HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Jun 19, 2016

1539

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Zechariah (12:10-11, 13:1)

Thus says the Lord: I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition; and they shall look on him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a firstborn.

On that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be as great as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

On that day there shall be open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9)

(R) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God whom I seek; for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts; like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water. (R)

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory, for your kindness is a greater good than life; my lips shall glorify you. (R)

Thus will bless you while I live; lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name. As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied, and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you. (R)

You are my help, and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy. My soul clings fast to you; your right hand upholds me. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians (3:26-29)

Brothers and sisters: Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendant, heirs according to the promise.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (9:18-24)

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, One of the ancient prophets has arisen." Then he said to them. "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God." He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief of priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised." Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lost it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Today's gospel narrates that once, when Jesus was praying in silence, he turned to his disciples who were with him, and put to them an all-important question, that of His identity. It was not that Jesus somehow had lost his identity, and he was trying to find himself. It just needed more uncovering by his disciples. However, one might ask why did Jesus ask them about His identity, instead of just telling them who He is? To understand this it is vital to know what had happened before Jesus asked the question.

The text is taken from the 9th chapter of the gospel of Luke. The chapter begins with Jesus sending the disciples out to preach the gospel and cure people, but told them not to take anything for the journey - no walking stick or bag or money or food or clothes. We can't imagine going on a journey without any of these things. But the disciples went. And when King Herod heard of all the amazing words and wonderful works of Jesus and his disciples, he was afraid and wondered if John whom he had killed rose from the dead, and he was anxious to see Jesus for himself.

Meanwhile, the disciples returned from the villages they went to, and reported to Jesus all that they had done. Jesus then took them away to rest. However, they were not able to find rest because the people were following them. Later, realizing that the people had no food to eat, Jesus miraculously fed them with five loaves and two fish. These are some of the events which immediately preceded the question from Jesus about his identity.

First, Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" That is to say, "What do the people think about me?" The disciples replied, "Some people think that you are John the Baptist." Yes. People like Herod thought that He was John. Then they said, "Some people say that you are Elijah." They thought so because Jesus preached repentance and performed many wonders like Elijah. Then they said, "Some others say that one of the ancient prophets has risen." This was not strange because the Old Testament scriptures talked about the resurrection of the dead.

Even though the people respected Jesus and recognized Him as a prophet, or a teacher or a man of God, they had no idea who Jesus really was. Because those were people who had no real grasp of the things of God. Those were the people who were only interested in miracles and not in His teaching. Jesus then put the same question again, this time to the disciples who were always with Him. The disciples were witnesses to some amazing events. They had seen Jesus casting out demons, healing people with every conceivable sickness, raising the dead, successfully countering every argument and answering every question put to Him by His adversaries and resisting every temptation.

So He asked them, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter immediately replied, "You are the Christ, the son of God." Peter and the other disciples knew that Jesus was more than just a teacher or a prophet or a man of God. They believed that Jesus was the "Christ" or the "Messiah" or the anointed one of God. However, they had not fully understood what kind of "Christ or Messiah" Jesus would be. They had the notion that the Messiah would be a royal and mighty king on earth who would first conquer Israel and would then seize possession of the world. So Jesus forbade the disciples to tell anyone. Jesus did not want people to be distracted from His basic purpose and message. Because Jesus' reason for coming to earth the first time was to live just like us and pay the price for our sins.

Hence, it was essential for Jesus to prepare the disciples for His suffering and death. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised." Jesus predicted His own suffering and death at the hands of His enemies, and furthermore He also said that His followers must take up their crosses and follow Him. Hearing Jesus' prediction, the disciples were probably confused. Since they did not expect a suffering Messiah they could not understand how the Messiah whom they saw as invincible, omniscient, and devoid of any kind of weakness would become a victim of the people. They also perhaps could not understand that why they too must suffer and die like Jesus.

What is the message for us today?

There have been always many opinions about Jesus. Lots of people respect the teaching of Jesus. Even non-believers and non-Christians are inspired by it so it is not just Christians that are inspired by it. They say that if people do what Jesus taught and lived the way Jesus lived our world would be a better place. But all too often, as we know from experience, people do not choose to follow the teaching of Jesus. Some others see Jesus as a spiritual man who spent so much time in solitude, silence and prayer. They believe that Jesus, like many other spiritual men in history, like Buddha, merely showed people the way to heaven. Some people say that Jesus was just a good man who had an enormous impact on the world, and nobody has changed the world the way He has.

Even among Christian followers there are many different opinions about Jesus and what we, as Christians, should do and so on. All Christians accept and believe that Jesus was more than just a good man, a great teacher and a spiritual person. We consider Jesus to be the visible image of God, the Word of God, the Messiah and the Son of God, and we express the heart of our faith externally through prayer, worship and service. Here, some Christians emphasize liturgical ceremonies and rituals. Some give importance to sacraments and some don't. Some people take the Bible seriously but not literally. Some hardly use the Bible at all. Although we believe in Jesus Christ, we are a people divided against ourselves. We are deeply divided over issues of faith and practice. We are divided by man-made traditions and rules. Because we have lost our focus on the things of God and all of God's attributes especially such as love, wisdom, faithfulness, kindness, goodness and so on.

It is crucial for each one of us to take an honest look at ourselves and sincerely and personally answer the question who Jesus is to me because it is the core of the Christian faith. What other people think of Jesus or believe and experience in Jesus, or write about Jesus, may help us grow in the knowledge of Jesus. But what we think of Jesus or what we believe in Jesus is important for us to have a very personal experience of Jesus. Jesus does not call the crowds. He calls individuals from or out of the crowd to become his disciples, to follow him. He does not exclude anyone but invites everyone to willingly follow and believe in him and accept the uncompromising demands of discipleship. Jesus wants every individual to respond to His question, "Who do you think that I am?"

As followers of Jesus, let us stand apart from those who may just read and gather information about Jesus; who may just admire and respect Jesus' teaching; who may just seek miracles and signs from Him. Rather let us truly believe in the declaration of the disciples which was later revealed to us by Himself, that is, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of man and the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of all mankind, and lead a life based on the teachings of Christ. Let our obedience, following and love be entirely based on our natural, spontaneous, personal response to the person of Jesus as we know Him, as we hear Him, as we touch, feel and experience Him.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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