Homily for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
25 August 2013
25 August 2013
“Let
your life speak!”
This
saying, which comes to us from a group that I cannot remember at this time, is
a wonderful summation of our First Reading, Responsorial Psalm and Gospel for
today. For at its very essence, at the core meaning of the saying, is that
whatever we think, say or do, reflects upon the very core of our being, the
very essence of what it is that we believe – as individuals and as a community.
As
Christians, it’s paramount that our lives speak the Gospel. As Christians, it’s
important to relay to others that we journey to Jerusalem with Jesus. As
Christians, it’s vital that our thoughts, words, and actions reflect that IT IS
POSSIBLE to enter through the narrow gate. Our live need to simply speak of our
trust and relationship with God.
Think
about all that you think, say and do throughout the course of a day. Are those
thoughts, words and actions allowing yourself and others to see how generously
wide the narrow gate can be through the grace of God? Or are those thoughts,
words and actions making that narrow gate more narrow by the minute? If our
lives are to speak, then, as disciples of Christ, then everything that we
think, say and do will always focus on Christ and others. It’s hard to go
through the narrow gate yourself when don’t allow the other person to go
through first!
As
human beings, we have an aversion to doing difficult things. If we didn’t have
to do them, we wouldn’t. The journey to Jerusalem is a difficult thing,
because, like Jesus, we know that the ultimate end is suffering and death. If
our lives are to speak, then we know that the journey of the Christian life is
difficult. However, we know that truly the end is not suffering and death, but
a new beginning through the Cross to the glory of the Resurrection. But we have
to be willing to go through the suffering to receive the glory.
When
we look at the Gospel, when we look at the message Jesus preached and calls us
to preach, we come to realize how radical it is. We are called to become
radical people, preaching a radical Gospel by living a radical life! If our
lives are to speak, then we must realize that love is sacrificial, that peace
comes through personal surrender, and that justice comes through the
righteousness of God. If we are to live the Gospel, it must be a total commitment
on our part. As a popular saying goes, “You may be the only Gospel someone ever
reads.”
My
brothers and sisters, LET YOUR LIFE SPEAK! Let your life be an unashamed
witness for the Gospel! Let the love of God dwell in you deeply so that you may
live with reckless abandon in the Cross of Christ! Don’t be afraid to approach
the narrow gate, for it only looks narrow from a distance. When you approach
that gate through the grace of God, you can see how generous He is in its
actual width.
We
must let our lives speak, my friends. They must speak of a journey that
promises suffering and death, yet a journey that promises eternal life. They
must speak of a bitter hardship that turns into ecstatic joy. They must speak
of a radical call to love.
My
brothers and sisters, through the reception of the Eucharist today, let us imitate
Jesus Christ in our thoughts, words and actions, going out and announcing the
Gospel of the Lord, glorifying Him by the way we live our lives.
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Enjoy the journey . . .
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