Homily- Saturday of the 21st Week of Ord.
Time, Yr. B./Memorial of the Passion of John the Baptist, August 29th.
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1 Cor 1:26-31
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Psalm 33:12-13,18-19,20-21
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Mark 6:17-29
Yesterday we celebrated the memorial of St. Augustine,
one of the greatest doctors of the Church. Today, the church focuses her
reflection on the meaning of the suffering, passion and martyrdom of John the
Baptist, son of Elizabeth and Zechariah, the precursor of Jesus, who came to
prepare the way, and whose sandals he was not worthy to untie( Matt 1-2, Luke
1-2). It is a celebration of faith. It is a celebration of prophetic courage,
wisdom and fearlessness in preaching the Gospel. It is a celebration of the triumph
of the cross, and a celebration of truth and justice.
These, truth, justice, humility, prophetic faith, courage
and God’s Wisdom are heard resounding in today’s Bible readings.
In the first
reading, 1 Corinthian 1:26-31, written in Ephesus (I Cor 16:8) in the early
50sAD, by Paul to courageously like John the Baptist persuade the early
Corinthian church in a number of ways to follow the teachings of Christ, the
true wisdom of God. In this passage, Paul not only challenge, corruption, their
lack of faith in the day of the Lord, immorality and disunity among them, but
their absolute reliance on Greek philosophy and human wisdom (Sophia),or their aristocratic
social status of wisdom, power and social nobility of birth. It took courage
for Paul to remind them that despite the poor origin of some of the Corinthians,
some of them now inordinately claimed to be spiritually powerful. But calling
them, weak, poor, nothing, lowly Paul reminded them of God’s Wisdom of doing
things, governing the universe and managing, so to say the fortunes of his
people. We have seen this throughout biblical account, in the story of the
Exodus, the exile and in the life of Mary, Christ’s mother, as presented in the
Magnificat! In fact, for Paul, whoever boast, be in ancient Corinth, or in our
modern day communities, parishes, dioceses or society at large, should boast
in our Lord Jesus Christ, the true
wisdom of God.
Paul’s missionary courage in Corinth and beyond is
foregrounded in the courage and passion of John the Baptist of today’s Gospel
Mark 6:17-29, also heard in Matthew 14:1-12; Luke 9:7-9 and in the Antiquities
of Josephus 18:109-119.
In these stories
John the Baptist displays what it means to be a prophet, who preaches and
teaches the truth and justice without fear of imprisonment and death. His passion reminds us of how we must reject
the cowardice of king Herod, his corruption and the pervasiveness of Herodias,
his late brother’s wife, whom John had rightly advised not to marry, her brother-in-law king Herod. John’s passion reminds us and compares Herod
and Herodias’ corrupt, unwise, and unjust, behaviors to that of King Ahab and
his wife Jezebel’s pursuits of Elijah, God’s prophet, in 1 Kings 18-19.
John the Baptist passion or his exemplary prophetic life
lives on. His passion, and this celebration reminds us of the “Herods” and the “Herodias”
of time, of our villages, towns, political capitals and various communities.
We are called to
be like John in preaching not only justice and truth with courage, but in
bearing witness, in pointing others to Christ, the Lamb of God with humility
and joy, and in bringing people to Christ and Christ to people of all walks of
life with courage.
Reflection Question
1.
How prophetic are we in our various
ministries and states of life?
2.
In moment of persecution because of
our faith how do we react?
3.
In what areas or aspect of today’s
scriptures can we relate to?
4.
Could you think of the Paul, the
John the Baptist, the Herods, the Herodias and her daughters of today?
