HOMILY: 14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 2020
The gospel reminds me about the story of Father and Son who just came from the church on this very Sunday. The father was quietly disturbed by the gospel “I thank the Father for hiding these things to the wise and intelligent and revealing them to infants. While they were walking back home, the father asked the boy, to whom the priest is talking to in his homily; is he speaking to the children in the church or to adults? And his son was silently thinking deeper about what to answer the question of his dad. His son replied him gently, dad! I think the priest is talking to himself. I hope I am not talking to myself while I am delivering my homily. Keep in mind that neither Jesus is speaking to Himself in the gospel.
We are now on the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time and be reminded that Jesus is speaking to each one of us. He is talking to us as God’s children. Children of God listen to Him. A child has a very sharp memory. Adults tend to forget but children remember. Adults tend ignore while children pay attention. The teachings of Jesus are actually very difficult to understand because it originated from God. Human intelligence is just a speck in the ocean of God’s wisdom and understanding. We need to understand God but the first step on understanding God is listening attentively and loving the words of God. This is exactly the attitude of a child. Children will surely ask but once you explain to them they are ready to embrace what you have said without any stain of doubt because they uphold deep inside their hearts that parents are icon of truth. This is the best disposition that we can show every time we listen so that we can absolutely learn from Jesus.
Children are always aware of their identity. Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans reminded “don’t you know that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” The very first things that children learned are the names of their parents and their addresses. Identity is to whom we belong. It is being aware where we come from and where we are going forth. First and foremost, out identity is that we are God’s children; I am my Father’s child and I belong to Him! I know very well where I came from- He created me! I am greatly aware of my goal- I am a pilgrim in this world journeying back to the home of my Father. This is the very reason why I have to be in Church every Sunday if not every day. This is the home of my Father. Identity crisis is our failure to know who we are. In other words, we are lost!
Children are concrete images of their parents. The Prophet Zachariah tells us “your king is humble, riding on a donkey and He will be victorious”. When we look at ourselves before a mirror, it will exactly tell us, we look like either our dad or mom. Not only physical features but even the way we behave or some patterns of our attitudes have the resemblance of our parents. Humility is the dominant feature of God which we see in Jesus. This is the best attitude that God has placed into our hearts. This is the best attitude that we can develop in our life. Many times people are no longer interested in this kind of virtue because it is associated to powerlessness which may be prone to bullying and abuse. Powerless people are called losers. However, lowliness are keys to victory. The cross is a crown of success!