YEAR A: HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (2)

YEAR A: HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: The future glory and reward are greater than our present suffering.

BY: Rev. Fr. Callistus Emenyonu, cmf

HOMILY: READINGS: Romans 8: 18-25, Ps. 126, Luke 13: 18-21

Faith teaches us many things especially hope. Faith without hope is not Christian and not complete. No one can live a life of faith in spirituality without hope. Our hope as Christians is not deceptive as the scripture tells us. Hope is that trust we have in God about what good our future holds for us; what we shall gain and receive after the present suffering and work of faith.

This is what keeps the Christian life moving and sustained and makes us entertain some joy even in the midst of suffering since we believe that soon the time would come when we shall have our situation changed for the better. This is why St Paul writing to us through his letter to the Romans said: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. This is valuing the future outcome than the present situation of painful experience for the good. This is telling us that there is hope for the future and that the future is better than the present. This is motivating for the one who is suffering now to have faith that if he does that suffering in good fate he would have the future glorious and positively rewarding. If the future is like this then there is no fear or reason not to go on suffering justly now since the reward that awaits us is great. The present is temporal while the future has no end. It is better to suffer now within the limited time and enjoy endlessly and eternally than to throw in the towel by abandoning the present suffering due to pain that would end soon.

Beloved, this acceptance of present suffering in hope for the future glory and eternal recompense demands patience and waiting for the right time with hope that it would be well. In this case the virtue of patience cannot be over emphasized. Patience is the only tool and virtue necessary for achieving the fulfilment of the promises of hope. To be patient is not very easy especially when the present predicament is seriously devastating and painful and seemingly unbearable. It calls for prayer for the divine intervention with the spirit of forbearance and endurance. It is not easy to endure pains and suffering of a great magnitude and long lasting type especially when there seems to be an escape route to the suffering and when you see others taking another way to escape it and enjoy as you watch them while you suffer. Patience and endurance are difficult to keep when there is option to avoid suffering. This is how mysterious the journey of faith can be. Jesus had the option to boycott the Calvary event and call off the mission of redeeming the sinful humanity but decided to go on with it to the end.

Beloved, this virtue of patience which is necessary is what Jesus was telling us symbolically using the imageries of Mustard seed and Leaven in bread. When you plant a mustard seed (Faith) it takes time to germinate and grow and when planted on a good soil (Hope) and watered it gradually grows into big tree. The farmer needs patience with it to grow till it becomes a big tree. The same is applicable to the leaven or yeast. When you put it, you have to leave the flour for some time for it to gradually rise to its optimum level. When it rises it is able to feed many people and get better shape and texture. When the mustard seed grows into a bigger tree it is able to give shade and protection to birds. This is how our work of faith grows when we are patient with God and suffer for what we are doing now, it will later grow to be useful not only to ourselves but to others as well who would share in its blessing and glory.

May the Lord give us grace to be patient in suffering for what is right and to wait in joyful hope for the revealing of the future glory. We pray the Lord to deliver us from the bondage of impatience so that our mouth shall be filled with laughter when we start enjoying the benefits and it would seem like a dream. Let us sow the seed of faith now in sorrow and tears and then reap with joy as we sing, Amen.

Rev. Fr. Callistus Emenyonu, cmf