Homily For The 14th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B, July 7, 2024.
“Dear friends, may no adversity paralyze you. Be afraid neither of the world, nor the future, nor of weakness. The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment of history so that, by your faith, His Name will continue to resound throughout the world”. –Pope Benedict XVI
Sunday Readings
…” for power is made perfect in weakness.”
My dearest brothers and sisters, we are privileged again to be in God’s Presence on this 14th Sunday. Today’s readings remind us of the challenges to our prophetic mission in the world and encourage us to be strong and courageous when oppositions and criticisms come.
The world of the 21st century is not and will not be easy for whoever stands in opposition or in condemnation of the atrocities and evils of the time. It has not been easy for the Church nor Her pastors to maintain Her prophetic role amid the moral decadence and societal ills that threaten to weaken the moral fabric of the society. The case of LGBT has torn on the flesh of the Church as the government tries to persuade Her to succumb to the adoption and legalization of same-sex marriage. The Church has been severely persecuted yet She has remained the lone voice that opposes whatever is contrary to the demands of the Gospel. Unfortunately, many within the rank and file of the Church are gradually sliding and compromising their stand on moral issues, such as the LGBT. May God help us. Jesus was not immune to opposition and rejection, so we too must face opposition in preaching His name. Are you ready to challenge evil or to romance with it? Are you ready to stand your ground even when you are the only one standing for the truth? Do you subscribe to the ideology of “if you can’t beat them join them”? Like Prophets we are called to speak for God, to warn others of impending doom, and to call people back to God. That’s what we are all called to do. It does not matter who you are or where you’re from, the mission is entrusted to us all, young and old, clergy and laypeople alike. “The quality of our prophetic witnessing shall be tested by our courage to continue in the face of rejection.”
The first reading, taken from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, tells us about his call from God to be a prophet. Yahweh warns Ezekiel that He is being sent to obstinate and rebellious Israelites who are in exile in Babylon. Hence, as God’s prophet, he will have to face rejection and persecution for giving God’s message. The reading gives us the warning that as Christians who accept the call of Jesus and seek to follow Him, we also may face indifference and hostility, contempt and scorn, weakness, hardship and persecution, insults, and rejection. The world of Ezekiel’s time is no better than ours today. The same difficult and obstinate people, leaders, and the government are still with us today. Many have been silenced for speaking the truth but the truth must also be told in season and out of season.
In the second reading, St. Paul gives us the same warning, from his experience, that not only the prophets but the apostles and missionaries also will have to encounter hardships and rejection in their preaching mission. Paul confesses that God has given him a share in Christ’s suffering, a chronic illness which gives him pain, a “thorn in the flesh”, so that he might rely on God’s Grace and glory in the power of a strengthening God. Paul invites us to rise above our weaknesses to cooperate with the Grace of God by Whose strength we are called to preach the truth in a world that is resistant to it. The persecutions we experience for preaching the truth or living righteous lives is the crosses we bear and the sacrifices we make for following Christ. God provides the strength and the Grace so you don’t have to worry or be afraid.
Today’s Gospel passage, Mark 6:1-6, shows us that many people of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth did not accept Him as a prophet because they knew him and His family too well. They knew that He was a carpenter with no schooling in Mosaic Law and believed that He could not be the promised Messiah who would come from Bethlehem as a descendant of David’s royal family. In addition, they were angry when Jesus not only did not work any miracles in Nazareth but chided them with prophetic courage for their lack of faith and warned them that He would go to other people to do His preaching and healing ministry. People who are not comfortable with the truth will always devise an attack against the preacher. Jesus’ kinsmen became contemptuous because of their familiarity with Jesus. Dear friend, don’t give up when you are attacked. It is because the truth you speak is too hard for your persecutor to bear.
We are challenged today to face rejection with prophetic courage and optimism. 1)Very often our friends, families, or childhood companions fail to listen to us and refuse to accept the words of grace, love, and encouragement that we offer to them because they are too familiar with us. Hence, they are unable to see us as God’s appointed instruments, the agents of God’s healing and saving grace. We have to face such rejection with prophetic courage because by our Baptism we are called to be prophets like Jesus, sharing His prophetic mission. As prophets, our task is to speak the truth and oppose the evils in our society without condoning or encouraging sinful behavior even in our dear ones. 2) Let us also acknowledge, appreciate, and encourage the prophets of our time who stand for truth and justice in our society with the wisdom of God in their heads, the power of the Holy Spirit in their words, and the courage and love of Jesus in their actions.
You might have gone through bitter experiences for speaking out the truth or standing on the path of justice. Remember people must not like you all the time when you stand on the side of the truth. We must be ready to face the opposition, rejections, and indifference if we are to impact positively on the world of our time. We need to tell the world not what they want to hear but the truth that they need to hear. Many have already taken sides against truth, justice, and love. They have already declared war on those who will preach the truth.
May God give us the grace to face opposition and rejection without compromising our mission. Let us all with one voice condemn injustice, war, killings, and all the evils that threaten our collective existence and the common good in society. Remember whatever goes around comes around. The evil you do not condemn today may hunt you tomorrow.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”.
–Martin Luther King, Jr.
I keep you and your family always in my prayers. ©Clem C. Aladi (2024)
