Homily (Reflection) for the Fourteenth
Sunday of the Year (C) (07th July, 2019) on the Gospel
Is 66:10-14;
Ps 65:1-7.16.20. (R. v. 1);
Gal 6:14-18;
Lk
10:1-12.17-20 or 10:1-9.
Topic: Discipleship and mission.
Jesus appointed and sent seventy
disciples on mission in today’s gospel. While addressing them, He said, “The
harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the
harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” Till today, the paucity of
labourers cannot be overemphasized. The understanding of labourers in the
Lord’s vineyard as something reserved for selected few makes the matter worse.
“A woman once attended a mission conducted in her parish.
She was so inspired, that she approached the preacher and said, ‘I feel that God
is calling me to preach the Gospel. The problem, however, is that I have nine
children. What should I do?’
The preacher replied, ‘Praise the
Lord for giving you this inspiration, for calling you to preach his Word. Don’t
you see he has already provided you with a Congregation?’”[1]
Disciple (Christian) is another word for an evangelizer. Every
Christian who deserves the name is an evangelizer. We are all members of
Christ’s body, cf. Eph 5:30. Regrettably,
this eludes many today.
As Christians, “...we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim
Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake” (2Cor 4:5). Christ came and preached
peace to those who were far and near, cf. Eph
2:17. He further said to the seventy, “Whatever house you enter, first say,
‘Peace to this house!’” Saint Paul adhered strictly to this in all his letters,
cf. Rom 1:7b; 1Cor 1:3; 2Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phil 1:2;
Col 1:2b; 1Thess 1:1c; 2Thess 1:2; 1Tim 1:2b; 2Tim 1:2b; Tit 1:4b; Philem 1:3,
and so on.
Many proclaim themselves today; boasting how many they have
cursed. Our “God is a God not of disorder but of peace” (1Cor 14:33).
We are called to bring peace to others not war. We ought to pursue
what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding (Rom 14:19). Remember, “If any one says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his
brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen,
cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1Jn
4:20). St. Paul rightly advised us: “Mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree
with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you”
(2Cor 13:11).
Christ is our peace, cf. Eph 2:14. Absence of Christ is characterised by war, “And if anyone
is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not,
it will return to you”. The Letter to the Hebrews reads, “Pursue peace with
everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). However, being peaceful
does not mean condoning evil nor condemning evil synonymous with condemning the
evil doer, cf. Jn 8:11.
In conclusion, every Christian is a labourer in the Lord’s
vineyard called to spread the gospel. This mission is not a call to open war
fronts but to mend bridges. It demands extra grace to convert an enemy.
Bible Reading: Gal 5:22-26; Eph 2:11-22.
Thought for today: Be an
ambassador of peace.
Let us pray with St Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an
instrument of your peace.
Where there is
hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is
injury, pardon;
Where there is
doubt, faith;
Where there is
despair, hope;
Where there is
darkness, light;
Where there is
sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may
seek not so much to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to
understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; in
pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal
life – Amen.
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Sharing: Whoever endures to the end shall be saved, cf. Mk 13:13.
[1]
Sagayanathan, A. (2009). Launching
pad: Stories for Sunday homilies – A, B & C. Bangalore: Asian
Trading Corporation, pp. 313-314.
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