Homily Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Year A:
Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo
·
Eze 18:25–28;· Ps 25:4–9;
· Phil 2:1–11
· Matt 21:28–32
Our
Faith Journey is Not Over Until It is Over!
In our society today, it is very common to
blame others for our failures and past mistakes. Just as it is common to
attribute our successes to others. This is why we have formed the
concepts of individual and collective responsibilities. With collective
responsibility we easily tend to see ourselves as victims, and blame the
present on the past. Of course, such tendency is not new. When we look closely
at the history of Israel, God's chosen people, it was there. Sin and suffering
were blamed on the mistakes of their ancestors. In the
time of Christ, you would recall the incidence of the healing of the blind
man, in John 9, when the Disciples of Christ asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned,
this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”(John 9:1–41). It is very
easy for any of us to hold onto the past, to constantly blame the past on the
present! Or to think that all hope is lost! All hope is not lost. Stop holding
onto your past sins and mistakes and know that there is hope, there newness of
life, there is a way out in Christ for those who repent! Your faith journey is
not over until it is over!!
Today’s Scripture readings, beginning with
the Prophet Ezekiel lay emphasis on this, on hope, which is never lost in
Christ! Our faith journey is not yet over. Every present moment of a Christian
is important. Individual attitude, disposition, willingness, volition and
humility to come back to God, in obedience, prayer and thankfulness are
all important.
Ezekiel’s prophecy of individual
responsibility becomes clear at a time when the chosen people had lost not only
the monarchy, but the land and the temple. They found themselves in exile.
Ezekiel’s contemporaries saw their loss and sufferings as a consequence, not of
their sinfulness, but of their ancestors. They believed they were not
responsible, but rather were victims. And in fact, they also thought that God
was unfair to them. How many times do we not blame others for our failures and
mistakes?
In
today’s Lesson, Ezekiel challenges this erroneous mindset and argues that each
person bears personal responsibility for his or her own conduct. As a fellow
exiled, Ezekiel stresses that, “when someone virtuous turns away from virtue to
commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity that he must die. But
if he turns from the wickedness, he has committed and does what is right and
just, he shall preserve his life. Since he has turned away from all the sins
that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die,” (Eze 18:25–28),
the land shall be regained.
Any
of us can be any of these two sons, and behave likewise, especially the
first son, changing our minds to do the will of God our father. Conversion,
regret, repentance (metamelomai) modelled by the first son is ongoing,
even by looking at the forces and theological implications of the language of
Greek aorist participles, deponent verbs, used in this very passage (aperchomai,
metamelomai etc ). Metanoia (spiritual, social, political, economic transformation)
is onward not backward. It is a process. It is never too late, even for tax
collectors, prostitutes or for those who might find themselves in any bad past
habit of sins.
Pope
Francis continues to stress this point in his homilies and teachings. Saint
Augustine, and many other saints, who were once sinners but later became
saints, are good models for (change, repentance, and transformation) us. Saint
Paul, who’s Letter to the Philippians we read today, in the second reading, was
once a persecutor of the faith, before he became a promoter of the Good
news of Christ to the Gentiles.
In that second reading, Paul reminds the
Philippians, of course, all of us today, the deeds and the attitude of Christ
that we are called to imitate, irrespective of our past mistakes. Love, mercy,
selflessness, compassion, hospitality, and humility, according to Paul,
should be our catchwords. Paul reminds us that, Christ, though he was in
the form of God, he did not count equality with God. Rather, he humbled
himself. He freely became obedient onto the cross, through his faith, and
hope preaching on the street of Jerusalem.
Our nations, our continents, our families,
each of us, individually can always step back, and look at our past mistakes
and even accomplishments. We can also
serve as agents, messengers and viceroys of transformation (spiritually, pastorally, socially,
economically, and politically) in our faith communities). Our Christian
journey is like a two side coin. On one side, is our baptismal
certificate and our calling to live out our baptismal promises and
responsibilities. And on the other side, Christ frees us from the sins of the
past if we are willing to say yes, and turn to him, today in humility. Or
be able to personally pray with the psalmist, “your ways, O Lord, make known to
me; teach me your paths” (Ps 25). Every present moment is a moment of
decision, and our faith journey is not yet over!
1.
Do you have the same attitude in you, that is in Christ,
Paul or Ezekiel of today’s Scripture passages?
2.
How often do you tend to blame others for your sins and
failures?
3.
How often do you tend to take personal responsibility for
your actions?
4.
How often are you open for change or willing to act as
agent of hope, change, repentance and transformation (spiritual, social,
political, economic etc) in your faith or religious communities?
