HOMILY: SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 2021 We have a Canadian married couple friend who used to spend holiday in the Philippines. They noticed something strange in our native culture. Town folks would usually greet each other in the streets, where are you heading for or where have you been? It seemed to me, you are minding other’s business? I told him, it is likewise what you are doing in Canada. In the church, in the streets, in gatherings, we used to greet each other, how are you? We also have the impression that you are intruding other’s privacy. Every time we say those words, we do not have the intention of minding other’s business; we are just greeting each other. It is only a matter of establishing a friendly connection with one another.
We are now on the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time and the theme is all about establishing friendship with Jesus and with one another. Friendship with Jesus begins with being interested to Him. When the two disciples met Jesus for the first time, they are typically like us; they greeted Him by saying where are you staying? They were neither interested to know the exact location of where he is staying nor minding Jesus personal business but they are just greeting Jesus. They just want to establish connection with Jesus. It’s our own way of saying “hi”, it’s a friendly gesture so to speak. This is the simplest way to start a prayer a great beginning for a friendly rapport.
Friendship with Jesus is about listening to Him. In the Book of Samuel, Eli summoned Samuel that when he heard the voice once again say, speak Lord, for your servant is listening. This is the best attitude for our desire to establish genuine friendship with Jesus. We should listen to Him most of the times when we are praying which require self emptying to create a space in us to welcome God’s word in our life. In Samuel’s life, none of God’s words fall to the ground. He treasured them with sincerity, utmost respect and put them into concrete actions. Let us cultivate a pleasure of spending time with Jesus and enjoy listening to Him.
Friendship with Jesus brings forth unity in the Church. The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians mentioned, “He made us realize that we are members of the body of Christ. Our habit of listening to Jesus will also develop in us open mindedness to others. We became united with one another when we welcome other’s thoughts, sentiments and suggestions. It is certainly an important attitude for us to establish unity among ourselves. Let us pray that Jesus Christ may unite us into his body by teaching us the culture of dialogue. Let us love one another with the love of Christ as we anticipate that one day we will be together in one home of the Father.