Homily – July 9, 2017 (14th Sunday of Ordinary Time - A)
I want to be honest and share with you one of my own pet peeves in ministry… Too often, people disqualify themselves as disciples, or dare I say “good Catholics,” because they don't feel they have enough wisdom or knowledge. While I understand this is an important admission when it comes to being a teacher of calculus, or an expert in scientific truths of nuclear physics, or a doctor practicing internal medicine, but being a witness of this faith of ours does not require a license, or an “A” on the final exam.
In fact, to illustrate the point… The back pews are packed, while the front could use a few more brave souls! As the song says, “Be not afraid!” But to be fair to the back pews, a nice lady at the 11:30am Mass offered this on your behalf… The last shall be first!
But seriously… Here’s what qualifies us as Disciples: Do you remember the day that you first REALIZED that God is in your life, and Jesus is the real deal? Do you remember that feeling in your own faith journey that you are READY to share your story, or serve another’s needs, or live the life meant for you by God? God has REVEALED himself to you right here in His Word, and here at this table in the Eucharist, and, as Fr. Bryan said last weekend, when you do small things for others with great love! My friends… YOU ARE EXTREMELY QUALIFIED TO BE THE DISCIPLE THAT YOU ARE CALLED TO BE!
With that said, notice the Gospel today, as Christ compares and contrasts the wisdom found among the “wise and the learned,” symbolized by the scribes and the Pharisees, with the wisdom that he reveals to his followers, you and me, aptly identified as “the little ones.”
The logic is this: Those who think they know, do not, for they are not open to other sources of wisdom except their own. Those who know that they do not know, constantly seek out sources of wisdom. Today we hear that Jesus is the source of God’s wisdom because of the special relationship Jesus has with the Father. That special relationship enables Jesus to know the Father, and in return, the fullness of God is revealed in Jesus. Anyone who is open to the person and the wisdom that Jesus shares will also come to know God!
God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, into our midst so that we might be saved by his love! This INCARNATION, the coming of the Lord, is eluded to by the Prophet today, as our just savior will come to us meek and humble on an ass’ foal! “He shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” And when he did… From his being born in a stable and laid in a manger, to his triumphant entry in Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, to a crucifixion between two thieves, and a burial in a borrowed grave, God came to us through his Son in as humble and meek a way as one could imagine. Even in his resurrection, he gently greeted Mary in the garden, and the Apostles in the upper room with a greeting of peace!
And with the same meek and humble entrance into our hearts today, Jesus shares with us his own life, and reveals the mystery of the Kingdom, giving us a share in his mission, his joy, and also his sufferings, so that we might know God. That sharing is our call to become better disciples by preparing our spirit with the same fervor that one might prepare their bodies with exercise. Matthew refers to this in the image of the YOKE, that bar that connects two oxen, or horses, or mules as they pull the plow for the farmer that tends the field. The image is even more genuine in our journey of faith, and work as disciples when you consider that we’re never alone! Whether this image conveys you and your Lord to working together, or eludes to our call to serve in pairs, “going from town to town,” proclaiming the Good News, the yoke of discipleship calls us to live in humility and meekness, attuned to God and concerned for the other. Christ’s initial entrance into our lives, and his share in the load, helps to make that yoke easy, and the burden light. In contrast, the yoke exemplified in the Pharisees, seeks to shackle us with regulations, and not wisdom. So today’s message is quite simple:
YOU ARE CALLED AND COMPLETELY QUALIFIED TO SERVE!
In fact, to illustrate the point… The back pews are packed, while the front could use a few more brave souls! As the song says, “Be not afraid!” But to be fair to the back pews, a nice lady at the 11:30am Mass offered this on your behalf… The last shall be first!
But seriously… Here’s what qualifies us as Disciples: Do you remember the day that you first REALIZED that God is in your life, and Jesus is the real deal? Do you remember that feeling in your own faith journey that you are READY to share your story, or serve another’s needs, or live the life meant for you by God? God has REVEALED himself to you right here in His Word, and here at this table in the Eucharist, and, as Fr. Bryan said last weekend, when you do small things for others with great love! My friends… YOU ARE EXTREMELY QUALIFIED TO BE THE DISCIPLE THAT YOU ARE CALLED TO BE!
With that said, notice the Gospel today, as Christ compares and contrasts the wisdom found among the “wise and the learned,” symbolized by the scribes and the Pharisees, with the wisdom that he reveals to his followers, you and me, aptly identified as “the little ones.”
The logic is this: Those who think they know, do not, for they are not open to other sources of wisdom except their own. Those who know that they do not know, constantly seek out sources of wisdom. Today we hear that Jesus is the source of God’s wisdom because of the special relationship Jesus has with the Father. That special relationship enables Jesus to know the Father, and in return, the fullness of God is revealed in Jesus. Anyone who is open to the person and the wisdom that Jesus shares will also come to know God!
God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, into our midst so that we might be saved by his love! This INCARNATION, the coming of the Lord, is eluded to by the Prophet today, as our just savior will come to us meek and humble on an ass’ foal! “He shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” And when he did… From his being born in a stable and laid in a manger, to his triumphant entry in Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, to a crucifixion between two thieves, and a burial in a borrowed grave, God came to us through his Son in as humble and meek a way as one could imagine. Even in his resurrection, he gently greeted Mary in the garden, and the Apostles in the upper room with a greeting of peace!
And with the same meek and humble entrance into our hearts today, Jesus shares with us his own life, and reveals the mystery of the Kingdom, giving us a share in his mission, his joy, and also his sufferings, so that we might know God. That sharing is our call to become better disciples by preparing our spirit with the same fervor that one might prepare their bodies with exercise. Matthew refers to this in the image of the YOKE, that bar that connects two oxen, or horses, or mules as they pull the plow for the farmer that tends the field. The image is even more genuine in our journey of faith, and work as disciples when you consider that we’re never alone! Whether this image conveys you and your Lord to working together, or eludes to our call to serve in pairs, “going from town to town,” proclaiming the Good News, the yoke of discipleship calls us to live in humility and meekness, attuned to God and concerned for the other. Christ’s initial entrance into our lives, and his share in the load, helps to make that yoke easy, and the burden light. In contrast, the yoke exemplified in the Pharisees, seeks to shackle us with regulations, and not wisdom. So today’s message is quite simple:
YOU ARE CALLED AND COMPLETELY QUALIFIED TO SERVE!
- BE OPEN to the entrance of Christ into your heart!
- BE READY to follow him as his disciple!
- BE AT REST knowing that you are not alone in the work of the Kingdom!
- BE CHRIST FOR OTHERS, humbly entering into their lives to share the true wisdom of the Good News… Good news that God is with them, and you bring them the true source of his love as you bring Christ from this table to theirs! Maybe next week you can even bring them with you up to the front pew!
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