Greetings – here is my homily for January 25 2009 – the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings can be found at https://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/012509a.shtml
Thanks for reading!
Fr. Jim Chern
HOMILY:
Despite who you might have voted for, or what your political leanings are, as Americans it’s probably a bi-partisan opinion that this past week was truly a historic week in the life of our country. As the nation inaugurated President Barack Obama, the significance of this moment was obvious. Reflecting on his being the first African-American to be elected to our nation’s highest office, our new President noted that he was a “man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant [but now he could] stand before [us] to take a most sacred oath.” For those of us who didn’t live through such turbulent times in American history, we can’t fully appreciate how significant that really is.
To recall some terms we heard a lot on last year’s presidential campaign trail – that such a change has occurred is truly a sign of Hope for America. Hope that bigotry, Hope that racism are things of the past. Hope that we as a nation continue to grow into the ideals that we were founded on of equality of all men and women. These things – despite important differences on a variety of issues we might have with our new president – are things as a nation we should come together and celebrate.
And from all accounts, the nation truly did. Close to 38 million people watched or listened to the Inauguration festivities on Tuesday; over 1.2 million people braved the chilly 22 degree weather to witness the event live in Washington DC; This even captured the imagination of the world media where an unprecedented 35,000 news stories on the inauguration were written around the world, 35 times more than previous inauguration coverage..
We seem to be people of the moment though believing that there was nothing more historically significant than what is taking place before our eyes – in our day, in our age, in our time. The reality is that all Inaugurations are important to various degrees and for different reasons.
Sometimes an Inaugural speech contains a memorable line that is quoted and used as a sound bite to this very day- Roosevelt’s “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…” or John F Kennedy’s words “ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country”, are just two examples of speeches that have withstood the test of time.
Sometimes just the times in which the new president is sworn in raise these happenings to an even more serious level. Abraham Lincoln’s second Inaugural address is remembered because it came at the end of the Civil War. On that January morning, more Americans were dead from that conflict than any other war – previous or since. So the nation was shattered, wounded and divided. Recognizing that, Lincoln’s speech called for his fellow citizens to go about the hard work of reconciliation.
Every inauguration on some level contains hopes of a nation, whether they voted for this man or not, that the new President’s promises of renewal will be realized. As we listen to his grasp of some of the problems the nation faces, we root for him in his commitment to meet those challenges. We wonder will his vision for the future of the country be realized. We realize he’s an imperfect human being, like each of us so there will be mistakes. And we hope (probably more for our own sakes than anything else) that the successes outnumber the failures
Tonight, we hear Jesus’ Inaugural address. And with the benefit of close to 2,000 years perspective, we know that there has never been a more powerful inaugural address or words that are more profound, more life changing, more historical than the ones Jesus gives tonight in this Gospel:
This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.
Kind of short when we compare it to our president’s speeches. Yet All of human history hangs on those words. Jesus is no longer a baby in a manger. He’s not this figure that is capturing the attention of John the Baptist who’s telling his followers – “he’s the one who’s mightier than I – that all humanity has been waiting for.” Jesus, the Messiah, God among us; says to us in these words that a whole new world order is being ushered in. A truly new day and age is about to begin.
But here’s the thing – it’s not being forced on any of us. He’s not some dictator imposing his rule on us. And He’s not someone we can “vote out” in favor of someone else if we don’t like his message. This is God’s Kingdom – and Jesus in his address invites us to be a part of his Kingdom. And the choice is ultimately ours. Whether we belong to it or not is up to us.
These four men – James, John, Simon Peter and Andrew recognize what is being offered. So excited to respond to Jesus invitation they quickly abandoned their homes, their former lives, their economic security – they drop their nets, they drop EVERYTHING and follow Jesus.
And this inaugural address of Jesus – these important words resonate through the ages, through the centuries, through thousands of years and
– still having life changing affects on people
– still calls people to continue to drop everything
– still inspire people to freely choose to follow Jesus as their Messiah.
We see it in those who respond to the call to the vocations to priesthood and religious life. That’s just one example of how God still calls men and women to give up their lives, give up their economic security, let go of their wants, their worldly relationships and put Jesus and spreading that good news as central to their lives. While God could have chosen many different ways for his word and message to endure, this is one way through men and women who’ve responded to Jesus’ inaugural address and made it the all-encompassing focus of their lives. These vocations are examples of people who (to paraphrase) – asked not what our God could do for them – but recognized what he has already done – and couldn’t think of anything more important than dedicating their lives to praising God and sharing that word.
Those vocations bear witness to this universal call in the Gospel: that all of us are being invited to be a part of God’s kingdom, to be a part of history rather than merely a spectator to it. We need to answer that and renew that answer again and again. Will we “come after” Jesus – to know him, to follow him, to listen to him – to truly love him.
Will we give our lives by “repenting” – by letting go of always trying to do things our way? Will we believing that the time of fulfillment comes only when we trust that God has our best interests at heart?
Jesus in making his inaugural address tells us how God in a sense votes for us, chooses us. His promises are guaranteed. His agenda, his vision, his mission are certain to be accomplished – if we are willing to set aside everything and truly follow him…
