Homily-Twenty-First Sunday Year C
Christ, for Nations of Every Language
Fr. Udoekpo, Michael Ufok
§ Isaiah 66:18-21;
§ Ps 117:1-2;
§ Heb 12:5-7, 11-13
§ Luke 13:22-30
During the summer
of 2013 (as you all know), I led pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes, and other Holy
Places in Paris and Rome. It was a wonderful spiritual experience. The group
was universal in nature: 4 from Australia, 3 from Chicago, 4 from Iowa, 3 from
Seattle, 2 from Milwaukee here, many others from New York Area and Los Angeles.
Quite a universal group!
This image of
universality is reflected in today’s scripture passages: universal salvation, a
universal church, a universal kingdom. And to get to this kingdom requires
prayers, hard work, perseverance and discipline.
Isaiah 66, (Third
Isaiah) addresses the image of God who loves everyone, to a group of Israel
returning from exile to a new Zion. The returnees have their own problem:
brokenness, divisions, injustices, power struggle, and clashes with those who
never went on the exile in the first place. There are also some situation of
despair and hopelessness, like any given human society. Should those wives
married in foreign lands be sent away or not!
Isaiah says, “I
come to gather nations of every language, they shall come and see my glory” the
glory of the Lord (Isa 66:18).
The Church of the
new Zion will be Global and universal in nature as the Glory of the Lord
attracts all nations of every language and culture. The Gospel will be
proclaimed to every nation by the remnant, which is us (v.19). And “they
shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all nations.” The Church will
continue to strive to be holy, inclusive in nature and Levites and priests will
come from every nation.
These we are
already experiencing. Think of how Masses are said in different languages all
over the world. During these Masses, especially on Sundays’ same readings are
read and similar sharing of the bread and blood and the word of God are broken
and shared according to various needs of every culture. Again think of
the many priests and missionaries we have serving in our countries, in the
Vatican. They are from different cultures and nations. And they speak and
preach their sermons and homilies in different languages.
In fact, in these
diversities, the central message, the central truth according to the today’s
Gospel parable (Luke 13:22-30) is the same, namely; the Kingdom of God. Jesus
keeps reminding us he came to establish his kingdom, the kingdom of God. In
this kingdom in which Jesus has compared to number of things: the smallest seed
that can grow into a big tree, it is a leaven in a loaf of bread, hidden, but
enables the bread to rise and it has a narrow gate. It is full of surprises.
Those you don’t expect may be first in that kingdom while those you expected to
be first might come last. Above all still, “all people will come from the east
and the west and from the north to the south and recline at table in this
kingdom of God.”
What this implies
is that there is a new way to live in relationship with God and with our
neighbors. Accepting to love as Christ loved. Accepting to forgive as Christ
forgave is a lot of work. This is the “narrow gate.” This is where the
discipline that the second reading, the Letter to the Hebrews talks about, when
it says, “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when
reproved by him, for whom the Lord loves he disciplines, he scourges every son
(“and daughters”) he acknowledges. Endure your trials as discipline” (Heb
12:5-7, 11-13).
Accepting to reach
out universally to every nation with the Good news of Christ takes courage, and
requires endurance. And to even believe that God loves you wherever you are
seated, or live requires great faith. It is a lot of work. This is the
metaphorical narrow gate.
So we pray at this
worship that our broken world and divided society today may continue to work
hard and strive to enter through the narrow gates of charity, forgiveness, and
kindness, constant prayers and always realize the universal nature of God’s
love and blessings upon each and every one of us, since Christ came
specifically “to gather nations of every language and culture” to the Glory of
his Kingdom.
Reflection
Questions
1.
What have we learned from today’s scripture passages?
2.
Do we realize that the Christ of Luke is for every
nation, race, culture, gender, races and classes?
3.
What prevents us from acting inclusively?
Twenty-First Sunday Year C
Go Out to the Whole World and Proclaim the Goodnews (Mk
16:15)![b]
§ Isaiah 66:18-21;
§ Ps 117:1-2;
§ Heb 12:5-7, 11-13
§ Luke 13:22-30
The
responsorial Psalm of today, “go out to the whole world and tell the good news
[euaggelion],” Mark 16:15, sums up the theme of today’s scripture,
namely; the universal nature of God’s love for us; men, women, children from
all walks- of – life and the challenges, the narrow gates, the Christian
disciplines that we face as we strive towards the kingdom of God.
This
universal nature of God’s love for each of us, it does not matter where you
come from, what you look like, what gender you are, is evidence in today’s
first reading, Isaiah 66. The returnees from the Babylonian and Persian exiles
have encountered problems in the Holy Land. There are tensions, there are
politics, there are divisions, there are name callings, and there are all forms
of injustices from the elites. Who is the rightful owner of the land, the golah
(returnees) or the people of the land (those who never experienced the
exile)? Should those wives married outside the land or those children born in
Persia and Babylon be permitted to be part of the newly rebuilt city of Zion or
not? For some no. But for God yes! This is where God steps in, and speaks to
Isaiah to proclaim to the people that, ‘he [God] came to gather nations of
every language, to see his divine glory.” The glory of the Lord, his goodness,
his love, his mercy, especially in this Year of Mercy, is universal!
These
we are already experiencing. Think of how Masses are said in different
languages all over the world. At these Masses, same readings are read and
similar sharing of the bread and blood and the word of God are broken and
shared according to various needs of every culture. Again think of the
many priests and missionaries we have serving in our countries, in the Vatican,
in parishes schools and seminaries. They are from different cultures and
nations. And they speak and preach their sermons and homilies in different
languages.
In
baptism each of us is commissioned to be bearers, preachers, and doers of this
universal, inclusive love and mercy of God, manifested in Christ, wherever we
live are- Africa, Europe, Asia, America … California, New York! Following
Christ, who is the way, the gate, the truth and the life (John 14:6) was never
going to be easy at all. It comes with all kinds of challenges and disciplines
alluded to in the 2nd reading, the Letter to the Hebrews 12.
In
this (Year of Mercy)…. one can imagine how challenging it could be to live, for
example, the corporeal works of mercy: feeding the hungry—when some us may not
yet have enough for ourselves and our children, giving drink to the thirsty,
clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, those in
imprisons, and burying the dead?
Doing
these are classic examples of preaching the Good News, and of entering through
the narrow gate specified in today’s Gospel parable (Luke 13:22-33). Following
the example of Christ is this narrow gate. Loving one another as Christ loves
is this narrow gate. Reaching out to the poor, the voiceless and the
marginalized as Christ does, is this narrow gate. Embracing everyone, from
north and south, east and west is this narrow gate. Giving out your used
clothing or contributing to the food pantry is this narrow gates! This is what
it means to go out to the whole world and proclaim the good news to all without
counting the cost! May we all go out there proclaiming the Goodnews to every
nation of every language and culture.
Reflection
Questions
1.
What have we learned from today’s scripture passages?
2.
Do we realize that the Christ of Luke is for every
nation, race, culture, gender, language and class?
3.
What prevents us from acting inclusively?
