A Homily – The Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading – Malachi 3:19-20 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 97(98):5-9 ©

Second Reading - 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Luke 21:36

Alternative Acclamation – Luke 21:28

The Gospel According to Luke 21.5 - 19 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

One thing is not the same as another, there is good and there is evil and there are the intentions behind the actions we take which make those qualities real; the difference between them matters.

While it is true that God loves us no matter what we do, and it is true that the creator of the universe has promised to right all wrongs; the fulfillment of those promises takes place in eternity, apart from day-to-day dilemma of existing in time and space. God has a plan to right all wrongs, and we are called to have faith in that plan, nevertheless, we must still live with the consequences of our actions in the world, for thee good and the evil things we think and do, and for the vast ocean off indifference that swells within our souls.

Be mindful of yourself and your ambitions, your relationships with your family and with your neighbors, with the stranger in your company, even with your adversaries...should you have them.

Do good and avoid evil.

Tend to the sick, heal them if you can, do not cause suffering if you can help it. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked. House the homeless. Shoe the shoeless and give water to the thirty.

Love mercy and seek justice all the days of your life; be humble wheresoever you go.

Contemplate the ways of the loving God; emulate them. This is the way that Jesus instructed us to follow and nothing is more important.

Know this: it is right and good to praise God the creator, because creation is miraculous and its scope is beyond human comprehension. Know this as well: God does not grant victories, God has no enemies, and in God, within whom all things exist and have their being, within God there is no conflict.

It is not God’s justice that is demonstrated through the machinations of human beings, it is human justice. When human justice approximates the justice of God you will know it insofar as it is coupled with mercy, then and only then will justice be in the service of the good and loving God who is kind and faithful to all people…without exception.

Understand this.

God’s power is everywhere, animating the voices that give God praise, as well as those who doubt and cry out against God’s ways, in the song of nature and in the music of the spheres.

If you are placed in the roll of an instrument of justice, judge fairly and judge kindly, remembering that God is love.

Remember this.

Do not treat food as a wage; give to the hungry in the way that Jesus taught us.  

Consider the teaching of the apostle and know that rule he issues can only apply in times of great scarcity, when the whole community is in need, and the food that is available must go to those who are tasked with the survival of the community itself, to those for whom sustenance is necessary, because without their labor the community itself would perish…then and only then can such rule’s apply.

In times of abundance refuse no-one, even the miscreant and the sloucher, give to them that you may be a blessing to them.

Be mindful and weigh the text carefully; there are many places where error has crept in and the teachings of Jesus have been subverted to the shortsightedness of human beings.

Know that God made our world and the universe free and the divine does not interfere or intervene in our lives or the choices we make. The only future we can predict is that which flows naturally from its predictable antecedents, from the choices we make in the present, from the choosing we are doing continuously.

Therefore pay no attention to those who use fear to shape their faith, or yours; they are liars who have pitted themselves against the will of God who would have you live without fear and the things that flow from fear, which are hate, anger, greed and violence.

Consider the Gospel reading for today:

I tell you this, Jesus of Nazareth did not utter these words; they were penned by the gospel writers dozens of years after the Romans had destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, long after the war with Rome that led to that catastrophe and the expulsion of the Jewish people from Roman occupied Palestine.

Jesus was not a fortuneteller; he did not predict the future...nothing is preordained.

Do not be deceived; do not be deceived, these are the best words, this is the best advice for living in the way…do not be deceived.

Many have come and many more will come boasting that they are with Jesus, claiming to speak for Jesus. Every generation has such pretenders. Do not be deceived and do not deceive yourself!

The gospel writers were pretending to be Jesus when they put words in his mouth that he never spoke. They thought they were doing good...perhaps; most of those who pretend to be Jesus think they are doing something good, or at the least they think they are doing something necessary. The gospel writers were no different.

Do not be deceived, and do not be afraid; the world will continue to be a violent and unsafe place. We live in a hard and dangerous world…but the Gospel tells us to have hope.

Teaching that if we dedicate our lives to challenging those in power, we must expect that the powerful will act against us. If we should find ourselves in court simply because we are working on behalf of the poor and the marginalized, do not worry about the defense; our actions will speak for themselves…speak truth at all times, especially to the powerful, they need to hear it most of all…they need to be told to love mercy, seek justice and walk uprightly that we expect this of them all the days of their lives.

First Reading – Malachi 3:19-20 ©

For You the Sun of Righteousness Will Shine Out

The day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and the evil-doers will be like stubble. The day that is coming is going to burn them up, says the Lord of Hosts, leaving them neither root nor stalk. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 97(98):5-9 ©

The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp

  with the sound of music.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn

  acclaim the King, the Lord.

The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.

Let the sea and all within it, thunder;

  the world, and all its peoples.

Let the rivers clap their hands

  and the hills ring out their joy

  at the presence of the Lord.

The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.

For the Lord comes,

  he comes to rule the earth.

He will rule the world with justice

  and the peoples with fairness.

The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.

 

Second Reading - 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 ©

Do Not Let Anyone Have Food if He Refuses to Work

You know how you are supposed to imitate us: now we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we ever have our meals at anyone’s table without paying for them; no, we worked night and day, slaving and straining, so as not to be a burden on any of you. This was not because we had no right to be, but in order to make ourselves an example for you to follow.

 

We gave you a rule when we were with you: do not let anyone have any food if he refuses to do any work. Now we hear that there are some of you who are living in idleness, doing no work themselves but interfering with everyone else’s. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we order and call on people of this kind to go on quietly working and earning the food that they eat.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Luke 21:36

Alleluia, alleluia!

Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – Luke 21:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 21.5 - 19 ©

The Destruction of the Temple Foretold…

When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.’ And they put to him this question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?’

  ‘Take care not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many will come using my name and saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand.” Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

‘But before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’

 

A Homily – The Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)