HOMILY FOR THE 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A. (6)

HOMILY FOR THE 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.

THEME: No Strangers in God’s House.

BY: Fr. Luke Ijezie

Isaiah 56:1,6-7
Resp. Psalm 67:2-3,5,6,8
Romans 11:13-15,29-32
Matthew 15:21-28

I met an Italian some years ago who strongly campaigned for a world without boundaries. We instantly became friends although I knew he was only dreaming. Then I was trying to renew my resident permit, and he felt such should not be happening in an ideal world. I laughed because my second name then, just like other non indigenes, was “straniero” (stranger). The phenomenon of being a stranger is a very familiar one in our society today. It is there both in the political society and religious society. Even in families that are supposed to be one, some are treated as strangers. Sometimes, one hardly feels fully at home anywhere. The readings of this twentieth Sunday of the year address the issue from diverse perspectives. All the readings agree on the point that faith breaks the boundary of strangerhood in God’s house. With faith, every stranger becomes accepted as a full member of God’s house, which is God’s family.

RELATED: HOMILY FOR THE 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

1. In the first reading from Isa 56:6-7, we are treated to a summarised picture of the controversy in the Jewish Community in Jerusalem after the return from exile in Babylon. Some Jews insisted that no strangers were welcome into the temple and Community. The then Community was unified by the temple worship. The text of Isa 56 addresses this controversy and opens up the membership of the community to all strangers, that is, non-Jews, on the condition that they attach themselves in love to Yahweh by keeping the law (Torah) and observing particularly the Sabbath. The highpoint of the text is that it declares the house of God as a house of prayer for all nations. In the same vein, today’s Psalm 67 says, God is the owner and Saviour of all the nations, and all peoples will praise Him.

2. The same universality in religious matters is addressed in the second reading from Rom 11:13-15,29-32. Here, the Apostle Paul admits the fact that the Gentiles who used to be strangers are now integrated as full members of God’s household on the basis of faith. But he then raises the issue of the status of his Jewish brethren who were lacking in faith. His assurance is that they also will be reconciled, as God’s promises are irrevocable. In the final analysis, all the scattered children of God will be reunited in the one family of God.

3. In the Gospel of today from Matt 15:21-28, we find the famous episode of the encounter between Jesus and the Canaanite woman along the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. In this emotionally charged encounter, the woman demonstrates an uncommon faith that justifies the abolition of her stranger status in the community of Jesus. It was her faith that saved her. Jesus was all along testing her resolve and was shocked by the depth of her humility and faith. It is faith that breaks all boundaries.

4. When we talk of faith, we mean one’s positive response to God in one’s heart and life. Faith has degrees, but that basic adherence to God and His will is already enough to abolish one’s stranger status in God’s sight. Our mission as Christians is to announce the reconcliation of all the world in Christ. Since Jesus has already broken the barrier that kept us away from God, all are invited as full members in the one family of God. This is the point of the beautiful encyclical of Pope Francis in 2020, titled Fratelli tutti, meaning that we are all brothers and sisters. The Pope reaffirms the age old truth that no one can face life in isolation, just as dreams of greatness are better done together, lest they become mirages and illusions. He enjoins: “Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travellers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all” (Fratelli tutti, no. 8). Beautiful words on marble! We see here the vision of a world where no one is treated as a stranger, as what binds us together is greater than what divides us. So religion, instead of tearing us apart, is meant to unite and unify us. Any religion or system of thought that ends up dividing us and making us enemies of one another should be reexamined. And if our religious convictions only incline us to hate and treat others and fellow believers as total strangers, then we are either not worshipping the true God of love or we really do not understand what we worship.
We pray that the Spirit may enlighten us to realise our bond of unity in the one family of God!

FOR MORE HOMILIES CLICK >>>>>