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!

Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Jun 30, 2013

4911

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First Reading

A reading from the First Book of Kings (19:16b, 19-21)

The Lord said to Elijah: "You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you."

Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you." Elijah answered, "Go back! Have I done anything to you?" Elisha left him, and taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them, he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to eat. Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant.

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

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11)

(R) You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge; I say to the Lord, "My Lord are you. O Lord, my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot." (R)

I bless the Lord who counsels me; even in the night my heart exhorts me. I set the Lord ever before me; with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. (R)

Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices, my body, too, abides in confidence because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption. (R)

You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in the presence, the delights at your right hand forever. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians (5:1, 13-18)

Brothers and sisters: For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters. But do not use the freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.

I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

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

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (9:51-62)

When the days for Jesus being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire from heaven to consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."

And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." To him Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."

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

Homily

One evening a man walks into a bar and tells the bartender, "Give me a pint of beer please before the problems begin." The bartender obliges and hands him a pint of beer. The man quickly finishes the drink and says, "Give me another beer before the problems begin." This goes on for a few more rounds until the bartender finally asks the man, "Sir, how about paying for these beers first?" "Oh... you see, I told you, says the man, "Now the problems begin."

Today's gospel reminds us that becoming a Christian may be easy but being a Christian is hard. I think the easiest part of our Christian faith perhaps is an hour a week in church. The rest of the time can be the most difficult. In fact some people grumble even for that one hour of worship. Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion, observance of rites and rituals. So long as we are not baptized Christians there seems no demand on us for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But as soon as we receive baptism in His name, irrespective of the time, age or circumstance our commitment to Jesus Christ begins. When we fail to pay our due or fulfill our commitment to God as Christians problems in our faith begin. The Word of God challenges our thoughts, words and actions. We are forced to deal with the problem. And we all know how hard it is to follow Christ or apply his teachings in our daily life. In the last week's gospel we heard Jesus saying, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Self-denial does not necessarily mean depriving ourselves of things, people and place but putting Jesus Christ and his Word first before everything else just as Jesus puts God the Father and His plan first. For instance, in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus overwhelmed with sorrow, falls to the ground with his face down and prays, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will" Luke (22:39). Today's gospel illustrates the point further with another of Jesus' own experience.

It is said when it was time for Jesus to be exalted to a place of power and glory after his death and resurrection in Jerusalem, Jesus tries to enter a Samaritan village. But the people refuse to welcome him into their village. He is rejected because the destination of his journey is Jerusalem. Imagine you are refused entry into a place because of race, color or ethnicity. That's what was happening to Jesus here.

What is the problem here? For over 700 years the Jews and Samaritans have been hostile to one another. The Samaritans have intermarried with Assyrians, the conquerors of the northern kingdom of Israel to which Samaria belonged one time. As a result, they are both ethnically different from the Jews and they have separate temples, rituals and traditions. Therefore they cannot accept Jesus, as the Messiah, going to Jerusalem which is the most sacred site for the Jews and they refuse Him entry into their village. While Jesus is unaffected by the rejection the disciples cannot tolerate the rejection. James and John react to the rejection in the natural human way. They are hurt and they want to strike back. So they are asking Jesus, who brings the dead to life, makes the lame to walk and gives sight to the blind, to bring down fire from heaven to kill them. They want a great display of God's power to teach the people who rejected Jesus to know who He is. But Jesus rebukes them and disassociates himself from violence because God's power is going to be shown in a much different way. Jesus takes a different route to Jerusalem and is willing to travel an extra mile because what is awaiting him on the other side of Samaria is redemption for the whole mankind through his sacrifice.

Following his rejection, Jesus speaks to three people who want to follow him and become his disciples. Jesus wants them to know besides rejection what else they might lose or will have to sacrifice if they followed him. The first one says, "I'll follow you wherever you go." Jesus answers, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." Jesus makes it very clear to those who want to follow him that even if animals and birds will have a shelter, he and his followers will have no place even to lay their head.

The second one says that he wants to go home and bury his father before he comes to follow Jesus. The request is reasonable. It is not only a Jewish tradition but also that of all humankind. But Jesus' response seems so harsh. He says to the man, "Let the dead bury their dead. But, you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Jesus tells the man that the spiritually dead or those unaware of spiritual matters and attach importance to the body rather than the spirit will bury their dead but you go and preach the kingdom of God. In other words, Jesus says that even the most basic traditional family practices should not take precedence over the commitment of following Jesus.

The third one says that he will follow him but first wants to say goodbye to his parents and others at home. To him Jesus says, "No one who sets a hand on the plough and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." Any farmer who uses a plough would understand well the remark of Jesus. The hand of the farmer is to stay on the plough. If he looks back he would not furrow a straight row for crops. So Jesus once again emphatically rejects the excuse and warns them that turning back from any Christian task makes them unworthy followers.

How does the text apply to our following of Christ? First of all, our belief in Jesus and his word would not be instantly welcomed and received by others even by our own family and friends. But we do not have to condemn and judge those who reject our beliefs or refuse us into their life. We can always travel an extra mile to reach out to those who reject our faith and convert them. We'll have to self-sacrifice like Christ in order to bring them to the Christian faith.

However, in the midst of rejection, it is crucial to understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus. As a follower of Christ we are required a focused commitment or resolute determination. We must be willing to sacrifice security, filial duties, even family affection and we must not compromise our faith. We must not cave in and abandon what we know and believe to be true.

Are you willing and glad to follow Him despite his demands? Or do you want to follow him at your convenience?

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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