Homily for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C (2)

Theme: Called to Love

By: Fr. Mike Lagrimas

Homily for Sunday January 30 2022

Lk 4:21-30

What is love? In the second reading today, the Apostle Paul gives a simple but profound description of love in his first Letter to the Corinthians. He enumerates all those adjectives in his attempt to capture the essence of love.

For his part, the Apostle St. John goes right into the core of love: “Love is of God…for God is love” (1Jn 4:7-8). Love, then, is not just a thing, or a feeling. Love is a Person – it is the Person of God. And since God revealed Himself to us in His Son, we rightly say that Jesus Christ is love.

We are followers of Jesus Christ. We ought to be like Him. That should be our ultimate goal as Christians. If love is the Person of Christ, then as His followers, we should also be true reflections of love. If God is love, and we are children of God, we ought to be men and women of love. The big question now is: What hinders us from becoming vivid images of love? The answer can be illustrated in the following anecdote:

The Eskimos have a very effective way of killing a wolf. First, the hunter coats his knife with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds layer after layer of blood until the blade is completely covered by the frozen blood. Next, he fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. In a short while, a wolf would smell the blood and finds the bait. He then licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster and harder, and very soon his tongue reaches the blade of the knife. His craving for blood is so great that he does not notice the sharp sting of the naked blade on his tongue. He does not realize that the blood he is licking is already his own blood from his wounded tongue. His appetite is so insatiable that he never stops craving for more. In the morning, the wolf is dead. (Adapted from Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice, 1994, Youth Specialties, Inc.).

This story applies to many of us. When we become so engrossed with our selfish ambitions, vices, and worldly desires, we get to focus only on ourselves, totally disregarding everything and everybody else around us. Insatiable worldly appetite makes us its slaves and victims of self-destruction. Worse still, selfishness also causes serious harm to others. A selfish person will never consider the welfare of others. And this is the cause of a lot of sufferings and troubles in the world today.

Such is the case with the Christians of Corinth in the second reading this Sunday. St. Paul wrote this letter to them because he observed that they were quarrelling over everything: prestige, position, power, leaders, teachings, and most likely, money as well. And so, in chapter 13, St. Paul challenges the Corinthians to live the core of Christ’s teachings, that is, love.

Indeed, selfishness is the greatest obstacle that hinders us from becoming living images of love. St. Paul said, “Love is patient.” But why am I so impatient? The answer is simple: because I only think of my schedule and convenience. I do not take into consideration the situation and the welfare of others. “Love is kind.” Why am I unkind and rude towards others? It is because I only care about myself, and I do not mind if I hurt or harm them. “Love is not jealous, it does not seek its own interests, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing.” But why am I jealous? Why am I eager to talk about the mistakes and sins of others? It is because I believe I am better than the others. So, I resent their gifts and talents and I rejoice when they fail. “Love does not brood over injury.” I cannot do that because my ego was hurt, and I cannot forgive. Selfishness, therefore, is the greatest enemy of love.

Where there is selfishness, there is no possibility of love, and where love is absent, God is absent, too. This is what happened in the Gospel. The people of Nazareth rejected Jesus, and even attempted to kill him. The reason for this is the same: selfishness. They could not accept the truth that God plays no favorites; that this ordinary carpenter of Nazareth is now more famous and powerful than all of them. They could not accept the truth because it destroys their belief and feeling of superiority, and it hurts their pride. Hence, they could not accept Jesus.

To really love, we need a great amount of humility and selfless disposition. A lot of unresolved conflicts in our family and among friends are caused by pride and selfishness. Our hearts remain wounded for so long because we are too proud to admit our mistakes and we refuse to reconcile. Many people are hurting due to self-inflicted wounds. In this Mass, let us pray that we may learn to truly love so that our hearts will once again discover supreme joy and lasting peace.

Fr. Mike Lagrimas

St. Michael the Archangel Parish

Diocese of Novaliches