Homily For The 13th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year C.
1
Kings 19:16, 19-21; Psalm 16:1-2.
5. 7-10; Galatians 5:1,
13-18; Luke 9:51-62.
· A
disciple is an ardent follower of a particular movement or a school of thought.
In our case, a disciple professes to believe in Jesus Christ and models his or
her life after him. Following Jesus is not easy and rosy, but what is consoling
is that the gains outweigh the pains.
· To
be a disciple of Jesus, it must come from deep conviction and freedom. This is
the freedom talked about in the second reading (Galatians 5:1,
13-18). To follow Jesus must not be out of compulsion but a free choice and
decision. Christ, through his death and resurrection, has freed us from the
shackles and slavery of sin, and so we have been made free; we must then strive
to remain free both in our decisions and actions.
· Dear
friends in Christ, do you see your followership of Jesus as a matter of
compulsion or as gratuitous love and service to God? It should not be so; it
should be something from an inner conviction and an ultimate desire to be where
our creator is and to do what he does. No wonder Saint Augustine once said, “O Lord,
you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in
you”.
· This
freedom must be exercised with great caution and responsibility, so as not to
slip into self-indulgence, then we begin to say, “it is my life”, “I am
worshiping God the way I like”, “it is my body”, “it is my religion”, “it is my
faith”, “it is my life; therefore, no one should tell me what to do with it”.
God gives us freedom, but that freedom must be used with great wisdom.
· In the first reading (1Kings 19:16, 19-21), God
called Elijah his prophet. And he served so well that Elijah became the model,
and the identity of what prophecy is all about. He was at the tail end of his
mission and had the liberty to anoint a successor or not. But he knew that
abusing that liberty was to frustrate God’s design; he anointed a successor in
Elisha
· We
learn from the encounter between Elijah and Elisha that success without a
successor is no success at all. For a successful mission and continuity, Elijah
needed Elisha. For the message of Jesus to live on, he called his disciples,
who in turn handed on the good news to us. There is always a need for continuity
in every facet of life. The beautiful thing about these successes and
successions is that the successors freely accepted the challenge to carry on
the message
· Dearly
beloved, the world is in most need of successors in the business of witnessing,
in the business of discipleship, in the business of living out the true
Christian values. Yes, discipleship comes with pains, it comes with sacrifices,
but there are gains too, and the ultimate gain is a place at the right hand of
God in heaven.
· In
the first reading, for Elisha to be a successful successor, he made some
sacrifices. Elisha sacrificed his trade; he traded his usual for a higher
value. Elisha made initial excuses but later freely accepted the mission. He
slaughtered his oxen and fed the hungry with them, and followed Elijah.
· Dear
friends in Christ, for how long will we continue to make excuses for not being
committed to our Christian faith? When is it favourable to serve God, now or
later? We make excuses like “I am still young”, “when I get old”, “when I
retire from the service or politics”, and when my children are all grown up”,
then I will dedicate myself to the service of God.
· There
will never be a perfect time to become God’s disciple. The best time is now, it
is today, and today is the appointed time. Today is the day of the Lord to make
that decision. God cannot be your shepherd if you are not his sheep. And the
sheep listens to the voice of the shepherd, so listen to that voice of God
today.
· Today,
ask yourself which of the categories of those called by Jesus in the gospel
reading (Luke 9:51-62) do I belong to. Those who are more attached to the family
will always respond- “let me go and ensure that my family is in good shape
before I serve God”, for some of us, we respond “let me enjoy my youthfulness
first”, “Let me say goodbye to my friends and colleagues”, for others, “till I
make enough money before I can serve God”, remember that money can never be
enough! And there will always be excuses to make.
· It
is your life and your freedom, but we must realise that our life is borrowed,
and we must give an account of how well or how badly we used it. Your freedom
must be used rightly for the service of the creation of God, and to develop a serious
relationship with God. Not a freedom that leads to self-indulgence and abuses.
But a freedom that leads to true faith and authentic followership.
· Today,
refusing to decide to follow Jesus as his disciple will not necessarily be like
James and John, who wished to call down fire on unbelievers. But for you, I
tell you like Saint Peter, “Think of the Lord’s patience as your opportunity to
be saved” (2 Peter 3:15).
· We
are called to follow Jesus in doing the will of God in our various occupations.
As lawyers, Jesus calls us to follow him in defending the rights of the
oppressed. As medical professionals, Jesus calls us to follow him in healing
the sick. As politicians, Jesus calls us to follow him in alleviating the
suffering of the masses. Jesus calls us all to follow him in unique ways
according to our occupations.
· Today
is the favourable time to make up our minds to denounce every form of
distraction and attachment and come follow Jesus without looking back. Those
who put their hands to the plough and look back are not worthy of the kingdom
of God (Luke 9:62).
· Like
the psalmist, today we must commit ourselves, we must say it and mean it: “O
Lord, it is you who are my portion” (Psalm 15:5).
· May
the Lord grant us the grace to use our freedom wisely, especially in the
service of him and become disciples after his heart, through Christ our Lord.
Amen!
· Happy
Sunday!!!
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