A Homily - The Twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading – Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 ©

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 94(95):1-2, 6-9

Second Reading - 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 ©

Gospel Acclamation – 1 Samuel 3:9, John 6:68

Alternative Acclamation – 1 Peter 1:25

The Gospel According to Luke 17:5 - 10 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

There are no guarantees in this life, neither justice nor injustice, though we may reasonably expect a share of each. We can be certain of nothing; therefor be just toward all those you meet and seek to do no harm.

 God is not a mover of people, save by the eternal pull of grace and the infinite draw of divine love; forces like gravity that touch everyone and everything that is, forces by which God calls every one of God’s children. The spirit calls to us, though we are free to ignore it; even when we recognize it, most of us do.

 Know this!

 God is the creator of the universe, the cause of all that is; each of us and the entire creation is was created by God in a state of radical freedom. In our capacity as free agents we must work toward the justice we wish to manifest in our own lives, and in the lives of the people we encounter.

 Be mindful, we only have the power to be just to one other, we cannot seize justice for ourselves; you will not be the cause of your salvation. It is God who makes us well, who creates in us the possibility of wellbeing, which we find in turn, in God who is our wellbeing, and its final realization is not of this world.

 Do not look for salvation in this world, it will not come from kings and princes, from popes or presidents. God is not a king, and there are no other gods beside God.

 All of creation belongs to the creator, all that is beautiful and everything that frightens or disturbs us, all of it comes from God, and everything redounds to the good.

 Be mindful.

 God has prepared each of us to receive the divine blessing, and God will not rest until each of us has accepted it for themselves.

 Consider the faith of Timothy:

 His words are the words of political prisoner, exhorting us to faith and reminding us of our heritage; that we belong to a tradition that places service to others over individual liberty.

 Not everyone can follow the way to the same end that Timothy did, or Jesus before him. They were leaders of the faith, pointing the way to the blessed life, one that is just and merciful and good.

 Be like Timothy if you can, follow the way of Jesus as well as you are able, but do not despair if you fail; you will fail, and God will continue to love you.

 When leaders rise among us; we must acknowledge them. When leadership is pure and we see that their work is holy, we must acknowledge that. In acknowledging these things it is important to not embellish them…cling to the truth at all times, in all things.

 God does not appear in visions.

 Remember.

 God speaks to all people; God speaks in the human heart. God is present for anyone who will listen, never favoring some over others. God leads us in silence, communicating through the rhythm of the heart, through the tug and pull of our conscience as it resonates with the good.

 This is the Gospel; God loves you, and you are saved.

 You are not saved for anything that you have done, you did not earn salvation, you are saved because God loves you and for no other reason. The promise of salvation is not that you will be spared from suffering and torment in hell, or that when you are judged God will forgive you; there is no hell and God has already forgiven you…share the word!

 God loves you and you are saved already.

 If you feel unworthy…stop; God has a plan for you. God has prepared you and everyone for eternal life.

 Believe it!

 Let the goodness of the promise flow through you now and start living this life as if it were true. Do not be concerned with creeds and confessions, with decrees and decretals, or the doctrine of the church…those do not save; right belief does not save.

 We are not called to believe in the idea that Jesus is this or that, the Holy One of God, we are called to act on the principles of his faith, we are called to live lives of charity and service to each other.

 Share the Gospel, share the good news and be mindful!

 Pay close attention to the Gospel, especially on those occasions when the message is cryptic, or the meaning of the parable is unclear. Interpret these passages when you are centered in the way; interpret them through the lens of love, with hope and justice.

 Understand this.

 Faith means trust, it is not magic. Our faith is not circumscribed by the content of our beliefs, neither can it be measured for quality, quantity, or intensity…faith is trust, which a person either exercises or does not.

 If we trust in the promise of the Gospel, if we trust in the good news that Jesus preached, then we may be able to free ourselves from greed and corruption, and the class-consciousness that foments injustice around the world.

 In the Gospel for today we see Jesus rebuke the disciples, the men who some years later became the apostles of the church. He rebuked them because he saw into their hearts were and bore witness to the spiritual poverty that beset them; he knew that they are using their position in the community of believers to place themselves in positions of authority and influence over the rest of his followers. He rebuked them because they had abandoned the way, and he encouraged them to return to it in the mode of a servant.

 Jesus responded to their error with love, he did not reject them, he gave them further instruction, and he comforted them.

First Reading – Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 ©

The Upright Man Will Live by His Faithfulness

How long, O Lord, am I to cry for help while you will not listen; to cry ‘Oppression!’ in your ear

and you will not save?

Why do you set injustice before me, why do you look on where there is tyranny?

Outrage and violence, this is all I see, all is contention, and discord flourishes.

Then the Lord answered and said, ‘Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read,

since this vision is for its own time only: eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive; if it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without fail.

See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights, but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.’

 

Psalm - Psalm 94(95):1-2, 6-9

LORD, avenging God, avenging God, shine forth!

Rise up, O judge of the earth; give the proud what they deserve!

They kill the widow and alien; the orphan they murder.

They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.”

Understand, you stupid people! You fools, when will you be wise?

Does the one who shaped the ear not hear? The one who formed the eye not see?

 

Second Reading - 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 ©

Never Be Ashamed of Witnessing to Our Lord

I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.

Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

 

Gospel Acclamation – 1 Samuel 3:9, John 6:68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – 1 Peter 1:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of the Lord remains for ever.

What is this word?

It is the Good News that has been brought to you.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 17:5 - 10 ©

Say, 'We Are Merely Servants'

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.

  ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”’

 

A Homily - The Twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)