HOMILY FOR THE 15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C.

 

Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Psalm 69:14.17.30-31. 33-37; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37.

 

“COMMUNITY WITHOUT COMMUNION!”

 

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·      Today’s reading - especially the gospel reading, sets the tone for a very vital aspect of our Christian faith which we often neglect or take for granted, which is the necessity of a community, and being in communion and remaining in communion with that community.

·      The question asked by the young lawyer: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” is the fundamental question many of us are asking. It is that need to inherit eternal life that has brought you to the church this morning, rather than sleep away or go partying. The question can be rephrased as: “Teacher what must I do to be in communion with the community?”

·      There is an earnest desire for everyone to be saved by God. That is why in the first place he sent his only begotten son to save (Jn. 3:16)

·      We also see that Christianity has a communitarian effect or dimension. It is not just about what I do or say. But about how what I do affects the whole community, or my neighbour. Hence, your Christianity is only tested in relation to your neighbour. Your neighbour includes persons in your home/household, school, workplace, church, pathways, etc. who may be your friends or not; because judgment will be in relation to this group of persons or according to how we have been able to remain in the community and keep the community spirit going.

·      The church is best represented as a community of believers. No wonder we are always encouraged to model our present Christian community after that of the early Christian community in Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:42-47).

·      We also see that to be in a community is not just enough, we must participate in the life of the community and its welfare; and that is exactly what it means to be in the community and be in communion.

·      To be in communion means to closely bond with every member of the community (neighbours) so much so that their problem becomes your problem, and their joy becomes your joy too. When one person is happy the whole community is happy.

·      The young lawyer in the gospel reading was lost, he was in the community, but not in communion. He was so satisfied with himself and his achievements that he feels that he did not need others to survive. That was a big lie! Because, despite all, he still felt empty and needed Jesus to guarantee him eternal life. Hence, dearly beloved in Christ, we may be prosperous, we may be influential, and we may be intelligent and beautiful as individuals, but we can never be happy and fulfilled until we start living in communion with members of our community.

·      A lot of us seated here in this church are not different from the young lawyer. We so much desire eternal life, and we are willing to do anything to secure that eternal life. But thank God it is not what money can buy, but what our effort and the grace of God can guarantee. To merit eternal life, we must struggle to be in the community and in communion.

·      Dearly beloved, if we must be saved, if we must be guaranteed eternal life, we must actively participate in the life of the community and its members.

·      Is it not surprising that we could be in the community and yet not know who our neighbour is in that same community? When that happens it simply means that we are in the community but not in communion.

·      This way of life is not far-fetched. Even in this church, a lot of us who have been attending a particular Mass and sitting at a particular seat do not even know who seats beside us; let alone know who comes to the church or who did not come. To speak of knowing who our neighbour is at home is totally unthinkable, because we have built walls of class and social stratification over ourselves; thereby denying ourselves the joy and peace of community life.

·      Today Jesus is asking us to identify who our neighbour is. How can we love our neighbour when we do not even know who our neighbour is? Who is your seatmate in church? Who is your colleague in the office? Where is your cook, nanny security man, or driver from? We must now go beyond just knowing their names and enter into communion with them, then we can say we have started loving them.

·      If you are not patient, humble, and caring enough to know who your neighbour is in the church, how will you know who your neighbour is outside? Sadly, our church today has become a community without communion.

·      If you and I must have eternal life, then we must be interested in who our neighbour is, because our neighbours are our path to salvation. We must now go about identifying who our neighbours are. We cannot do that by being self-righteous or living in isolation. We must live in a community and be in communion.

·      To be in communion, we must keep the rules of the community. In the first reading (Deuteronomy 30:10-14), we hear and listen to the voice of the Lord by keeping his commandment. The commandments and statutes of God are what keep us in communion, and it is not beyond our reach. We need not go to the sky, nor cross the sea to get it.

·      The law of living in the community and being in communion is written in our hearts; and it is summarised into two namely: the love of God (Deut. 6:5) and the love of neighbour (Lev. 19:18). God here refers to the head of the community, while neighbour refers to the members of the community.

·      The image of the head of the community may appear invisible to us. But Saint Paul in the second reading (Colossians 1:15-20) tells us that Christ is the image of that invisible God, the head of our community, because he created all things and keep all things (the community and communion) going. Christ is the head of church (the body of the christ). The church is a community and Christ is the image of our invisible head.

·      As neighbours in the community, we must also ask ourselves “Am I a good neighbour or a bad neighbour?”. A community is where we are our brother’s keeper. We care about the welfare of each other.

·      So, in the community where you find yourself are you a good neighbour or bad one? A good neighbour is one who cares about the welfare of all. The Good Samaritan becomes a good example of a good neighbour in the community. He not only keeps the life of the community by being in communion, but he also heals the wounds of the injured, makes provision for those who are in need, offers support to those who are in most need of it, etc.; while a bad neighbour frustrates the life of the community, he is selfish and self-centred, he brings harm and destruction to those around him. The bad neighbour is represented by the thieves in the gospel. He exposes the community to danger and makes excuses not to help-like the priest and Levi.

·      There is a lot to benefit from, when we live in the community and are in communion. We never lack and we bear our burdens together. Hence, we must make effort to remain in communion with the community. What is your contribution to the community you find yourself in? Are you a bad neighbour or a good one?

·      Today dear friends in Christ, if we must inherit eternal life, then we must be in the community and be in communion. Having known what keeps the community going which is being in communion, we must now go and do the this – be in communion with the community you find yourself!

·      May God give us the grace to realize his eternal design for us is to remain in the community and participate actively in the life of the community in order to have eternal life, through Christ our Lord, Amen!

·      Happy Sunday!!!