Homily- for Thursdays of the 25th Week in Ord.
Time Yr. B. Fr. Udoekpo, Michael
v Eccl 1:2-11
v Ps 90: 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and17bc
v Luke 9:7-9
“In Every Age, O Lord, You Have
Been Our Refuge (Mā’ôn),” (Ps 90:1)
Today’s responsorial Psalm “in every age, O Lord, you
have been our refuge” (dwelling place, habitation, [Mā’ôn]), a communal
laments and prayer, truly captures the theology and spiritual essence of today’s
bible readings. It’s also a reminder of the Vatican II’s document, Gaudium et
Spes (“signs of times”/ a Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern
World), which in a way expresses that every age has its challenges. But, in
the midst of these challenges, which are not new, based on life experiences,
the Lord remains the dwelling place, the habitation, and refuge of every
believer.
This is true in the biblical theology of today’s first
reading, from the Book of Ecclesiastes 1:2-11, that, says “there is nothing new
under the sun, vanity of vanities, all things are vanity.” Of course, don’t
forget “Ecclesiastes”, again, is the Latin rendering of the Hebrew name of the author, Qoheleth,
which simply means, “gatherer”, “preacher” and “teacher.” It might have been
written between 450 and 330 BCE during the time of economic and socio-political
growth in the Persian Empire, but Ecclesiastes teaches, us, humanity of the
mortality, and the limitation of human beings. It reminds us of the eternity of
God, and of the brevity of human life and material possessions. The
idea of life and death is a clearer example (8:8; Ps 39:4-11; 62:9; 78:33; Job
7:16) of “vanity” or “hebel” in Hebrew, which simply means “vapor” or “breath”
(Isa 57:13; Ps 62:9).
Qoheleth, the wisdom teacher, and the preacher,
teaches and preaches idiomatically to his original audience, and perhaps to us
today, with experience and knowledge of life’s tradition. Despite, the newness
of economic life of his audience in the Persian Empire, at the time, the
fundamental problem they faced as any other generation in a world that is
inconsistent, if not contradictory, were not new(1:10), “ there nothing is new
under the sun”( i.e., the realm of the living). Every generation, including
ours, today, must deal with the fact that mortals inevitably live in a world in
which they do not have control, as such (“all is vanity”). In other, worlds,
our life is so short. It can only be lived with love, hope, faith, charity,
humility and dependency under a sovereign God, who alone determines what
happens with us, and on earth!
This Sovereign God, taught and preached by Qoheleth
is manifested in Christ of today’s Gospel (Luke 9:7-9), that became the subject
of curiosity of Herod, a human king, with a human mind, jealousy, and selfish
thinking- that denies the Truth/Christ (in the case of Herod, who already
beheaded John the Baptist). But, thank God, this undeniable Truth is clearly, and once again
reaffirmed in the Alleluia verse of today, that says, “ I am the way, the
truth, and the life, says the Lord’ no one comes to the Father except through
me”( John 14:6).
In any circumstances, we may find ourselves today (corruption
in political capitals, jealousy, violence, war, deforestation and anthropocentric
treatment of the planet, indifference to the poor and the needy, disregard to
the dignity of every human persons [male and female, black and white, young and
old, born and unborn], materialism, and in ordinate possession of wealth, and
economic power and covid-19, wearing masks, social distancing, etc.), this
truth, Christ, is our refuge. In every age, including this our age, O Lord, you
have been our refuge (Mā’ôn), our home, our shield, our healer, our
protector, our dwelling place and habitation (Ps 90:1).
1.
In our daily
challenges today, do we see God, Christ as our refuge (Mā’ôn)?
2.
What prevents
us from learning from the traditions of the elders, history and past
experiences, including such shared in the first reading and the Psalm 90?
3.
Who are the “Herods”
of today in our communities and how do we help them?
