Homily Twenty-First Sunday Year B
Homily
Twenty-First Sunday Year B
Reading
1: Over the period of Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised Land the
people had witnessed God’s signs and wonders. First, he freed them from their bondage
of Egypt. Then he established a covenant with them, sealed with blood. At the
time the people said, “We will serve the Lord.” They remained in the desert for
forty years because their actions and words did not match. They grumbled and
complained; they were disobedient and obstinate of heart against God. As a
result, many died without entering into the Promised Land.
Now,
God brings them into the land flowing with milk and honey. They were able to
conquer their enemies and began to settle down. Once more Joshua reminded the
people what God did for them. Joshua challenged them to either renew the
covenant and serve only the Lord or go the way of their ancestors. “As for me
and my household we will serve the Lord.”
The
people made the same profession of commitment. They were faithful, but
generations after them were not.
When
we were baptized, God made a covenant with us. He chose us to be his adopted
sons and daughters. Each Sunday, we
renew our covenant in the Eucharist. The question is do we just say words or do
we live our commitment with the same intention of Joshua? “As for me and my
household we will serve the Lord.”
Reading
2: In marriage, husband and wife enter into a sacred covenant with each other
and with God. What Paul says about man and woman in the marriage covenant, he
sees through the lens of our relationship with Christ.
The
first reading focused on serving the Lord, being faithful to the Lord,
following the Lord. The second reading is saying the same thing. Husband and
wives in living out their covenant are to focus on serving the Lord. Their
subordination to one another is because of their relationship to Christ.
Wives
love your husbands as you love Christ. Husbands love your wives as you love
Christ. How can you do this with all the faults each sees in the other? The same
way Jesus loves us with our faults and failures. He did this by laying down his
life for us, his people, the Church.
In
the same way, each spouse is to live in relationship to the other. This is the
subordination each is to show to the other. In so doing, you will be helping
the other to grow in holiness.
One
of the many questions, God will ask of spouses at the Day of Judgment is “Where
is your spouse in relationship to me because of you”?
Gospel:
The Gospel is a continuation of last Sunday’s reading. Jesus’ promised to give
us his Body to eat and his Blood to drink, so that we may have life
everlasting. At the beginning of last Sunday’s Gospel, it said that the Jews grumbled,
questioned and challenged Jesus. Here it says, even some of his disciples found
Jesus’ words too hard to accept.
Jesus’
teaching was a Word of Wisdom, which is beyond the rationale of the human mind,
but is dependent on faith in the person of Jesus Christ. In a sense, Jesus, in
a subtle way reveals his true identity. “What if you see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before?” The Spirit gives the faith that is needed; human
nature cannot.
Many
of his disciples walked away because they could not make a commitment to accept
Jesus and his word. Jesus then turns to
the twelve and asked: “Do you want to leave?” Peter had already confessed that
Jesus was the Christ. Now he professes: “You have the words of everlasting
life. We believe that you are the Holy One of God.” Both statements were expressions of faith in
the person of Jesus and in his words.
Our
faith is in Jesus as Lord, Savior and God. There may be many things that may be
hard to understand and believe. Like the disciples our faith may be tested and
may waver a bit. If our faith is at best surface deep, it will take little to
shake it. We need to ask for the grace from the Holy Spirit to remain followers
of Jesus, never separating ourselves from him or his Church, no matter what. “As
for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
About the Author
0 comments