Homily for January 17

Dear Parishioners,

As we celebrate this weekend, the “Second Sunday in Ordinary Time,” we have to admit that these are anything but “ordinary times.” Tomorrow we honor a twentieth century “prophet” whose “dream” of racial justice is painfully yearning to be fulfilled. On Wednesday, we inaugurate a new president in the midst of a health crisis and atmosphere of political chaos. Next week, many will gather “virtually” to “rally” for a greater respect for all human life. What light has God’s Word to shed on our lives today?

The “call” of Samuel and the invitation of Jesus to his first disciples remind us that God is constantly inviting us into a life-long process of discovery. If we accept our “vocation,” we learn every day more about ourselves and about the God who desperately wants to be “in relationship” with us.

During these months of pandemic isolation, various pent-up frustrations have been emerging – all too painfully. Men and women, people of different races and ethnic backgrounds, still are not being treated equally. A significant portion of our white population feels disenfranchised. It all has to do with the dignity that is due to every human being – created in the image of God and redeemed by the blood of the Savior.

That brings me to the strange words of John the Baptist: “Behold the Lamb of God!” Any first century Jew would know that the “lamb” was both a source of livelihood and a victim of sacrifice. The image comes to my mind of the painting by the Flemish artist Van Eyck of the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb – an altar piece for a Church in Ghent, done in 1432. The lamb is upon the altar. Its blood is pouring into a chalice. Ministers with censors surround the altar.

What was the reaction of the apostles? They were curious. They likely did not fully comprehend the appellation, but obviously wanted to discover the person. John noted the hour of day – 4:00pm. It was time to find a place for the night. The apostles wondered where Jesus was going to take food and shelter. His invitation “Come and See” was all they needed to hear.

It strikes me that the genuine follower of Jesus is engaged in an on-going discovery of what it means to love; but love in the New Testament is more properly defined as a “decision” to do or be love for another – often a very difficult choice. What does love demand of us today? It seems to me that the greatest evil in our midst is not the pandemic, nor racism, nor the political upheaval we have witnessed. The heart of the issue is our failure to listen to one another. Our hearts are often hardened by our own adherence to the truth as we see it; but we fail to hear the pain in the heart of another. Evil easily takes over where hearts are hardened. Just prior to the passage we heard from the First Book of Samuel. It was noted that “a revelation of the Lord was uncommon and vision infrequent.” Why? Had God stopped speaking? A few nights ago, a friend called to tell me of a rare encounter at night. Twice he was awakened by a voice urging him to care for a “brother.” The Lord is still speaking, urging us to “care.” What ought to be my response?
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Bill Foley