__ Click here for Audio of Homily__
●● Ezekiel 17:22-24 ●● Psalm 92
●● 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 ●● + Mark 4:26-34●●
[__01__] Our
Catholic calendar of worship is not only divided up by Lent, Easter, Advent,
Christmas -- but also divided up devotionally by month – with the month of June
dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a feast day, 2 weeks after Pentecost.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart emphasizes the transformation of Jesus' love and
compassion in our lives.
I’d
also like to make a comparison between what we value and strive for in the
heart “physically” and “medically” and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
I’d
also like to connect this to the Gospel Good News about the seed which is
buried in the earth and grows into a plant or tree.
Having
a healthy heart, physically, is not just about how we live as solitary
individuals but also how we interact with others and go out of ourselves. For
example, having a healthy heart invites us to be active not completely
sedentary… having a healthy heart invites us to manage stress and anxiety. We
will always live in a world with stress-inducing “people” and “problems” and
“computers” and traffic jams. How we live this out emotionally affects us
physically. And, these habits of the heart also apply to our spiritual lives.
[__02__] Do we not
recognize – or are we not frequently reminded – to take care of our hearts –
our heart health?
Perhaps,
you or someone you know has a heart condition. There are many amazing things
done by doctors today for circulation, blood pressure, and more. But if your
heart is not right, you cannot really put that off. The heart may need
treatment or therapy for everything else to function.
A
couple of years ago, I was meeting a friend for dinner, but he called me up to
say he could not make it because his heartbeat was once again quite irregular
and he knew he had to go the hospital. Our dinner plans turned into a drive to
the Emergency Room. We still had time talk on the way. The heart was the
priority. We could not go to Star Pizza to get a table and then drop by St.
Barnabas later.
[__03__] In last Sunday’s readings and this Sunday, St.
Paul is writing to the Corinthian church and we are reading “2nd
Corinthians, ch. 4 and ch. 5”.
Paul
is reflecting on the apparent contradictions of our lives, writing, “although
we know that our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed
day by day”. (2 Corinthians 4:16)
One
commentator on the Catholic radio station pointed that this “wasting away”
really refers to the experience of getting physically and chronologically
older.
Physically,
cognitively, mentally, we are not getting any younger, but our inner self is
being renewed all the time.
As
an example, have you ever met someone who is at an advanced age, or suffering
an illness and that person demonstrates a peacefulness and tranquility that
others who are younger and stronger do not have?
St.
Paul goes on to say that we all have “momentary light afflictions” which can
produce an eternal weight of glory.
What
is the momentary light affliction for you or a loved one?
Is
the affliction -- a stroke, heart
disease, anxiety, dementia, a movement disorder or tremor such as Parkinson’s
or confinement to a wheelchair?
The
reminder is that these afflictions can even lead us to God, if we will allow
ourselves to be led there.
Also,
even if you yourself are not suffering a difficult illness, maybe you care for
someone who is. Your life is beset with “afflictions”, the therapy, doctor’s
appointments, safety concerns, medication schedules.
In
this regard, we are called to walk by faith, not by sight and we can be renewed
internally and spiritually.
[__04__] In
today's Gospel, Jesus uses the mustard seed to show how small beginnings can
lead to significant growth. Biblical scholar John Bergsma suggests that the
mustard seed also represents Jesus Himself, who, though obscure at both His
birth and His death, rose to bring life and hope to the world (John Bergsma,
The Word of the Lord, Year B, p. 279). Your small acts of faith and love can
grow into something much larger. Did you smile at someone today? Did you admit
you were wrong? Did you forgive someone’s faults? These little things add up!
This seed is God's Word, and we are called to share it with others.
[__05_] This
applies to the way we speak about and strive for health and wholeness and
healthy transformation in our lives.
Each
of us is a seed growing to fulfillment.
Yes,
we are all growing and changing, but we are also called to recognize we already
made good through God’s love and design.
[__05__] Pope John Paul II taught us that we are called
to see our bodies [as a gift. Your body is God’s gift to you and to all of]
creation. [Each of us is] a unity of body and soul. Our bodies express the
reality of who we are as persons [and as having a] profound freedom. We are not
just somethings; we are “someones”—and our bodies testify to this.” (Source: https://focusequip.org/the-catholic-church-and-gender/)
I
recognize that there are both children and adults who may experience difficult
identity crises and dysphoria. The medicines and treatments are available here
are contrary to God’s plan for “change”. We are all changing and growing, but
we also have to recognize that we already made good and whole in God’s eyes.
[__06__] The Gospel
message is about our own growing and changing. We may not get the results we
want or expect all at once.
We cannot make the
seed grow.
As Jesus said this
about the mysterious growth: “It is as if
a man would were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and
day and through it all, the seed would sprout and grow, and he knows not how.” (Mark 4:26-27)
I pray that this
parable and all of God's word will remind me, remind you, remind us to put our
trust in God's Holy Spirit amid our own changes and struggles.
St. Paul wrote: “For this
momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of
glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is
unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal. For we
know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed,
we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.” (2 Corinthians 5:1)
This is how it is with the kingdom of God. [__end__]
No comments:
Post a Comment