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!

Twenty Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Oct 13, 2013

2448

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First Reading

A reading from the second Book of Kings (5:14-17)

Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of Elisha, the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean of his leprosy.

Naaman returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before Elisha and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant."

Elisha replied, "As the Lord lives whom I serve, I will not take it"; and despite Naaman's urging, he still refused. Naaman said: "If you will not accept, please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the Lord."

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

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18)

(R) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (R)

The Lord has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. (R)

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands: break into song; sing praise. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy (2:8-13)

Beloved: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David: such is my gospel, for which I am suffering, even to the point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.

Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory. This saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

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

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (17:11-19)

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleaned. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

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

Homily

There is a story of a man with a problem. One day he tells his friend, "You know, my wife is complaining all the time. I'm either too slow or too fast, I eat too much or too little, spend too much time at home or do not give her enough attention - she's grumbling all the time. I have tried my best to be nice to her. I don't know what to do anymore. What am I to do?" The friend says, "There's only one solution to your problem. Go and marry a second wife, just like I did. So whenever your first wife is giving you a hard time, you..." (He doesn't even complete the sentence). The man says, "Oh, you mean, I will just leave and stay with my second wife for a while!"

Both smiled, very pleased with themselves. So the man leaves and happily gets married to a second wife and for a time things go well. Then the man faces the situation of two women grumbling at him. So when he has a problem with the first wife he leaves her and goes to the second wife but he is chased away by the other wife as well and often has no place to sleep. And so in despair he goes to a nearby church to spend the night. Much to his surprise he finds his friend there and immediately starts chiding him. "You" the man says and repeats "you! You are the prime cause of my extended misery! If it weren't for you I would be perfectly unhappy with one woman - but now both of them are turning my life into hell. Why on earth did you give me such advice?" The friend says, "Well, I wanted some company for my nights. I have the same problem as you."

Friends, in today's second reading Saint Paul gives a piece of kind advice to Christians who are facing hardships. Before we examine the text let me recap what we have learned so far from the letters of Saint Paul to Timothy. Paul selects Timothy to accompany him on his second missionary journey and appoints Timothy as the leader of the church at Ephesus, and then continues his journey to other places. Paul is a zealous, courageous and powerful preacher whereas Timothy is a young, timid, frail and affectionate man. While in Macedonia Paul hears of some problems in the church at Ephesus. So he writes his first letter to strengthen Timothy in his role as Christian leader. He instructs Timothy on how to lead the church as its spiritual leader and gives advice on several issues affecting the church. He concludes his first letter with a loving command to Timothy that as a man of God, he should pursue virtues and noble qualities namely righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness and with a warning that he should guard the trust that has been entrusted to him.

By the time Paul writes his second letter Timothy has been the minister of the church for four years. This letter is different from the previous one for three reasons: (1) It is written from his prison cell in Rome. (2) It is a more personal letter. (3) It is Paul's last letter before his martyrdom. Paul is in prison isolated, abandoned, tortured and waiting to be beheaded soon. Outside the prison Timothy and others are troubled by false teachers from within the church while at the same time, facing persecution from Nero, the emperor of Rome. So it is within this context that Paul writes to Timothy.

In last week's text Paul reminds Timothy of the gift of the presence of Jesus Christ and of the power, love and self-control given to him through the laying on of hands by the apostles and encourages him not to be ashamed but rather to boldly and faithfully proclaim the name of Christ. He exhorts Timothy to emulate his strong faith in Christ and endure his share of hardship for the sake of the gospel. In the texts between last Sunday and today's Paul uses the good qualities of a soldier, farmer and athlete to encourage Timothy to face trials. In today's passage Paul makes the greatest appeal to Timothy. He urges Timothy to remember Jesus Christ. Paul says, "Beloved: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David, such is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained."

Paul tells Timothy to remember three things:

Remember, Jesus Christ is raised from the dead. In other words, Paul wants Timothy to remember not so much the actual resurrection of Jesus but rather the presence and power of the resurrected Christ. Timothy is told to remember that Jesus Christ is alive and He is always present with him in his ministry.
Remember, Jesus Christ is a descendant of David. In other words, Paul tells Timothy to remember not only the divine power of Jesus Christ proven by His resurrection from the dead but also the humanness of Jesus. Timothy is told to remember that Jesus Christ was both God and man; and that while He was on earth, He suffered like any other human being and surrendered to the will of God to the end.
Remember, the gospel of Jesus for which Paul suffers. In other words, Paul tells Timothy to remember, even if the gospel of Jesus is too hard and too demanding, it is still good news and it has the power to redeem people from sin and make them victorious in all circumstances. Paul reminds Timothy that the Word of God is so powerful that it cannot be bound by anyone on earth even though the messengers are prohibited from preaching it. Therefore he says that he bears everything so that many more people may come to believe in Jesus Christ and obtain salvation through Him. Paul reminds Timothy that he willingly and faithfully accepts suffering and persecution so as to encourage perseverance among believers.
Finally, Paul reminds Timothy that perseverance is not optional but central to our Christian faith and life, a manifestation of our union with Christ. He says, "If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself."

Friends, Paul's advice to Timothy still applies to all of us. In times of trial and tribulation, despair and disappointment, fear and anxiety:

Let us remember that mysteriously and invisibly the risen Lord accompanies us on our journey.
Let us remember that Jesus Christ understands our struggles. He knows what we are going through. He may not make our troubles go away, but he certainly will remind us that not even He as God in the flesh was exempt from suffering. In Jesus, we see that God himself is willing to suffer.
Let us remember that the gospel of Jesus blesses all who accept and live it. Even when the gospel demands a radical sacrifice let us remember it is the guide to peace in this life and joy in eternity.
Lastly, let us remember that our perseverance in our faith is a means to help other Christians in their faith, and if we endure, we will also reign with him. However, even if we turn away from Jesus, he will not turn away from us for He is the God of mercy, justice and love. He cannot act contrary to His nature. He is always faithful.

Therefore friends, in times of despair and difficulties, hold the cross or crucifix in your palm, look at it and first, consciously remember that Jesus Christ is God; He is alive; He is ever present with you and He gives you much strength and courage. Second remember that Jesus Christ is fully human; He understands your struggles and He helps you overcome all obstacles. Third, as you hold him listen to what He tells you; believe in His word, accept it and live it. The Good News of Christ will never fail to redeem you.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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