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HOMILIES ARCHIVE
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!
Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)
109
2
0First Reading
A reading from the first Book of Kings (19:9a, 11-13a)
At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter. Then the Lord said, "Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by." A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord - but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake - but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire - but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
(P) The word of the Lord.(R) Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms of David (85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14)
(R) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims; the Lord - for He proclaims peace. Near indeed is His salvation to those who fear Him, glory dwelling in our land. (R)
Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the Earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. (R)
The Lord himself will give His benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before Him, and prepare the way of His steps. (R)
Second Reading
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (9:1-5)
Brothers and sisters: I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie; my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. They are Israelites; theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
(P) The word of the Lord.(R) Thanks be to God.
Gospel
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew (14:22-33)
After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God."
(P) The Gospel of the Lord.(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Homily
I came across a story recently. A man suffers from a severe, unrelenting toothache that hurts whether he sits or stands or lies down. His wife unsympathetically tells him, "If that were my tooth, I would have it removed immediately." The man yells back, "If it were your tooth, I'd have it removed too! The problem is it's my tooth, not yours."
In today's second reading, Romans (9:1-5), the Apostle Paul is talking about his "unceasing heartache." This heartache is not a physical pain like a toothache, but a profound, ongoing spiritual pain over his fellow Jewish people who had rejected Jesus as the Messiah. To understand Paul's heartache, we need to know the historical and theological context of his time. Paul wrote the letter to the Romans from the ancient city of Corinth in Greece near the end of his third missionary journey before heading back to Jerusalem where he would be arrested and imprisoned for two years. Paul had not yet travelled to Rome or preached there. He explicitly noted this in his letter, though he deeply longed and prayed to do so for many years, Romans (1:11-13; 15:23-24).
It is believed that the gospel of Jesus was first made known to people in Rome by ordinary believers like merchants, travellers and Jewish converts or pilgrims who had heard Peter preach at Pentecost in Jerusalem and returned to Rome, and not by high-ranking apostles like Peter or Paul. Paul did eventually reach Rome as a prisoner and lived under house arrest where he boldly taught about Jesus Christ to all who visited him. After being released from his two-year imprisonment, he travelled further - possibly to Spain - before he was captured a second time, brought back to Rome, and eventually executed by beheading under Emperor Nero.
Around 49 A.D. the Emperor Claudius expelled Jews and Jewish Christian believers, including prominent Jewish-Christian couples like Aquila and Priscilla from Rome due to civil unrest. During the roughly five years of exile, the early Christian community in Rome became predominantly Gentile. When Jewish Christians returned to Rome after the death of Claudius, cultural and religious tensions arose primarily between the returning Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians who had grown accustomed to running the local churches without traditional Jewish dietary laws, sabbath customs, rituals and so on. Hence, Paul wrote the letter to the Romans and entrusted Phoebe, a deacon of the church to hand-carry and deliver it to the believers in Rome. In the letter, Paul introduced himself to the Roman Christians, explained the gospel message (Salvation is the gracious, undeserved gift of God, Ephesians (2:5, 8) and is only available through faith in Jesus Christ), and encouraged them to be united regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, cultural differences, or past status.
In the text right before chapter 9 (specifically chapter 8) which we read last week, Paul spoke about the unbreakable, permanent love of God in Christ Jesus. He expressed total confidence that nothing in existence - neither hardship, persecution, famine, death, life, angels, danger, nor powers, - can separate believers from the love of God in Christ Jesus; instead, he declared that they would achieve an overwhelming victory through Him, fully secured by God's unending love. This declaration naturally raised questions regarding Jewish people who rejected Jesus as the Messiah, prompting Paul to address the Jewish unbelief, God's ongoing faithfulness, and covenant promises. Today we read a part of that.
Paul writes, "I speak the truth in Christ; I do not lie; my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I, myself, were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh."
First of all, Paul makes a solemn oath to prove that he is telling the absolute truth about his deep love for his fellow Israelites and sorrow for their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. According to ancient Jewish law, two or three witnesses were required to confirm a fact, establish the truth, or settle a legal or community charge, Deuteronomy (17:6 and 19:15). So, Paul, here, invokes his human conscience and the divine Holy Spirit as a dual witness to validate his absolute truthfulness and deep grief. His grief is so huge that he says he could wish himself "cursed and cut off from Christ" if it would save them. This profound expression of sacrificial love mirrors Jesus bearing the curse for humanity on the cross, Galatians (3:13).
Secondly, Paul lists nine distinct spiritual privileges and gifts given by God to the Israelites. He writes, "They are Israelites, theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen."
- They were called Israelites. In the Bible, "Israelites" refers to the descendants of Jacob, whose name was changed by God to Israel, which means "one who struggled with God" or "one who wrestled with God." The Israelites were God's chosen people out of all the peoples on earth, not because they were great or powerful, but for a specific purpose: to obey God's laws, represent Him to the rest of the world, and bring blessings and salvation to all nations, Deuteronomy (7:6-8).
- They received the gift of adoption. While all human beings are God's creations made in His image, we are separated from God and lose our close familial relationship with Him due to the sin of Adam and Eve. We can become children of God only by adoption. The Israelites were the first people whom God chose and designated as His adopted children.
- They saw the "glory" (shekinah) meaning the majestic presence of God in tangible, physical ways throughout their history. They experienced God's presence as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night during the Exodus (13:21-22), on Mount Sinai amid thick cloud, thunder, lightning, smoke, fire, and earthquakes, Exodus (19:16-18), and later in the Tabernacle and Solomon's permanent temple in Jerusalem, Exodus (40:34-38) and 1 Kings (8:10-11).
- They received the covenants. A covenant is a sacred, solemn agreement between God and human beings where God commits Himself to specific promises, like providing land, descendants, protection, and ultimate redemption, while the human beings commit to obeying God's commands and laws. This covenant began at creation with God promising Adam and Eve, life and blessing for their obedience, but after they disobeyed and brought sin into the world, it was progressively unfolded and expanded through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and their descendants and ultimately found its fulfilment through Jesus Christ.
- They received God's law, consisting of the 10 commandments and hundreds of additional regulations following their exodus from Egypt. These laws were intended to guide them in their daily routines, moral choices, religious worship, and social relationships, while distinguishing them from other people.
- They received a detailed system of rituals, sacrifices, purity laws, a priesthood, a holy tent or temple, and a festival calendar so they could worship God properly and stay close to Him.
- They received many promises from God, including a permanent homeland, countless descendants, divine protection, a special covenant relationship where He would be their God, a lasting royal dynasty through king David, and a future Messiah who would bring about ultimate redemption, peace, and spiritual renewal to the individuals, community, and the world.
- They received many patriarchs including Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob, and followed by Jacob's twelve sons. These men acted as the Israelites' faithful spiritual heads and covenant leaders.
- They were the ancestral lineage from whom Christ (Messiah) was promised and who eventually came in the person of Jesus who He is God over all, blessed forever.
What is the message for us?
God's ultimate and foundational gift is Jesus Christ who brings salvation, grace and eternal life. Beyond this supreme gift, God has also given us the Holy Spirit to live inside us, guide, comfort, and empower us in our daily lives; the Scripture full of truth, wisdom, hope, comfort, strength, power, life-giving guidance and promises for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing; the sacraments to share His divine grace, sanctify our lives, build up the body of Christ or the Church, and give glory to God; traditional and personal ways, like Novenas, Rosaries, Lectio Divina etc. to pray, worship, and connect with Him; priests and pastors to guide, teach, and care for us; families to learn about His love, share our faith, and grow together in a troubled world; church buildings and physical spaces for worship, fellowship, community outreach, and quiet prayer; and communities to support one another, share our life's burdens, grow in faith, and reflect His love.
Therefore, we have every reason to praise the Lord for His many gifts and blessings including the spiritual gifts and privileges described by the Apostle Paul. We should not take any of these gifts or privileges for granted for they are expressions of God's grace, not human privilege or entitlement. While we should strive to make the best use of these gifts and privileges, we should also give thanks to God for extending His eternal covenant of grace, originally made with the Israelites, to us through Jesus Christ and giving us these gifts so that we can come close to His loving presence every single day, offering us eternal hope, daily strength, and a deep, loving relationship with Him. However, we should rely on our own personal faith and God's grace rather than the spiritual achievements, or heritage of family members and past generations, or the faith of our parents and grandparents, to face life's challenges with inner peace.
We should feel a genuine, deep sorrow, and unceasing anguish, not just passing sadness, for people, including our family members, relatives, and friends who do not know God yet or who are lost. Let us truly realize the spiritual danger they face. Just like Paul did, let us allow ourselves to feel real sadness for them, share the gospel with a loving heart and turn our grief into steady prayer for their salvation, believing that the Lord God who heard St. Monica's desperate tears and prayers for her son Augustine's conversion, may also listen to our pleas for our loved ones today.
God Bless You!
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