Father Valan Arockiaswamy

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HOMILIES

Close 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 B)

Jun 28, 2015 Views 3727 Listen 39 Downloads 0
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First Reading

A reading from the Book of Wisdom (1:13-15; 2:23-24)

God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living. For He fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the netherworld on Earth, for justice is undying. For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of His own nature He made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it.

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

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (30:2, 5-6, 11, 12, 13)


(R) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

I will extol you, O Lord, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord, you brought me up from the netherworld; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit. (R)

Sing praise to the Lord, you His faithful ones, and give thanks to His holy name. For His anger lasts but a moment; a lifetime, His good will. At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing. (R)

Hear, O Lord, and have pity on me; O Lord, be my helper. You changed my mourning into dancing; O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (8:7, 9, 13-15)

Brothers and sisters: As you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you, may you excel in this gracious act also.

For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. Not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their needs, so that their abundance may also supply your needs, that there may be equality. As it is written: Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less.

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

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (5:21-24, 35b-43)

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live." He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.

While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith." He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep." And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" The girl, a child of twelve, arouse immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.

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

Homily

Once a travel agent looked up from his desk and saw an elderly man and a woman peering into his shop window, where posters of glamorous destinations around the world were displayed. They were looking very dejected because they could never afford to visit such places. This aroused a rare feeling of generosity in the agent. So he called them into his shop and said, "You know! I had a good sale today. In fact, today is the best sales day of the week. I want to share my joy with you by giving both of you two free air tickets and a hotel room at a fabulous resort at my expense. Would you like to accept the offer?" They gladly accepted it, and were soon on their way. About a month later, the lady returned to the shop and said to the travel agent, "I'm here to thank you, Mr. I enjoyed my trip very much. The flight was pleasant; the room was lovely, and it was an excellent trip." "But one thing puzzled me", she said, "Tell me, who was that old guy I had to share the room with?"

As Saint Paul went about preaching the gospel of Jesus, he was also encouraging the believers to nurture a spirit of generosity toward the poor, and those in need. Particularly he spent about ten years soliciting funds for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. At the time of Paul the Corinthian Christians were quite prosperous and wealthy, and they had made a commitment to help the needy believers in Jerusalem. But for various reasons, they began to renege or fail to carry out the promise. So in chapter eight and nine of his Second Letter to the Corinthians, he provides a detailed model of Christian giving. Today we read a part of the exhortation in which he reminded them to live up to their "pledge", to contribute to the poor.

He wrote, "As you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, earnestness, and in the love we have for you, may you excel in this gracious act also." Paul saw the "giving" as a gracious act in which he wanted the Corinthians to excel. In support of this, he put before them three reasons for giving.

  • "For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich."

    Paul provided the Corinthians with the example of self-giving love, the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was God and rich but became poor for our sake so that we might become rich. He gave his life so that we will have life. So giving is not just about one's duty or responsibility or sympathy toward the suffering or the situation but rather it is about self-giving without any condition like Jesus Christ. In Paul's view, therefore, Jesus is the first reason for giving.

  • "Not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their needs."

    Paul did not want the Corinthians to impoverish themselves or borrow from others or put themselves in debt or starve their own family or lose their homes so they can give to others, but to share from their abundance. In that way he said everyone's basic needs could be met and everyone could feel equal. Here equality does not mean that everyone must have the same standard of living or own precisely the same things but rather to ensure the basic needs of the less fortunate are met. So, Paul's second reason is to point out that whatever we earn should not be hoarded for ourselves but is meant to be shared with those in need too.

  • "So that their abundance may also supply your needs."

    Paul reminded the Corinthians that while they had plenty, they should share, because the time might come when they would be needy too, and other Christians would in turn share with them. That's to say, Paul wanted them to be open to release their gifts while trusting God to meet their needs. As for the third reason, therefore, Paul believed that "the measure you give is the measure you will receive or what goes round comes round or what you do to others will be done unto you."

Paul then added a quote from the Book of Exodus, (16:18): "As it is written, whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less." According to the story of the Old Testament, the Israelites had come out of Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and were in the wilderness where there was almost no food. God provided for their needs by giving them manna to eat. When God first gave them manna, He tested them by instructing them to save only enough manna that was needed for the day. When some of the people tried to save extra, it became wormy and spoiled. Paul quoted it not as a proof, but to instruct them that all Christian believers must strive for a kind of equality by which those who have more, generously share with those who have less.

Taking up collections at religious services regularly to help the needy is a noble tradition which we have inherited from the early Christian communities. As part of the universal church, in doing so, it gives us the opportunity to share the aspirations and meet the needs of others. This type of giving has benefited both Christians and non-Christians throughout the world for generations. Churches, schools, colleges, seminaries, hospitals and other social welfare institutions bear witness to the universal church's caring and sharing spirit.

For instance, I count myself among those who have benefited much from this generosity of spirit. I had the benefit of staying in Catholic homes for poor children, seminaries and attending Catholic schools and colleges. I wouldn't be standing here today if it were not for all those generous Christians from different parts of the world who contributed to my education and training for the priesthood. My heart is always filled with overflowing gratitude, and sincere appreciation for those believers who shared and continue to share from their abundance with me and many others in need.

While I have no complaints, as I said that I am one of those who have benefited much, I do feel that the spirit of generosity may be still foreign to many Christians. Some people share trivial amounts of their abundance. Some give nothing at all. And some are oblivious to the needs of the poor around them. Some give a lot of excuses for not helping the poor, such as, somebody else will help them; I have to take care of my own needs first; it's their own fault that they are poor; I really do not have enough money to help anyway; giving to the poor doesn't really do any good; alleviating poverty and establishing social and economic justice is not church calling; the Church is already rich and so on. Thus some Christians come up with many such excuses.

Saint Paul encourages us to become generous people. He urges us to help others particularly the poor and needy regardless of whether they are friends, colleagues or strangers, their age, nationality, color, ethnicity, creed, sexual orientation, location, personal economic condition and our own life circumstances. We are not asked to give to others to make them rich or to raise them to our living standard but to help meet their actual basic needs. God does not entrust us with talents and resources so we can hoard them for ourselves but so we may help others the best we can.

Therefore, when someone is in dire need, and we have the resources to alleviate that need, let us generously and joyfully do so for Jesus. Let us trust God that He will care for our every need, let us continue to reach out to our brothers and sisters to both those near and far through the Church's charitable institutions. Let us also remember that our Lord Jesus condemns the desire to accumulate and hoard material things especially at the expense of the poor, or in defiance of a humble dependence on God.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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