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Sts. Joseph & Paul Catholic Church |
Homily Archives | |
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29 Ordinary - B The last sentence of this Sunday’s Gospel is one of the most important in all of Sacred Scripture, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life in ransom for many.” This one sentence summarizes the entire mission and life of Jesus.
However, this view of Jesus’ life
is a long way from how the disciples saw it. James and John want a
place of glory. “Teacher,” they say, “we want you to do whatever we
ask of you.” And, Jesus replies, “what do you want?” “Will you make
sure that we sit one at the right and one at the left when you come
into your glory?” They believed that all they needed to do was ask
for it, and a place in the Kingdom of God would be theirs. We might
say, “nice try guys, but it takes much more then just asking to get
such a place of glory. It takes living it.” (Now) I would like to ask for some homily help. I would like to ask for 5 volunteers. Can I see 5 hands? Would you come forward? I promise that I will not embarrass you. I will not ask you any hard questions. I will not ask you to do anything difficult. (Thanks for volunteering!) What I would like to ask you to do is simple. By working together, I would like to ask you to make a circle. (Very good. Thank you.) Now, could you make a different kind of circle? (Wonderful. Thanks.) Now, can you make a different kind of a circle, yet? (A little harder. Maybe I can help.) By remaining where you are in the circle you have formed, could you simply turn and face outward? It is a whole different kind of a circle, isn’t it? It’s not the way we usually think of circles. Typically, the circles we made in childhood games always faced inward. But the circle you have formed does not look in on itself, but it looks outward. You are not looking at one another, but you are looking at the people, the Church, and the world outside of your circle. (The volunteers may be seated.) The disciples were turned in on themselves. They were only thinking of their needs and desires, and they wanted to spend life in eternity. They were looking at Jesus in the way with which they had become comfortable. They saw the many people who followed him, they saw his miraculous power, and they heard him speak of the glory to come; that’s the circle of glory of which they wanted to be a part. But Jesus had something different in mind. Little did they know that they glory of Jesus would be manifested in humble service-- in caring for the poor, the lost and the forsaken. Little did they know that the popularity Jesus was enjoying would soon vanish and would be replaced by jeering and shouts, that he would be crucified. Little did they know that he would not wear a crown of gold, but he would wear a crown of thorns. Little did they know that his throne would not be a grand chair but a wooden cross. This all takes us back to that telling last sentence of this Sunday’s Gospel, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life in ransom for many.” The mission of the Church must reflect the life of Jesus. It looks outward to the many needs of the people of the world. To be a true disciple of Jesus means that we are willing to put aside our wants and desires and mirror what he did. As we continue our journey to the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom of God, let us expand the circles of which we are a part by looking out at our world and be of service where we can.
sdrose@bellsouth.net
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