Homily – Saturday of the 24th Week
of Ord. Time, Yr. B. Fr. Udoekpo, Michael
v 1 Cor 15:35-37, 42-49
v Ps 56:10c-12,13-14
v Luke
8:4-15
Walking Consistently in the Presence of God,
in the Light of the Living (Ps 56:14)
Today’s responsorial Psalm, Ps 56:14 “I
will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living” (Lәhithhallēk lipnê ‘ĕlohȋm bә’ôr hahayyȋm), captures the essence of today’s scripture readings. It
is not just a poem, but, an individual lament and prayer of hope, love and
trust in God’s word. It expresses a commitment in the saving teachings and mysteries of God, manifested in Christ( life, death, and resurrection).
Interesting to me in this poetic- prayer is the choice of
the words and verbs used in this prayer. Uppermost in my mind is the verb halak (to
walk)” in the presence of the Lord”: to obey him, to listen to him, to adore
him, to believe in his teachings, laws and directions. In this case, the
Psalmist particularly the hithpael infinitive of halak (to walk)
which grammatically, spiritually and theologically convers a sense of
repetitiveness, back and forth, over and over again. In other words, the
psalmist will walk (Lәhithhallēk), trust, keep God’s commandments
(love of God and neighbor), and believe in the Lord, not once, not twice, but “to
and fro,” consistently “back and forth,” listening to God and keeping his words
with consistency and continuity.
Similar consistency and continuity is expected of those
address (all of us) in the parable of the sower of today’s gospel (Luke 8:4-15).
Its parallels are also found in Mark 4:1-9 and in Matthew 13:1-9. The sower and
his seeds (words) felt on the first three bad soils: path, rocky soil and thorns
and were distracted and destroyed by birds, heat and sharp chokings, and
rendered useless, fruitless. Those that
fell on the fourth, and good soil( believers, God’s obedient children, male and
female, young and old), go through the process of seed- germination, and then
producing hundredfold of new crops. They are the “ones who, when they heard the
word of God (verbum domini, cf. VD; DV, EG etc), embrace it with faith,
and a generous and good hearts, and bear fruit through perseverance.”
This is who we are called to be: walking, listening,
trusting, keeping, hoping, interacting with one another, consistently with a
good, kind, merciful, compassionate and generous and honest heart, with
perseverance in faith in divine mysteries, including the resurrection that
Saint Paul addresses in the first reading.
Like, the seed of the parable, Paul explains, we must die
first, or we must be sown corruptible like seed, first, then be raised
incorruptible in the resurrection (1 Cor 15:35-37,42-49). Paul wants to make
clear to the divided, boastful and quarrelling Corinthian community, the mysteries
of Christ’ saving events, particularly, the resurrection. As a sense of continuity is conveyed in the hithpael
verb, used by the psalmist, in 1 Corinthian
15, the body is presented by Paul as a principle of historical continuity to
the resurrection of believers.
Those, who keep the faith, who walk (halak) in the
light and presence of Christ: kind,
forgiving, generous, loving, compassionate, humble, truthful, honest and
charitable, in the resurrection, in God’s wisdom (not the Corinthian/Greek Hellenistic
sophia), in the Parousia, their bodies will transform from perishability
to imperishability. All spiritual bodies! They will have eternal life, no more
sufferings, no enmities, no racism, no ethnocentrism, no division, no tribalism,
no discrimination, no segregation and no corona virus?
Reflection Questions:
1.
How often do
we walk in the presence of the Lord as just explained?
2.
What prevents
us from believing, loving, hoping, trusting, living, hearing and practicing God’s
word consistently?
3.
What Gospel soil
are you; first, second, third or fourth?
