But when challenged by Jesus to root this doing with being in a conscious, committed relationship with him as a disciple, he couldn’t. There was a block. He was more dependent on his possessions. He couldn’t be totally depended upon Jesus. He failed to realize that what is impossible to him was possible through the grace of God. Matthew, the tax collector, was an example.

 

The question that the Gospel proposes to us is are we seeking what is God’s plan for us, through the gift of wisdom? Have we chosen the better part? Is Jesus really the Lord of our lives? Are we following him totally or partially? When Jesus is the center of our lives other things do not have the same impact or importance. To be a disciple is not enough. That is only the first step. To fall in love with Jesus entails that nothing else is more important.  We step aside for the Other and in that process become more complete.

 

Reading 2: The word of God is given to guide us, to reveal to us, to nurture us, to correct and judge us. Jesus said: “I will not judge you, but my word will.”  Isaiah said that the word of God is like rain that comes down from the heavens. It will not return void. It will do the will of him who sent it. How have we listened to God’s word? We will have to give an account of our reception and response to the One who revealed his word to us. 

Many of us live in a state of fear and, at the same time, in a desire to be fully loved. We are afraid that if people really knew our past, our present struggles, our fears and weaknesses, they would reject us, not love us. At the same time there is a deeper, innate longing to be fully loved and accepted. One of our problems may be a lack of authentic self love.  We fail to remember that our being is more important than our doing. What we have done in the past does not determine who we are in the present moment.

The constant message of God in the scriptures is "Do not be afraid. I am with you. I love you." We can't fully comprehend or accept the truth of this reality. And yet, who fully knows us, if not God? He knows every thought, word and deed of our life. He knows our bondage. He has come to set us free. He accepts and loves us and invites us to learn how to do the same in relationship to him. Someone has said: "What a joy to be fully known and fully loved at the same time! It is the joy of belonging through Jesus to God and being fully safe and fully free." This grace is available to each of us to embrace so that we can become the person God sees us to be.