Read Reflect Respond

Feast Days |  Sundays |  Videos | Latest

Year - A

Homily for Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

READ: (Is 56: 1, 6-7; Rom 11: 13-15, 29-32; Matt 15:21-28)

REFLECT: God is always Kind and compassionate to those who seek HIM…

Dear friends, today we are in the twentieth Sunday in ordinary time. Kindness is a behavior that is marked by acts of generosity, consideration, assistance, or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return. Most of us feel better when someone is kind to us. Being kind and compassionate can help other and make us feel good too. Kindness is shown in different ways. It can be big or small. It is just an expression of one’s free love, care, concern, and consideration for ourselves and those with whom we share our lives on earth. Very specially, kindness expressed in an unexpected ways to others brings lots of cheer and joy on the faces of people, who never expected such great act of kindness. As the entire liturgy of word invites us to experience God’s mercy and be merciful, compassionate and kind-hearted to one another, I would like to share with you three points of reflection as how God is kind and compassionate to us.

1. God’s kindness: 

We all know that in the Old Testament how important is to keep justice and being righteous. For justice and righteousness are strong characters of God himself. Both the virtues go hand in hand, they are inseparable and both the virtues are expected by God from us. Perhaps justice flows out of his holiness and righteousness meant a right relationship with the covenant of God that led to loving others as oneself and doing good in order to lead others into the same right relationship with God. However, over time, the interpretation of the terms narrowed into acts of doing good without the roots of a right relationship with God or the results of leading others into salvation. So something similar we find in the first reading, where God calls us to such relationship that’s just and true, holy and sacred, but the conditions apply. That’s what we see in the First reading from Prophet Isaiah. 

Prophet Isaiah underscores the importance of how God will bring his own people and make them joyful in his house of prayer. But there are rules and regulations applied as they are mentioned in the first reading. They are Keeping justice and doing righteousness; The foreigners, the so called others apart from the Israelites are called to serve God, to love the name of God, to keep the Sabbath without making it unholy and hold fast to God’s covenant and the result would be their access with God in house of prayer. It implies a sign of relationship and acceptance into God’s house for others apart from Israelites. So we see the mercy of God extending to the foreigners other than Israelites too. That’s the greatness of God’s mercy for his people.  The returnees are from Babylonian exile both Israelites and others who joined Israelites in their association while they were in exile. What we observe from God’s nature is that God does not reject the non-Israelites rather welcomes with arms open wide, provided they are ready to follow laws and commands that God has given to people of Israel. So God is ready to welcome anyone, who seeks him with a good heart and follows his laws and designs. Such is the greatness of God we see in the first reading. 

Yes, God wants all of us to be one family, although we are unique and different in our own ways by way of our approach, attitudes etc. But if we could let go of our differences and stand for unity as a family, nurturing the faith that we profess, showing love to one another, manifesting God’s compassion and kindness to all, we shall become part of the great Assembly of God that he promises. God is ready to make us all part of the house of prayer, are we ready to abide in his laws and principles? As Pope Francis very beautifully tells us that “God shows his love, not with great speeches, but with simple, tender acts of charity,” let us show the love of God to one another by tender acts of kindness and charity, which makes others smile and feel happy. Let us make life heavenly for you and me by making others experience the kindness and compassion of God through our acts of charity and kindness.

2.              God’s plan: 

We all know God’s plans are unique and quite different. Sometimes, we think it may not work out or sound weird, but God works in such a way that even what seemingly bad or negative to us, God makes good and positive. That’s the power and wisdom of God devised uniquely, which at times human eye or mind can’t grasp. Something similar, we find in the second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans i.e., the acceptance of gospel by gentiles in a way creates jealousy among Jews, but it is ultimately to bring back the Jewish people to God himself. Today’s reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans exhorts us how merciful and compassionate our God is. It is because of the disobedience that the mercy of God was manifested to us or poured upon us. 

St. Paul makes the ambience relaxed and sober and does not consider Israel’s failure as loss of all, but works out the possibilities of getting the Jewish people closer to God. That’s why St. Paul brings in a new method of bringing the Jewish people closer to the gospel of Christ. In a way the successful ministry among gentiles will make the Jews jealous and this would become an access for the Jewish people to accept the Gospel. Although today’s passage from St. Paul’s letter to Romans manifest him as an apostle of the Gentiles but it does not downplay the importance of Jewish people as St. Paul too was the apostle of the Jews. That’s why St. Paul tells the gentiles just as they were disobedient and obtained God’s mercy, so also the Jewish people are disobedient, in order that they too might obtain God’s mercy and compassion. That’s why the first reading ends that God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. 

Yes, disobedience to God and to his commands is a sin against God and against one another. Disobedience makes us desperate for God’s mercy at times. St. Paul does not tell us that we need to disobey or continue to sin or remain in sin, so that grace of God may more abound in us rather he shares with us the generosity and greatness of God’s mercy revealed in his act. It is like St. Paul who says, “Where sin abounds, grace too abounds more” (Rom 5: 20-21). So it is the plan of God and God’s uses ways and means to bring his people closer to him either by way of rejection or acceptance. Yes, it is God’s divine wisdom; God chose to use the rejection of Christ by His people as a means of reaching the Gentiles so that through His grace to them, Israel might be brought to a realization of the grace of God in Christ. Therefore Israel’s unbelief is used by God to bring about the victory of Gentile evangelization, which, in turn, will lead to Jewish restoration too. 

What we need to realize is that God has not changed His character as a compassionate and kind; God has not changed his principles plans, laws for his chosen people Israel or the gentiles. Perhaps God has shown that even in the midst of human stubbornness, He can and will use all things to bring about His eternal purposes. The purpose of God is to bring all people under one umbrella as a family and make us feel valued, loved and cared. Today, we need to realize that God’s plan and purposes are perfect and they do not return without fulfilling for what it was designed. So we need to understand that problems and persecution, rejection and rebellion are a part of life. They only sharpen our lives and do not put an end to life. If we believe in God’s plan and purpose, God will somehow show us his kindness to overcome the rejection or persecution we undergo. So let us rely on God’s plan and purpose than our own plans and purposes.  

3.              Jesus’ kindness; 

When we look at the life of Jesus in the Gospel we confirm that Jesus helped and healed people who were sick and troubled variously; Jesus did not create any disparity or distinction towards others in healing and in giving blessings, because all that Jesus wished or did was to restore the bruised or wounded humanity back to God. Therefore, Jesus although had a particular mission of God, he wanted to make sure how strong in faith one could become in the midst of tests and trials. So faith in Jesus brings us surprises, an act of kindness and compassion form God, admiration of the committed life as Christians we live and above all transformation of life as God’s children. 

Today’s gospel reading presents before us the episode of Canaanite woman, who seeks God’s mercy persistently and perseveringly. What made Jesus feel so compassionate and kind to her was, her gesture of persistent and persevering faith in Jesus. Perhaps, we read in the Gospel that the disciples plead Jesus to send her away, because of her incessant and continuous cry. They thought to themselves that Jesus would make her mouth shut by curing or healing her sickly daughter. But it did not happen or Jesus did not do rather he tells, “I was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel.” It could imply two things; one, Jesus was very particular about his mission to the lost sheep of Israel and so was silent or Jesus made such a statement in order to test how persevering and persistent her faith was. But we know what happened, her faith was such that Jesus admired her for the faith she had in Jesus and showed kindness and compassion to heal her possessed daughter from demonic force.

Yes, our efforts to persevere and persist in the faith that we profess would make God or Jesus to be more compassionate, loving, kind and merciful to us. Most of the time, we just try once or twice and then give up having faith and trust in God. But the Canaanite woman proves that when we persist and persevere God in faith, God pours out his mercy in abundance. It is like the cloud that’s pierced and pours down rain on earth. Such is the greatness and generosity of God’s mercy and kindness. Pope Francis very beautifully tells us, “A true Christian brings kindness to others. It is this limitless, selfless loving-kindness towards all other people that glorifies and reflects the nature of God.” Yes, this is Jesus does to the Canaanite woman, who begged for Jesus’ mercy and compassion to heal her daughter, who was possessed by a demon. 

First of all the Canaanite woman knew who Jesus was. Otherwise, she would not have come to Jesus seeking for help. Secondly, the Canaanite woman had faith in Jesus. It is shown by the persistence and perseverance in not letting Jesus go without giving what she wanted. It is the faith of this Canaanite woman that made Jesus to so show and reflect the nature of God’s compassion and kindness to her. Although Jesus tells her that he had come to restore the lost sheep of Israel, the faith of a Canaanite woman triggers Jesus to be compassionate and kind to her in giving what she wanted for her daughter to happen. Today, we are called to manifest such faith, where in God himself is overwhelmed by the faith we profess and practice and grants us what we ask in faith. So every Christian living aims at being kind and compassionate to one another in the world. Kindness in words, thoughts and deeds is what expected from us. When we show kindness to our brothers and sisters in the world, we reflect the nature of God in us as kind and compassionate. So let us make every effort to be kind and compassionate to one another in families, societies, places wherever we work and people whosoever we meet on the way, for kindness is the first step towards building a humane and divine society on earth.

RESPOND: 

Do I understand God’s kindness and share it with others in compassion and kindness?

Do I understand God’s plans and purposes in my life?

Do I understand the Christian calling of being kind and tender-hearted to one another by little acts of charity?

Let us experience God’s kindness and compassion, understand his plans for us and manifest the kindness of God in little ways of charity and love. Amen. 

God bless us all! Live Jesus!

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

rameshvkmsfs@gmail.com

9500930968