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Homily for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

READ: (Gen 3: 9-15; 2 Cor 4: 13-5:1; Mk 3: 20-35)

REFLECT: Expand the Family of God by doing God’s will…

My dear friends after a long gap since the season of Lent and Easter and ending the gap with the Solemnities of Pentecost, Most Holy Trinity and Corpus Christ, today we enter into the Ordinary time according the Catholic Liturgical Calendar. We are in the 10th Sunday in Ordinary time today. As someone has very beautifully said, “To do the will of God is to dwell in the love of God. And to love God is to willingly love the people around us.” Yes, doing God’s will in our lives is a command and not a free choice, because  we are  created to do God’s will, abide in God’s will, promote and permeate God’s will. Thereby, doing God’s will and making others to do God’s will is an obligation laid upon each one of us as Christians. Quite fittingly, the Liturgy of the word presents before us as how we can expand the family of God and abide in God’s will or do his will in our lives. What stands against God’s will in our lives is our own will with our selfish desires, dreams and destination. Therefore, based on the liturgy of the word, I would like to share with you three points of reflection, as how we can expand the family of God by doing and  abiding in God’s will and his plan;

1.     Obedience to God:

Obedience to God, his words and commandments are the most important and foundational layers of Christian life. Obedience is doing what God wants of us according to his plan. Obedience requires total surrender and submission to God; it requires courage and commitment; it needs a open heart to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. If we don’t obey God’s words or his commands, we go out of track, against God’s plan and design, we displease God. That’s what we see in the first reading from the book of Genesis, the stand of first parents (Adam and Eve) and their disobedience to God’s laws and orders. They go against the orders and commands of God and begin to end up life in misery. The first reading presents before us three important questions that God asked Adam and Eve.

The first question is “where are you?”  Here, God initiates dialogue with Adam asking him where he was. It points out to what Adam’s stand or position, implying the wrong that he has committed by disobeying God’s commands. A Similar question is asked by God to Cain concerning his crime (Gen 4:9). It just gives a clear indication that it won’t be possible for reconciliation if the one who does mistakes is not willing to acknowledge their sins. The second question is “who told that you were naked?” Here we see that God makes him realize that they were created naked from the beginning but how is it that they have obtained knowledge, differentiating what they are and how they are. The experience of nakedness is because of guilt, shame leading to fear and hiding. The third question is “Have you eaten from the tree the fruit that I asked you not to eat?” Here God reminds them of the command he gave to Adam and Eve to follow and observe. Thereafter follows the blame-game, the man about woman and the woman about serpent. Here, no one owns responsibility of the freedom misused and the mistake committed, thus disobedience to God’s commands is the consequence of the curse upon earth and humanity.

Yes, disobedience to God can cause us being pushed into the darker side of life or the pit of destruction.  The three questions raised by God in the first reading could be applied to our own lives too. God asks us today, “Where are you?” It reminds of our placement and where we stand in our present situation as God’s children. Are we guilty of the sins committed or still continuing to remain in sin and shame? God asks us today, “Who told you that you were naked,” reminding us that we feel naked when we are in guilt or in shame. We all of us go through a kind of spiritual nakedness when we engage in sin. God asks us today, “Have you eaten from the tree the fruit that I asked you not to eat,” reminding us there are commands and commandments of God in the bible, which are meant to observe and follow. But most of us don’t follow, because we have become self-centered or absent minded or we don’t mind anything at all. So what we need to obey God is personal intimacy with God. Our personal intimacy with God would strengthen our bond and relationship with God. That’s why Pope Francis very beautifully says, “Obedience to God's commandments should flow from a personal relationship with the Father and from a place of gratitude for the good things he has done in one’s life.”

Yes, God has done good and great things for us but we have failed to realize and admit them in life. Adam and Eve, our first parents failed to realize the paradise that God gave them and the personal touch of God for intimacy. They wanted to be more than what they were, perhaps they wanted to become like God or more than him, but they could not as we all know that God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-pervading. So let us realize the goodness and greatness of God in life and remain grateful to him forever for all the gifts and graces in our lives.

2.     Desire for God’s house:

In life, we desire for many things. It could be on the basis of one’s wish, wants and dreams. But how many of us can desire for God’s house to belong to the heavenly paradise, where our homeland and destination supposed to be. We all of us are on the move for a better place but nothing could be so beautiful when compared to the paradise that God has prepared for us his children. Something similar of that sort we read in the second reading from St. Paul’s letter to Second Corinthians.

St. Paul speaks courageously in faith that beyond earthly sufferings and pains is the assurance of God who will raise us from sufferings to joys of life. He asserts to the fact that those who experience the power and love of Christ would totally belong to him and nothing could hinder them to reach the place o f paradise that God has prepared for us in and through Jesus Christ. Just as death of Christ gave us life so also the resurrection of Christ would grant us new life in Christ. Moreover, St. Paul makes known to us in the second reading that the suffering is part and parcel of life. As a missionary disciple of Christ he has now the task and responsibility of drawing more and more people to Christ. He considers all the hardships, difficulties, sufferings, shame that he endures, the preaching and the adventurous journey he makes for the propagation of the Gospel of Christ is an added opportunity for people to hear and become part of the family of God established in and through Christ.

If we could look at the life of St.  Paul after his conversion, we would understand that he was clear about one particular point that all that he endures or experiences joy or pain is for the glory of God. St. Paul was confident that the life he was living only temporary and the life to come with Christ is eternal.  Therefore, St. Paul began to set his eyes towards heaven as his homeland and not earth as his permanent residence. That’s what he is exhorting the Corinthian Community too saying, “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Yes, the earth we live in is only a temporary residence. It is subject to change and can be destroyed, but we have our homeland, heaven, which is created by God for us his children and no one could destroy it, because it is God who has made and prepared for us. So let us set our eyes on our homeland, heaven, which God has in store for us, provided we do God’s will

That’s perhaps, Pope Francis has very rightly pointed out “God is in love with us. We are his children. And for us He has prepared the most worthy and beautiful place: paradise. Let us not forget: the dwelling place that awaits us is paradise. Here we are passing through. We are made for heaven, for eternal life, to live forever.” Yes, let us be assured of our place in heaven, a place of peace, bliss and joy. Let us not brood over the things or issues that are unnecessary, transitory and temporary rather look with confidence and live in faithfulness to God to obtain our homeland, heaven. We are ultimately the citizens of heaven and not on earth, because our goal and destination is in heaven. So let us engage in good works that take us to our homeland heaven.

3.     Do what pleases God:

The passage that we have in today’s gospel passage can sometimes mislead us when Jesus says, who is my mother and my brother? It might sound as if Jesus is rejecting his Mother Mary but if noted carefully, Jesus indirectly glorifies such an exemplary mother who did the will of God by foregoing her own interest and way of life for the love of God and found favor with god by doing God’s will. We also learn that Jews were thinking or still think for themselves as the chosen one of God and God Yahweh as their only god but in today’s gospel reading Jesus overthrows this idea and adds that everyone belongs to the family of God, provided we do the will of God.  And by saying those who do the will of God are my mother, brother and sister, Jesus widens the family of God  a family without religion, a family without racial and gender discrimination, a family without caste and creed and a family that abides in the will of God. Thus, Jesus goes a step further by expanding the family of God without limiting to his family ties and to the natural bond.

What haunt many of us today is one’s family ties and the bond of relationship, where one is closely associated with the family and not the people outside, where one is inclined to love those who love him or her and not the people those need to be. But today’s gospel urges us not to remain closely attached to the family and its bonds but to establish relationship with others in the world. In today’s scenario, most of us wish not God’s will but one’s own will for self-interest and self – motifs. Our will is deserved and directed to selective family members, friends and not aimed at doing God’s will to the people around us. Can we find people who could widen the horizon of a family without limiting to one’s own family tie and blood relation particular family or selective family for personal favors and gains? But today we see Jesus broadening the views of a family to those who do the will of God and the will of God is that everybody is enrolled in the family of God and live a happy and peaceful life. Perhaps it’s another paradise on earth with harmony and justice overshadowing the whole of humanity. We need to remind ourselves of the reality that if we hesitate to do the will of God, what it differentiates from us and the Pharisees and Sadducees. It is almost the same duplicity and hypocrisy; there is no genuineness of life possible.

Today if we take a closer look at the world, we observe that the world is trapped in the manifold man-made calamities, which shatter the will and the plan of God. To pinpoint: we know about the terrorism occurred in Bombay years ago, a total helplessness and the cry of litany was heard louder. We are aware of the swine flu which brought fear of life and a lot of commotion and confusion among the people all over. Sometimes, our own biased ideas to bring down the reputation of others and our failure to dutifully do the task entrusted by the family or community are the few instances we displease God and go against His will. If everyone thinks in a world of multi-culture, language, religion, and region that everybody is my mother, brother and sister, we could visualize an ideal world possible and the world would exist in perfect harmony and peace with one another as God wishes.

That’s precisely, Pope Francis has underscored the importance of becoming part of God’s family and so he says, “When approached and informed of their presence, Christ indicated that the people he was sitting with were his relatives, saying, “whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” The Lord grants this opportunity of obedience to each individual, so that everyone can be a part of that group who crowded around Christ, and of whom he said “here is my mother and my brothers and my sisters.” Doing God's will makes us become part of Jesus' family; it makes us his mother, father, sister, brother.” Yes, by doing what pleases God and by doing God’s will, we expand the family of God and become part of the family of God. For such a disposition we need to be personally close to God in prayer and intimacy.

Therefore, we need to remind ourselves of Christ who said, my food is to do the will of the Father; we need to take to heart the words of  and follow the example of Mary who said, let it be done to me according to God’s will. We need to march foreword to follow the example of mother Theresa who considered, service done to humanity as service done to God without limiting to particular people. we need to walk along the path of Francis of Assisi who renounced his family and the wealth to do the will of God in and around the nature and the people around that we may not be bound to serve and love only our family members and friends but like Jesus expand the family in establishing our relationship with each and everyone.

RESPOND:

Do we obey God’s word, commands, commandments and his voice in doing God’s will in our lives?

Do we desire for God’s house, our everlasting homeland heaven or are we merely satisfied with the earthly things and dwelling place?

Do we make efforts to do what pleases God or what pleases oneself and others?

Let us make all efforts to do the will of God and expand the family of God by being obedient to God, by desiring to be part of God’s house and please God always. Amen.

God bless us all! Live Jesus!

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

rameshvkmsfs@gmail.com

9500930968