Homily for January 13, 2018.
“Then
Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said, ‘Has
not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall
reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their
enemies round about.’” 1 Samuel 10:1
Today’s
first reading gives us the ancient origin of the sacraments. The moment Samuel
took a vial of oil and poured it over the head of Saul, he instantly became the
king of Israel. The pouring of the oil over Saul’s head was in itself a prayer
and this type of prayer is called a sacrament.
A
sacrament is something we see physically happening yet imparting a deep
spiritual effect in our lives. It is an outward sign of inward grace and grace
itself is an UNMERITED FAVOUR. Baptism
is a sacrament, it is a prayer in action, likewise Ordination is a sacrament
that turns a man into a priest. By his anointing at ordination, the priest is
bestowed with powers that makes him capable of standing in the place of Christ yet
does not lose his humanity.
Oil is
also used at Confirmation which turns a baptised Christian into a soldier of
Christ. And at the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, oil is used to bring
about healing as St. James himself wrote: “Are any among you sick? They should
call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them
with oil in the name of the Lord. ...” James 5, 14 to 15.
It is not
just the pouring of oil but the fact that God’s divine hand is upon it and upon
the one performing the anointing. Note that it was God himself who said to
Samuel, “Here is the man who shall rule over my people.” 1st Samuel 9, 17. No
one can just wake up and start pouring oil on people anyhow.
In our
Gospel passage, we see the touching story of the call of Levi, a tax collector
by Jesus. Levi was not even a fan of Jesus, he was sitting in his tax office
carrying out his duty when Jesus passed by and said: “follow me.”
Do you notice
that like Saul in our first reading, Levi did not do anything that made him
qualified to be called? Jesus must have seen so many other tax collectors, but
it was Levi he chose. There were many tall and handsome young men in all of
Israel, but God told Samuel to anoint Saul.
We do not
merit our choice. We did not choose our parents, neither did we choose our date
and place of birth. We do not merit our calling, so it is not a right; it is a
privilege. It is not our qualification for anointing that matters, rather it is
what we do with our anointing. While Levi became a great apostle eventually,
Saul ruled Israel in a manner that God himself regretted choosing him as king.
At times,
people wonder how God decides to call men and women for his work despite their
human limitations. The mysterious thing about anointing is that it does not remove
a person’s habit, thoughts, desires and sinful inclinations; it only give the
person an opportunity to grow deeper in spirit, deeper in holiness, wiser in
personality and closer to God. Anointing does not take away temptations, it only
reminds us how we ought to struggle against sin. Anointing itself does not make
us saints, rather it gives us ample opportunities for repentance.
We all
were anointed on the day of our baptism, confirmation or Orders. Like Levi, we
were chosen not because of any special quality we had but just because God
wanted it. The question is: “How well are we making use of our anointing?”
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, help me to live up to the demands of my anointing. Amen
*Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. (Saturday of the 1st Week in Ordinary Time. Bible
Study: 1 Samuel 9:1-21,10:1 and Mark 2:13-17).
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