Homily
Sixth Sunday Year C
Reading
1: Jeremiah contrasts for us trust in human beings versus trust in God. For the
prophet anyone who trusts in human beings, anyone who trusts in human power and
not in the divine, turns his heart away from God. These actions described by
Jeremiah are all internal actions.
Our
currency at present states “In God we trust”. However, our actions as a people
reveal we trust in ourselves and others and not in God. Recent events have
revealed the futility of trusting in others, who in their own greed have
brought about financial crises, moral disintegration, political injustice.
It
is not trust in others that is the problem but trust in others by turning away
from God. If there is not a level of trust between people there would be
anarchy. However, it is when God is left out of the equation that man falls
apart.
To
trust in human beings and turn away from God is an attempt to make human beings
gods, the center of reality, the beginning and end of everything. Every
political, economic and social system that does not have God as the center has
failed over the centuries.
Trust
in God or trust in self or others was the temptation in the Garden of Eden. It
was the temptations faced by Jesus.
Reading
2: Paul touches on the central message of our faith: the Resurrection of Jesus
from the dead. Because of his Resurrection, we believe that those who die in
relationship to him will rise with him on the last day with glorified bodies.
Our
faith, as Paul says, is not only in the Incarnation (Word became flesh), not
only in the death of Jesus on the cross (our redemption). It is also in his
prophetic word revealing that he would rise on the third day. As Paul says,
either Christ is who he said he is or he is not. Either he fulfilled his
promises to rise from the dead or did not. Each Sunday we profess our faith in
the resurrection of Christ from the dead and our faith in our own future
resurrection from the dead with and in Christ.
Gospel:
Jesus preaches a message that is counter cultural. He calls the physically and
materially poor blessed and confronts the self-focused materially rich. He does
the same with those who are physically hungry in contrast to those who are physically satisfied; those who are mourning
in contrast to those who are enjoying life oblivious of others.
It
is not that Jesus is exalting human poverty, hunger, sadness while condemning
the opposites. The underlying factor is one’s relationship with God whether one
is poor or rich, hungry or satisfied. In light of that relationship the poor
person places his trust in God and the one with wealth sees that he is a
steward of what belongs to God.
Jesus
is not opposed to wealth nor does he wants people to suffer poverty. Did he not
accept to dine with the rich man? Did he not feed the five thousand? Did he not
raised the son of the widow of Naim? Did he not change water into wine so the wedding
celebration could continue?
The
question is poverty with or without God and richness without reference to God
or under the Lordship of God.
Jesus
himself was poor in the sense he had no place to lay down his head but rich
because he trusted in the providence of the Father to care for him as long as
he was doing the will of the Father.
So
the question is whether we trust in God or in ourselves and others. If we are
rich or full or happy, are we conscious of those in need and what does God want
us to do with what we have? Or are we oblivious like the rich man towards
Lazarus? We can’t solve the world’s problem. But we can make a difference in
one person’s life.
