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14th August 2022

Homily for 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

READ: (Jer 38: 4-6, 8-10; Heb 12:1-4; Lk: 12: 49-59)

REFLECT: Endurance wins life

Dear friends,

We all know the meaning of endurance. It is the ability to withstand hardship or adversity or endurance is as well can be the power to withstand something challenging. Endurance makes us strong, endurance helps us to be patient, and endurance makes us understand different aspects of life in a little better way without any hurry. The readings of the day call each one to focus on endurance in life. Because life is a mixture of both happiness and sorrow. But if we could persist in our efforts to endure the sufferings and daily hurdles of life with the gift of endurance, we shall be as one dear to God. So based on the liturgy of the word, I would like to share with you three points of reflection.

1.     Endure for God’s work:

There are times we endure for ourselves, we endure for the sake of others and we endure for God’s work. Most of all, when we endure for God’s sake or for God’s work, God makes sure that he gives us grace to be strong or gives us grace to set us free from the sufferings of life. That’s what we see in the first reading from Prophet Jeremiah.  A false accusation by the officials against Jeremiah cooked up that he is weakening the hands of the soldiers and so they want him to be put to death.

The king says to the officials to do as they liked and so Jeremiah is cast into the cistern of Malchiah. However Ebed Melech the Ethiopian comes to rescue of prophet Jeremiah saying to the King that the officials have done evil against Jeremiah and he would die of starvation if we don’t release him from the cistern. The king orders him that Jeremiah be removed and saved. Yes, we all know that Prophet Jeremiah was sent by God for God’s work and the Lord makes sure that Jeremiah’s life is not ended and so he sends the Ethiopian as the rescuer of his life. Something similar can happen to us as well, if we really endure for something that is true and sincere, if we endure for God’s sake or God’s work, we will experience the hand of God in one way of the other… That’s the power of endurance.

2.     Jesus an example of  Endurance;

I am sure there is no one who could endure life as much as Jesus did. From birth till death Jesus had to undergo enormous threats, oppositions, insults, hardships, unbelief, desertion, denial and even death. But in all these, Jesus endured life for our sake, so that we might become part of the salvific work that God established in Jesus Christ. That’s what we read from the second reading from letter to the Hebrews.  The reading says Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith endured cross, shame and seated at the right hand of God the Father, so also we shall run the race with endurance and not grow weary or fainthearted. it calls us for endurance of life in the midst of persecutions and problems.

That’ what someone has very beautifully said,” when I compare the cross and crisis of Christ to myself, all that I go through is nothing but a very little.” Today’s reading uses an athletic imagery like running race and the contests of the contestants in the race. Yes, in a running race there are contestants, they have to fix their mind, run faster than the other and all of the them move towards a destination for success similarly if we run the race of life which has contest and complications with endurance, we shall run the race of life. Just as the runners look at the destination in the running race, so also we should look to Jesus the final point and goal. To move towards such a point, we need endurance. Jesus’ example is a signboard for all of us to move towards the final point where God has called us to be.

3.     Endurance at all times:

It’s not that we live a life of endurance once a while and lose sight of it the next moment rather it has to be sustained all throughout life. The words of Jesus in the Gospel of the day is a surprise for us. Jesus says, “I have come to set fire on earth… I have a baptism to be baptized with and how great is my distress until its accomplished… I have come to cause division and not peace…” The message of Jesus is shocking than surprising because in the beginning of the Gospel of Luke  at the time of annunciation (Lk 1: 26-38) we hear that mother Mary will bear a Son, his name is Jesus, He is the Son of God, He will rule forever and his reign will have no end. We ask a question to ourselves, “Will God our saviour who has come to save life bring fire or division to destroy us?” I don’t think so.

The fire on earth that Jesus speaks could be the holy spirit in the tongues of fire at Pentecost (Acts 2:3-4). The fire of the Holy Spirit will fall over the earth and fill them with zeal for God’s word and work. The baptism to be baptized with could be the followers of Jesus being baptized in large number in Acts of the Apostles when peter addressed the crowd (Acts 2:41). The Division and not peace that Jesus speaks about could arise from the teachings and values that Jesus proclaims. We know when Jesus proclaimed or taught in private or public, there  were many who took offence at him, many Pharisees and Sadducees were Jealous of him, felt threatened by Jesus’ teaching, tried to make arguments with Jesus even challenged and plotted to put an end to his life. Something similar will as well happen in the family or society or world because of the in-depth teaching and values that Jesus pronounces and when we try to practice what Jesus teaches. That’s why perhaps Jesus says, there will be division in the family.

The purpose of Jesus’ coming is to establish peace but the refusal to listen to Jesus and follow his teaching would bring division in the family. The division will even affect the household relationships among father and son, mother and daughter, mother-in-law and daughter –in-law. So those who follow Jesus need to be ready to face such divisions and be committed fully to follow Jesus by way of endurance. Jesus even addressed people that they were good at judging or predicting weather by looking at the sky and wind but not able to judge the present time themselves of what is right and wrong. The time Jesus speaks is the opportune time or the appointed time for repentance and renewal.

The repentance and renewal do not happen all of a sudden. It takes time. So only by endurance through grace of God we can change and renew life better. A life in reconciliation with God and with one another is possible by endurance. In a life that we most often endure, speed is not so important but a steady life is important. Yes, ‘Speed thrills but kills’ is the phrase that we read on the road while we travel. But be for sure endurance will have no end. Endurance might make you feel that you end your life in suffering and pain but endurance lends us a helping hand to move forward in life with hope and courage by the grace of God. Endurance of life by the grace of God wins.

RESPOND:

How do I endure life situations?

Do I endure for my work or others work or God’s work? 

Do I curse daily problems or ignore or do I consistently and persistently make efforts by way of endurance to overcome the storms of life?

Endurance never ends until we choose to put an end to it.  May God bless us all to endure life with endurance through his grace. Amen.

“The more perfect our patience, the more perfectly we possess ourselves. Often recall to your mind that Our Lord saved us by his sufferings and endurance. In the same way, we must work out our salvation by sufferings, trials, bearing insults, conflicts and troubles with as much as gentleness as possible.” (St. Francis De Sales, IDL, 3rd Part, Chapter-3, p. 145)

God bless us all…

Live Jesus