Homily (Sermon) - Time to look at the Big Picture
The Readings for Sunday 12th August 2012 or the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B:
First 1 Kings 19:4-8
Psalm Psalm 33
New Ephesians 4:30-5:2
Gospel John 6:41-51
[These readings can be found at www.universalis.com for the next few weeks.]
Sometimes you have to look at the big picture. Take a few steps back and take everything in. I guess we all kind of get that, we are here in church this Sunday because we, through our relationships with Christ, have glimpsed heaven, have glimpsed that big picture. But, don’t we all to quickly forget that beautiful heavenly vista and start complaining about the fallen world around us.
Both Paul and Jesus, in today's readings, are dealing with people caught up in the details or “Real Life”. Elijah on the other hand has been powerfully doing the Lords will and has been persecuted for it, in his fear and tiredness he also misses the big picture and an angel is sent to strengthen him.
Before I talk a little more about what the world calls “Real Life” and what we as Christian know to be Real and True and Life, I want to point out a that we are privileged at the moment to be hearing scripture each Sunday in order. Over the passed three weeks and in the next two weeks we are hearing most of chapter 6 of John's gospel. Over the passed five weeks and next two we are hearing a good portion of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Why don't you take the opportunity to look at a bigger picture, you could read all of Paul's letter to the Ephesians in 15mins one evening before going to bed. You could also read Chapter 6 of John's Gospel in 15mins. It's in chapter six that John tell us of Christ as the Eucharist. It's an important part of our faith and well worth reading as a whole. Making time for meeting our Lord and God, in the reading of scripture, is important and you won't regret it I promise you.
So, back to today's readings. Our world isn't an easy place to live. We might be worried about friends and family, our health, exam results, how we are going to pay the next bill that arrives. Worry is very human, I tend to worry when I am not in control of any situation, and worry leads to selfishness, and it's in selfishness that we bicker and complain, lose our tempers, raise our voices and call each other names. It's natural, it's human, it's understandable, it's Not justifiable. We are called to be better than that, to aspire to more than that. We are called to love our neighbour. That means not getting selfish when we worry, not putting ourselves first, but continuing to put others at the top of our priority list, and by others I mean everyone, not just those you are close to.
But if we do this what should we do with our worries, our fears, our grief and despair. How do we manager the bad things in this world? The simple answer is we give them to our Father, we give them to God. If they are to heavy for us to carry he will carry them for us, and if we are to weighed down by them he will carry us also.
Prayer, simple prayer, is the answer. Talk to God, tell him your worries, He will understand. Pour out your anger and pain, He will understand. He understand because he has felt them to, on his knees in a garden the night before he died Jesus poured out his worries, fears and pain to his father.
Christ came to our world so we might know our Father. We saw our Father in Christ, saw His love for us, we saw Him die for us, we saw Him in glory after His resurrection. Because of Jesus, we can, every moment of our lives, turn to our Father for support and comfort.
In our secular world we are often challenged by “Real Life”, the daily grind we often find ourselves in. But when we have tasted the bread of life offered to us by Christ Himself, we can look at all our brothers and sisters around us, and see the beauty of their immortal soul. We can draw strength from the certain knowledge that the “Real World” around us is temporary, and that our encounters with Christ, the Bread of Life, are just a taste of the eternal truth, just a taste of the everlasting life, just a taste of what is real.
This week look beyond the detail, look beyond the world you live in, look beyond your troubles, I ask you this coming week, to eat well of the Bread of Life, to give your troubles to God, and be excellent to one another.
About the Author - Deacon John Scanlon
Last weeks Homily 18th Sunday - Homily Index - Last weeks Homily 20th Sunday
Very encouraging message, this is what to have faith means - meet the Lord our God with our reality because we are concrete persons who pass or live through concrete situations but in them we are not to forget that we are loved and listened to.
ReplyDeleteMay the Lord increase our faith.
Fr Dominic Eibu, Mccj
Dear Fr Dominic, Thank you for you kind words and taking the time to comment.
DeleteGod Bless,
J.