14th Sunday, Year B: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima
Theme: Overcoming the challenges of our prophetic mission
Readings: Ez. 2:2–5; 2Cor 12:7–10; Mk 6: 1–6
Dear friends in Christ, on the day of our baptism, we were anointed with Chrism, made priests and prophets, and commissioned to preach the good news with words and actions, to bear witness to Christ, to correct errors in the world, admonish wrongdoers, fight evil in the world and contribute to the building of God’s kingdom on earth.
On this fourteenth Sunday, the Church reminds us that this mission that God has given us can bring us great discomfort arising from insults, resistance, and discouragement from the world; it is a mission full of challenges. Hence, she teaches us how overcome these challenges when they arise.
In the first reading, we saw prophet Ezekiel who was commissioned the same way we were. God was sending him to the Israelites to preach the good news to them and to correct them in their errors. But God warned him about the attitude of the people he was about to encounter. He told him that they were hardhearted, rebellious, imprudent and stubborn. However, God instructed him not to be discouraged by the negative reactions he will receive from the people who will hear his voice.
Dear friends in Christ, the people of our time have also become rebellious and stubborn to the good news of Christ. Many people no longer want to hear the name of God, they want to try the name of the devil instead. In today’s society, many people do not want to hear faith-based or religion-inspired corrections, moral lessons, teachings and admonitions again. Most times, when you tell some people that their ways of life and ideologies contradict the commandments of God and the teachings of Christ, they either laugh at you or warn you to keep your faith private. Many people in our world do not want to be corrected in their wrongs again, they see every correction as judgement and condemnation, and would rather prefer to be left alone to live their lives the way they like. These negative attitudes have caused many people to prefer to remain silent when things are going wrong around them; many people no longer care to correct others for fear of negative reactions.
But then, dear friends, the Church reminds us that God has sent us to our people, just as he sent Ezekiel to Israel, to be the voice that cries out against injustice, oppression, immorality, corruption, ungodliness and all manner of wrongdoings in our families, in the lives of our friends and children, in our communities, and places of work. Whether the people adhere to our message or not, one day, they will realize that someone spoke to them. Therefore, we should not be afraid or discouraged in our mission to correct wrongdoings.
In today’s gospel reading, we witnessed another type of obstacle that messengers of the good news face. Instead of accepting the good news of Jesus, which was full of wisdom and truth, his countrymen chose to focus on his family background and the validity of his authority.
Dear friends, most times, some people do not listen to our admonitions because they feel they are richer than us, highly placed in the society than us, superior in academics than us, or more exposed in the world than us, even when they know that our admonitions are full of wisdom and truth. When Jesus was confronted by indifference and resistance from his people, he was not discouraged; instead, he continued to preach and heal the people. We should also to the same.
The second reading showed us that apart from external obstacles or challenges, all of us who preach the good news also face internal crisis or problems; we battle every day to overcome anything in us that goes against the good news we preach. We also battle against many natural, economic and health problems. St Paul said his own problem was like a torn in his flesh, which harassed him and kept him from boosting. So, it possible that our personal problems serve to checkmate us, to help us realize that the mission we carry is God’s, and not ours.
In the midst of Paul’s problems and challenges, God provided him with abundant grace and assured him that His grace is sufficient for him. So, St Paul is teaching us that the grace of God will always be sufficient for those who carry out the prophetic mission given to them. Hence, we should not be discouraged by weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities that come to us when we are proclaiming the good news and when we admonish others.
Peace be with you.
Fr Isaac Chima