A Homily – The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading – Ecclesiasticus 35:12-14, 16-19 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 33(34):2-3, 17-19, 23 ©

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 11:25

Alternative Acclamation – 2 Corinthians 5:19

The Gospel According to Luke 18:9 - 14 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

Be joyful when you hear the wisdom of the sage who says that God, the creator of the universe, that God is not respecter of persons, neither of the rich nor of the poor. There is no differentiation in God’s love; God loves all of God’s children equally. God listens to all prayers, ignoring none of them, but God will not come to your aid, not while you live on Earth; do not wait in the expectation of it. God’s deliverance comes after the body perishes, when you are delivered to the new world, when you enter a place beyond time and space.

Be humble, serve your brothers and sisters as you wish that God would serve you; come to their aid, be the hand of God in this world, showing love and mercy in the spirit of humility and kindness.

Be mindful!

If you intend to seek God; look no farther than your hear; you will find God in loving, and in loving you will be blessed…praise God through works of love.

Look for no other glory than that of a servant, knowing that true greatness is measured by the extent of the caring that you exhibit in the world…God is great because God cares.

Know this.

God has no name, therefore do not praise the name of God, rather you should exalt the loving work of God that is found in creation.

Listen to your neighbors, rescue them from fear; it is then that God’s light shines through you, spreading like fire by the hope you kindle and the love you share.

Remember.

With God there is no shame; God is no respecter of station, class or wealth. God distributes the same portion of love to everyone, it is infinite and enduring.

As you pass through the troubles of the world, recall the life of Job and do not look for God to save you from what pains you; we are all Job, in a way, we are all beset with woes. Therefore, have faith in the way and testify to how transient our troubles are…look to your family and friends, to your neighbor or the stranger among you if you are in need of rescue, that is how the divine will reach you, through them.

Know this.

All pain is temporary, but love lasts forever.

Do not fear, speak the truth, avoid evil and do good…this is the wisdom of the psalmist, God sees all, hears all, knows all, because God is with all of us, indwelling all of us, God knows our innermost thoughts, our deepest secrets, desires and hidden motivations. God understands our experience as we understand it ourselves…ours and everyone’s.

Keep your mind in the present; do good world for the sake of doing good, not as a means of increasing your share of providence. God’s love endures forever, but we only feel it in the immediate-present of our lives.

Receive the gospel with a heart full of hope, you will find peace; ignore the fear-mongers who have lost sight of the way.

Whether you are pure and without flaw, or dirty and soiled with corruption, God only comes for you when you at the point of departure, when you are done with this world. God comes for the saint and the sinner alike, not because you deserve it, but simply because God loves you.

God is always at your side and will deliver you, place a halo, like fire, upon your head, not for any righteousness you have accumulated, but because God has claimed you for God’s own, a feast for the prodigal child to celebrate the return.

Do not shun the gift because everyone receives the same, do not devalue it because it is free. Do not think less of God’s love when you see those who persecuted you and those who abandoned you receive the same blessing as you from the same loving God.

Do not turn your wrath on God when you that those who would not listen to you, when those who ignored you, when those who actively opposed you are present with you on the same pilgrimage to the divine.

Consider this:

The apostle tells us in the simplest of terms that the singular mission of the church is to proclaim our reconciliation with God, as fulfilled in Jesus according to the providence of God and the divine plan.

Everyone is reconciled in the loving embrace of God and the church is meant to announce it, to be the ambassadors of this good news. The church is not, nor should it ever be a recruiting agency, organized around the purpose of signing up members, for whom reconciliation with the divine is presented as perk of joining, or some kind of payout like a reward.  

Know this!

Our reconciliation with God has already occurred, it occurred at the beginning of time, for in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, through and in whom all things have their being…it is the mission of the church to proclaim it.

Consider the Gospel reading for the Day:

Do not be mistaken; both of the people in the narrative are beloved by God, without qualification, loves all people without preference.

In the person of the Pharisee and in the person of the tax collector; there is both good and there is evil; this is true of everyone. It is true of you, and it is true of me, but God loves us despite our faults and failings.

The Pharisee was born into the life of a Pharisee, he was given the means to live the life he lived. He had some say in how he would handle his inheritance; just as we all do, whatever that inheritance might be, even if our inheritance is nothing more than wind and sand.

This is not to excuse the Pharisee’s miserly behavior, it is simply to state our understanding of human nature…do not be surprised by it. Each of us is free to be prideful or humble, regardless of what we do or do not have; all of us are in different ways both.

A person who manifests an ugly sense of pride in relation to one aspect of their life, may be loving and humble in another. Do not believe that because you see one side of a person, you have seen everything about them.

The tax collector also inherited his circumstances; perhaps making choices along the way to establish himself in the role he occupied, nevertheless, like all people, his role in his community was partly determined by free will and partly determined by the exigencies of his community.

A person may have an occupation which they know causes harm to others, but nevertheless they cannot walk away from it, for any number of reasons: because of unseen obligations such as a responsibility to family, to friends to community. The fact that they are engaged in a sinful occupation does not tell us the whole story of who they are. They may be fierce and aggressive in the pursuit of their duties and yet come to their prayers with humility and contrition…only God knows what is in their hearts.

Therefore be welcoming to all who come to you; do not judge them based on the outward expression of their piety, their occupation or their place in society…we are all of us a mix of good and bad intentions.

First Reading – Ecclesiasticus 35:12-14, 16-19 ©

The Humble Man's Prayer Pierces the Clouds

The Lord is a judge who is no respecter of personages.

He shows no respect of personages to the detriment of a poor man, he listens to the plea of the injured party.

He does not ignore the orphan’s supplication, nor the widow’s as she pours out her story.

The man who with his whole heart serves God will be accepted, his petitions will carry to the clouds.

The humble man’s prayer pierces the clouds, until it arrives he is inconsolable, and the Lord will not be slow, nor will he be dilatory on their behalf.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 33(34):2-3, 17-19, 23 ©

The poor man called; the Lord has heard him.

I will bless the Lord at all times,

  his praise always on my lips;

in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.

  The humble shall hear and be glad.

The poor man called; the Lord has heard him.

The Lord turns his face against the wicked

  to destroy their remembrance from the earth.

The just call and the Lord hears

  and rescues them in all their distress.

The poor man called; the Lord has heard him.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;

  those whose spirit is crushed he will save.

The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants.

  Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.

The poor man called; the Lord has heard him.

 

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18 ©

All there is to Come Now is the Crown of Righteousness Reserved for Me

My life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing.

The first time I had to present my defence, there was not a single witness to support me. Every one of them deserted me – may they not be held accountable for it. But the Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear; and so I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from all evil attempts on me, and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 11:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom

to mere children.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – 2 Corinthians 5:19

Alleluia, alleluia!

God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 18:9 - 14 ©

The Tax Collector, Not the Pharisee, Went Home Justified.

Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’

 

A Homily – The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)