Fr Jean-Marie's Homilies

Homilies

THE PROPHETIC ROLE OF A CHRISTIAN

Twenty-Third Sunday of the Year-A

First Reading: Ezek 33: 7-9. Those appointed to the position of leadership bear the responsibility to correct the errors of others and bring them to reform.

Second Reading: Rom 13: 8-10. If you truly love your neighbours, you will not harm them in any way.

Gospel: Mat 18: 15-20. The duty of a Christian is to correct an erring sister or brother in a Christian way given to us by Jesus.

Homily

When an animal is faced with a potential enemy, it has three options to defend itself and I call those three options, 3 Fs: Flight, Fight and Freeze. In a danger situation, a rat always runs away, that’s Flight. When a snake perceives danger, its first option is to run away-Flight. But when it realises that it cannot run away it attacks and even spits its venom, that’s Fight. The tortoise does not have horns or poison to attack, neither does it have speed to escape, its only option is to Freeze. It pulls itself inward and pretend that it is dead.

Faced with an unpleasant situation, we humans too have the above options. What do you do when you come across situations you don’t like in the street, or even in the parish? Try to recall an occasion when you were at a meeting and you didn’t like the way the discussion was going, or there was someone who disagreed with you, what was your reaction: did you walk out of the meeting? That would be Flight reaction. Did you become argumentative and aggressive? That was Fight option. Or did you just sit there, doodling, saying nothing, pretending that you were cool while you were terribly annoyed and boiling inside. You just froze! That’s Freeze option. These are default pathways that we follow based on our animal instinct. But we humans have a fourth option: DIALOGUE. We can use our gift of reason to appeal to others’ reason. We can appeal to the goodness of the heart of others. This presupposes a basic trust in the goodness of human nature itself, namely, that others are capable of reasoning and feeling just as I can.

Today’s gospel calls us to be prophetic. But being prophetic does not imply just thrashing out on others without self-control, or projecting our own unresolved inner conflicts, or imposing our own petty worldview on others.

In the first reading, Ezekiel talks about his God-given mission as a prophet: “I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, warn them in my name…. (if) you do not speak to warn the wicked man to renounce his ways, then he shall die for his sins, but I will hold you responsible for his death.” On the other hand, if you have warned the wicked man but he does not change his ways, then you are not responsible for his decision.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells us how this could be done; how we could fulfil our prophetic role as the followers of Christ; how we could be dealing with unchristian attitude and behaviour in our communities. It is important to note that, in today’s Gospel, Jesus is not talking about a personal offence committed against you. This we will read next Sunday. In the section that we read today, Jesus suggests a three-step strategy:

Step 1: One-on-one dialogue

Jesus suggests a private dialogue as the first step: “go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves”. This step presupposes a considered response to what we perceive to be wrong. It is not a reaction of flaring up in anger, but a cool dialogue. The run-up to this step could be painstaking and demands a deep courage. I personally find this step very challenging in my own life. It is much easier to make generalised statements about wrongs that I see in the community, or to rise up as a cobra when my own little haven is disturbed. On the contrary, Jesus is inviting me to be fully human. To use my gift of reason to empathise with the other. “If he listens to you, you have won back your brother”. Very often this step really works, provided there are the ingredients of wisdom, love and inner freedom. If this step does not work, you can move to the next step.

Step 2: Involve close associates

“If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you…”. This step is necessary to clarify your own perception of the wrong: was it just an illusion; was it your own prejudice; or were you acting on a personal vendetta? The two others will help you clarify your own position, and if your position is sound and Christian, then they stand behind you to allure the wrong doer to return to the fold. It is easier to find the lost sheep when three shepherds search together than if one shepherd did it alone. However, if this does not work, then we need a better strategy. And that’s step three as taught by Jesus in today’s Gospel.

Step 3: Bring it before the community

This is a painful step as many will question you as to why you did not resolve just between the two. They forget that you are at your last resort. Here the procedure becomes public and judicial. Interestingly, the Gospel talks about bringing the person before the community or the church rather than the leaders. At this point, if the individual chooses not to follow the direction of the community, then he can be considered not being part of the community anymore.

The steps that Jesus is laying out here in dealing with a wrong doer are not merely part of a legal procedure. It is a personal inner process of growth towards wisdom, love and inner freedom. Always as a Christian, promote dialogue in resolving your differences rather than using animal instincts of flight, fight or freeze.

Jesus, I trust in You. Amen

WHO IS JESUS FOR YOU?

21^st Sunday of the Year A-August 23, 2020

First Reading: Is 22: 19-23. A man is being dismissed from high office, and the keys of authority are passed to another.

Second Reading: Rom 11: 33-36. This is a hymn of praise to the wisdom of God.

Gospel: Mt 16:13-20. Here we read Peter’s profession of faith in Jesus.

Homily

To believe that Jesus is the Son of God is a gift of faith given to us by God. this gift enables us to make a commitment to Christ to follow Him. When Jesus asked his disciples, who do people say he was, the disciples wrongly thought that he wanted to know how popular he was. As all of us know, being popular is important; but Jesus was not interested in knowing how popular or famous he was, because he was aware what fame can bring in the life of a person. To have it is a purgatory, and to want it is a hell. Therefore, Jesus was not concerned about his fame among the people. What he really wanted to know, was if really all of his disciples fully understood who he was. Fortunately, Peter on behalf of the rest gave him a very convincing and courageous answer: ‘You are the Son of the living God.’

Our Lord Jesus addresses the same question to each and every one of us today: “Who do you say I am?” This is a personal question addressed to you and it demands a personal answer from you. It is a very critical question that calls us to commit ourselves one way or the other. If Jesus is truly the Son of God, then either we confess that and act accordingly or else we deny it and live our lives in idleness.

How does a person come to the knowledge that Jesus is truly the Son of God? By studies or research? Not necessarily. Great thinkers and scientists, in spite of their wonderful contributions to the amelioration of the quality of our lives, have failed in ordinary challenges of human life. The fact that you have gone to the moon, doesn’t mean that you also know how to change a baby’s nappy. It is not our intelligence that draws us near to Jesus and make us confess that he is the Son of God but rather the gift of Faith.

To receive the gift of faith, one must deserve it. We can only deserve it if we do our human part in experiencing the living Christ in daily life. If you really confess that Jesus is the Son of God, he must be alive in you. You must use all the means available to experience him. One sure way of experiencing Jesus in our lives is the daily reading and meditation of the Bible. I see many books in library and bookstores shelves as best sellers, millions of copies of them have been sold worldwide simply because their titles say: ‘How to be successful in life’, ‘the secret of success’, ‘become a millionaire in a day’, etc.

I say, the secret of greatness in life is the Bible, the Book of Life. Read from it something daily. This is the first secret of knowing who Jesus is for you.

Secondly, learn to share your faith experience with others. Those who share their faith experience with others turn to become steadfast in their faith.

Thirdly, you want to know and meet Jesus, learn to pray. In this busy and noisy world in which we live in, we must find time to kneel before God in prayer. Unless we personally experience and come to believe that Jesus is the Son of the living God, we shall never commit to him in building his Kingdom.

MIRACLE OF GENEROSITY

Eighteenth Sunday of the Year A – August 2, 2020

First Reading: Is 55: 1-3. An invitation is addressed to the exiles in Babylon to come to a banquet of friendship and love that God wants to share with his people.

Second Reading: Rom 8: 35. 37-39. No matter how hard and bad times we may have to go through, we remain steadfast, because we are certain of the love of Christ.

Gospel: Mt 14: 13-21. The compassion of Jesus toward the people is overwhelming. He heals the sick and feed the hungry.

Homily

I have two favourite contemporary Saints I admire and try to imitate. These are Saint John Paul II and Saint Theresa of Calcutta (Mother Theresa). These two saints are for me the embodiment of the miracle of generosity Jesus speaks about in today’s Gospel. In her ministry, once Mother Theresa came across a Hindu family that did not eat for days. She took some rice and gave it to the family. What happened next surprised her.

Without wasting time, the Hindu mother divided the rice into two. She took one half of it and gave it to the family next door, which happened to be a muslim family. Mother Theresa was surprised seeing the generosity of the Hindu mother and asked if the rice wasn’t enough for one family. But the woman replied that the family neighbour hadn’t eaten for days either.

The miracle of the loaves and fishes could be called a miracle of generosity. We see first the generosity of the boy, who, with his gift of five loaves of bread and two fish, made the miracle possible. It was a little gift but for the boy, it was all that he had. It is easy to give something that we won’t really miss. But when the gift is as desperately needed by the giver as by the receiver, that is true giving, that’s sacrifice. This is the first miracle of generosity we see in today’s Gospel.

Then there was the marvelous generosity of Jesus. To really understand and appreciate Jesus’ generosity, we need to consider the circumstances of the miracle. It is easy to reach out to others when everything is fine but not so easy when we are having personal issues to deal with. So it was with Jesus. He just learned about the murder of his cousin, John the Baptist. He needed peace and quiet to recollect himself. That’s why he and the apostles crossed to the far side of the lake. But as soon as he stepped outside of the lake, he saw a crowd of people waiting for him. He could have sent them away. Instead he had compassion on them and gave himself to them. He even went far with his generosity. He fed them all to the point that, there was enough leftover, twelve full baskets left over. This is truly a miracle of generosity.

Generosity is always about giving things. But it is also about giving of yourself, of your time, your gifts and talents. Giving things can be so easy but giving of yourself is not easy. Jesus teaches us how to give things to others and above all how to give of yourself to others. Jesus nourishes us of his word, body and blood at the Eucharist. In the Eucharist we taste the love of God which Saint Paul talks about in the second reading. As we experience that love in the Eucharist, we need to share that love with others.

MIRACLE OF GENEROSITY

Eighteenth Sunday of the Year A – August 2, 2020

First Reading: Is 55: 1-3. An invitation is addressed to the exiles in Babylon to come to a banquet of friendship and love that God wants to share with his people.

Second Reading: Rom 8: 35. 37-39. No matter how hard and bad times we may have to go through, we remain steadfast, because we are certain of the love of Christ.

Gospel: Mt 14: 13-21. The compassion of Jesus toward the people is overwhelming. He heals the sick and feed the hungry.

Homily

RECEIVING THE WORD

Fifteenth Sunday of the Year A, July 12, 2020

First Reading: Is 55: 10-11. God cares for the earth. He sends for the rain to make it fruitful. He cares for us and He sends His word.

Second Reading: Rom 8: 18-23. The glory that awaits us in the life is far better and grand compare to the suffering of this present life.

Gospel: Mt 13: 1-23. Jesus compares the word of God to a seed falling into the ground.

Homily

In order to respond to God’s word, one needs to receive it first, treasure it, and put it into practice. But what do we hear often from people who have exactly receive, treasure and put into practice the word of God? they say, “the more I practice, the worse I get.” All of us can feel like that at times. Maybe we are not getting worse, but we are not improving much either. Think of how many times we have heard the word of God since the day we were baptised. Why haven’t we improved? The answer to this question lies in the parable Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel.

It is important to note that in only one case was the word rejected outright. In the other three cases, the word was received with joy. Then we realise that the problem is not in receiving God’s word. It is rather in treasuring and putting it into practice. There are therefore, three steps involved in responding to God’s word: Receiving it, treasuring it, and practicing it. Let us have a closer look at each step.

The first step is hearing or receiving the word of God. we can call it the mind step. It involves listening attentively to Scriptures being read and explained. In the context of the mass (Eucharist), if you missed the hearing or receiving step, the second and third steps are already lost. The mind step or the receiving step is very important. That’s why it is always recommendable for us to come to church early, sit in at least 10 to 15 minutes before the mass starts. To prepare ourselves for this first step of the hearing of the word of God. sometimes we can be in church while the word is being read and broken to us but our mind is not present.

The second step is treasuring God’s word. We can call it the heart step. It involves taking to heart the word we have just heard. This step is very important in our life as it involves taking to heart the word we have just heard. We meditate, pray about the word and its implications for our life and how we can improve our life for the better. This step doesn’t necessarily take place in church. It may begin in church but it continues during the week ahead, as we think and pray about the word we heard on Sunday. It helps us to examine our conscience, and our way of life. This step also helps us to share the word with others. When asked what did you learn from today’s church service, we need to be able to explain this heart step.

The third step is putting God’s word into practice. If we can call the first step, the mind step, the second step, the heart step, then this third step can be called the soul step. This step involves acting on what our mind has received and what our heart has treasured.

So, there are three steps in hearing the word of God: the mind step-receiving or hearing the word; the heart step-treasuring the word; and the soul step-putting it into practice.

Have we ever wondered why we are not better practicing Catholics? Today’s Gospel may have an important message for us. If we are not better practicing Catholics, maybe because we are not responding to God’s word with our whole mind, our whole heart and our whole soul. The Gospel message today is a call for us to start responding to God’s word with all our mind, heart and soul.

Jesus, I trust in You.

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