Homily Twenty-
Third Sunday of Year A: Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo
·
Ezekiel 33:7-9; · Ps 95:1-2, 6-9’
· Rom 13:8-10
· Matthew 18:15-20
Regaining our Personal
and Communal Hope
Today’s
Psalm 95 “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts,” invites us to
worship the Lord, the King of kings, and the Shepherd of shepherds of Israel.
It invites us to open our ears, our hearts, minds and soul and continuously be
loyal to God. It reminds us what we learned in the past, and what we continue
to learn today: the precepts of the Lord, the Ten Commandants, the love of God
and love of one’ neighbor, as well as the teachings of the Church. The entire
Bible readings of today, allow us to rise to our responsibilities, to regain
our personal and communal hope. It urges us to re-embrace fraternal
correction, the common good, and the desire to meet God in a special way,
especially through love, mercy and charitable acts towards our neighbors, the
poor and even towards the planets and our environments, as stressed by Pope
Francis, in his Laudato si’(“On Care for our Common Home”). This we must
do, regardless of our experiences!
Israel’s
experience in the Babylonian exile of 587 BC was not a good one. It led to
despair. Ezekiel addresses such despair or hopelessness in the 1st
reading: a sermon of restoration, hope and reestablishment of the covenant,
once broken by sin.
As a prophet of exile, Ezekiel
is reappointed as God’s instrument, with a divine appellations “son of man” and
as a “watchman” of Israel. These appellations point to Ezekiel’s humanity, and
prophetic responsibilities. His duty is to courageously serve as an antidote to
discouragement and despair. He is an
agent of hope and love. He is to bring fraternal correction to bear in the
community. As a watchman, Ezekiel is commissioned to remind Israel
that the sins of one’s past count for nothing when we repent and do what is
right. Are we not also called to be prophetic in our own ways, where ever we
are? We are called to be our brothers and sisters keeper. Keeping the common
good!
In Romans
13: 8-10, Saint Paul, like Ezekiel, plays the same prophetic role of preaching
remedies to despair and discouragement. Paul re-emphasized the Ten Commandments
we learned in our catechisms classes, and Sunday schools. Those in the Book of
Exodus and of course in Deuteronomy “Shama Israel”, (Listen, Hear O Israel!).
These laws are wonderful. Yet, for Saint Paul, love, mercy, forgiveness, or charity
to our neighbors, especially the poor, fulfills these laws.
The same
message reechoes in the Gospel (Matt 18:15-20) where Jesus says, if your
brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault. If he refuses invites two
other people to come with you. But if he still refuses to listen bring the
matter to the church, the community of believers. For where two or three
gathered in God’s name, God is surely in their midst.
In all
these, when we put the messages of Ezekiel, Paul and that of Jesus together,
one single theme stands out, namely’ “being our brothers/sisters keeper,”
watching out for neighbors. In the case of Ezekiel, bringing them hope and
support when everybody seems to be hopeless and despair. In the case of Paul,
truly no one who loves his neighbor would think of stealing his neighbor’s
property, abusing his children or wife, since “Love does no evil to the
neighbor.” What stands out in the Gospel also is that, we be a watchman or a
watchwoman to our neighbors in our prayers and counseling. We are called to be
prophetic. Those pieces of advice we gently and compassionately give to our
grandchildren, children, friends, partners, colleagues, spouses count. They go
a long way to help. You never know! We are call to love and to watch our
neighbors back, speak well about our neighbors, whether they are there or not.
Today, we
live in a very troubling time. A time of immeasurable uncertainties,
of poverty, widening gap between the poor and the rich. A time that we are
confronted with climate change and natural tragedies, earthquakes and
hurricanes. Nobody knows what the terrorists might do next. Nobody knows how
far that earthquake, or hurricane might go. Nobody knows hundred percent, how
far the wars going on in different parts of the world might extend. Or what
those with nuclear weapons might do next. We are yet to control, 100 percent, recent
outbreak of epidemics and diseases including AIDs and EBOLA. We still have
gun violent, police brutalities, cultural and racial crises in our world.
In all
these, we have every reason to listen to God’s voice and pray for our nations
and world at large, our civil leaders and ecclesiastical leader. Like
Ezekiel, Paul and Christ, we have every reason to be our brothers and sister
keepers, to constantly pray, advice, and watch out for one another; Regaining
our personal and communal hope!
Reflection Questions:
1.
In what way are you prophetic Like Ezekiel, Paul or Christ-like in your
homes, or areas of work and services?
2.
How often do you forgive or act charitable towards your neighbor or your environment
and mother planet?
3.
How does your personal hope and trust in the Lord strengthen the despaired
members of your faith community?
4.
How much good have you contributed towards the common good? Or help to spread the Gospel?
