Homily Twenty-sixth Sunday Year B God is in control
Homily
Twenty-sixth Sunday Year B
Reading
1:
It
is the Lord who is the initiator and the source of the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
one of which is prophesy. God’s Spirit was upon Moses and signs and wonders
followed. These signs and wonders did not point to Moses but to God. The
background of this reading is that Moses was feeling the burden of trying to be
the spokesperson of God to all the people. People were demanding more and more
from Moses.
So
when Moses complained to God, God said for him to choose seventy-two elders who
would receive the same empowering spirit. The Spirit came down upon them and
they, like Moses, prophesied, speaking the word of God to the people.
The
fact that two of those selected were not in the physical company of the others
did not prevent God from fulfilling his plan. The issue here is not God’s plan,
but human beings wanting to be in control of God’s plan, to determine and
direct it according to their expectations. But God shows that he is not limited
by human expectations.
Moses
was able to see that it was God who inspired the two to prophesy. Joshua, at
the time, could not see this. But Moses said something very prophetic and
correct. “Would that the Lord might bestow his Spirit on all and that all would
prophesy.” This theme appears in other parts of the Old Testament. Joel
prophesied that in the end time God would pour out his Spirit upon all mankind.
Pentecost
is the beginning of that fulfillment. Baptism and Confirmation are the moments in
each of our lives that we have received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In
Baptism, when we were anointed with the oil of Chrism, we were told: “you now
share in the life of Christ, as priest, prophet and king.” In Confirmation, we
were told that we are to witness about Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy
Spirit.
Reading
2:
The
sin in the first reading was jealousy. What is the sin that James is signaling
in this reading? It is injustice and wrongdoing towards others. Like any other
sin, it is the betterment of self at the detriment of others. To be rich is not
the sin. To have means is not the sin. How did we obtain it? How do we use it?
That’s the issue. To obtain it unjustly or in a manner that deprived another
what is due is the sin. To hoard it for self, when others are in dire need is
sinful.
Gospel:
The
Gospel reading contains two different thoughts. The first part is connected to
the first reading, judging from human standards and not from God’s. John is
asking out of jealousy and a need to control like Joshua. Jesus identifies the
truth. God is not limited to any exclusive club but chooses to work in and
through people we would not imagine.
What
is the focus? Signs and wonders done in the name of Jesus that bear fruit are
of God.
Jesus
then moves into the focus of his own preaching and ministry, calling people to
repentance of sin. First of all, we are called to recognize the seriousness of
sin and the consequences of sin. He indicates the radical attitude we must take
towards sin. It is not that Jesus wants us to take literally to the point of
cutting off our hands or tearing out our eyes, if these were sources of our
sin. Rather, he wants us to recognize the eternal consequences of sin, which
alienates us from God now and eternally, if we die unrepentant.
Many
times, we do not think of the eternal consequences and remain in sin. Jesus is
not advocating decapitation of our limbs but the separation from sin through
sincere repentance. As much as we revolt against the thought of severing a limb
because of sin, we should be more horrified at the reality of an eternity
without God because of unrepentant sin.
There
is a sense of immediacy. Act now! How often do we delay and remain alienated
from God because of serious sin, thinking that it is no big deal or there is no
rush to repent and change one’s life style. One’s eternal salvation is never to
be taken lightly. It is a gift from God, not something we deserve. To be
indifferent to this gift is to say to God he is not that important in our life;
to say that the death of Jesus is not that important to you.
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