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!

Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B)

Aug 16, 2015

2241

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First Reading

A reading from the first Book of Proverbs (9:1-6)

Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; She has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. She has sent out her maidens; she calls from the heights out over the city: "Let whoever is simple turn in here; to the one who lacks understanding, she says, Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.

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

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7)

(R) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be ever in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad. (R)

Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol His name. I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. (R)

Look to Him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the poor one called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress He saved him. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians (5:15-20)

Brothers and sisters: Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord. And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

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

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (6:51-58)

Jesus said to the crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."

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

Homily

A doctor going over the medical test results of a patient, said to him, "I have some bad news and worse news to tell you. Which one do you want to hear first? The man said, "I want to hear the bad news first." The doctor said, "The bad news is that you only have twenty-four hours to live." At this the man jumped up and was crying out aloud and complaining, "Twenty-four hours to live? I can't believe this. There is no time to complete all of what I want do. But what could be worse news than this?" The doctor said, "The worse news is that I was supposed to tell you this yesterday."

Some might say it is never too late to ask for salvation, as long as a person is alive. Usually they use the story of the thief on the cross in the Bible as an example. But Saint Paul reminds us that we do not have to wait until the last hour to seek the Spirit of God. As a matter of fact, he says that every opportunity given by God is a clear call to action.

For the last three weeks we have been looking at two chapters 4 and 5, of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Paul, who was in prison in Rome, heard about the tension and conflict between the Jewish and Gentile Christians over many issues, and wrote the letter to encourage them to persevere in their faith in Jesus, to live a life worthy of the call they had received, and make them understand the eternal plan and purpose of God for them. He reminded them that God called forth His people and saved them so that they will not choose to live the way of the non-believers, but rather to live a holy and righteous life. Therefore, they were to shed their old sinful self and put on their new self in Christ. Last week, we read how Paul urged them to avoid grieving the Spirit of God. He told them to remove "all bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, reviling and malice" that not only caused pain, suffering and sadness to themselves and others but also to the Spirit of God which they received at baptism. Moreover, he admonished them to lead a life of compassion, forgiveness and love, just like Jesus Christ. That is, he called on them to imitate God because they were His beloved children.

In today's text Paul explains further, "Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. Do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand the will of the Lord."

Paul implored them to watch carefully how they live because as Christians they had immense advantages over the unbelievers.

They were chosen by God.
They knew the truth, the truth as it is in Jesus. Lord Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly", John (10:10).
They were given an invitation to come to Jesus. Jesus said, "Come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest", Matthew (11: 28).
They were given a firm promise by Jesus. Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom", Matthew (16:28).

So, Paul entreated them to be wise, making the most of the opportunity because the situation around them was seemingly against them. He urged them to prepare themselves in this way so that they can withstand "the evil days". "Evil days", refers to times of hardships, trials, difficulties, feelings of bitterness, anger, hurt, frustration, annoyance or disappointment which can be put to good use. Therefore, Paul urged them to make use of these evil days to demonstrate their Christian faith, commitment, compassion, forgiveness and love. He then called on them not to remain ignorant but try to understand the will of the Lord. The will of the Lord is that we may believe in Him and have eternal life.

Paul then warned them, that as they struggled through life amidst evil days, not to be enslaved to other things. He said, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery but instead be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and playing music to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father."

Here Paul does not say "do not drink wine" but "do not get drunk on wine", because drunkenness so easily leads to lack of control. The Greek word for "debauchary" is asotia, which means "without any limits, with reckless abandonment". It refers to escapism and the tendency to live without control. So, Paul told them, when the days are evil, when they suffer hardships, trials, setbacks, disappointments or betrayals, when they are confronted by evil, not to turn to drunkenness because drunkenness would open them up to even greater evils. But in contrast to that, Paul told them to stimulate and strengthen themselves in the Spirit - the Spirit of God.

Today the problems we face are not much different from those of the first century Christians. Our world may have advanced technologically but the world in which we live is essentially the same as the world in which they lived. We are still surrounded by evil. We cannot rid the world of evil because mankind has free will, and many choose to use their free will wrongly. But we all can try and help one another to recognize evil when it appears and then do something about it.

Therefore, as Christians we must take Paul's exhortation seriously:

Let us remember, we are God's chosen people. He has called us into holiness.
Let us pay much attention to how we live our life. Every step we take as Christians is spiritual growth, which is vital as it brings us closer to others and God. We must watch our thoughts, words and actions. All these are important. They are the seeds. Whatsoever we sow, we shall also reap.
Let us make use of our Christian faith to combat the evil around us. As Saint Francis of Assisi says, "Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy."
Let us seek God for His Wisdom - the Word of God - which has been conveyed to us through men and women. The Word of God reveals not only the nature and the goodness of God but also the evil that exists from the beginning of time. We have stories, starting with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the Prophets, His Son Jesus, the apostles and early Christians. Each in his or her own unique and individual way teaches and guides us to understand God's nature and purpose. However, we also have a long history of repeating the sinful and foolish ways of our first parents, Adam and Eve's disobedience to the voice of God. Often times we also prefer sinful foolishness to following God's Wisdom. We are stubborn and do not want to change our attitudes and behavior. Let us not dare to continue to live any longer in ignorance but strive to know the Lord and obey His voice.
When we are surrounded by evil let us not become slaves to alcohol, drugs, sex and violence but instead seek the Spirit of God, sing praises and give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord is with us for he says, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me", John (14:1).

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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