Homily for May 25, 2018.
“But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, that you may not fall under condemnation.” James 5:12.
Just before I went through today’s readings, I coincidentally stumbled upon a video clip someone sent to me on Whatsapp. It was a clip by Bishop T. D. Jakes on “Commitment.” After watching the clip, I couldn’t agree less with what he said. Here is a transcript of the clip:
“Your first commitment is to God, your second commitment is to family and it is a very important commitment. You better be committed or you are not going to make it. If you can only love me when you like me, we are not going to make it. The sooner or later, I am going to pluck your last nerve. If you are not committed, you are not going to make it.
“You come to the Altar and you raise your hands and say ‘Lord, I give myself to you but you don’t.’ You walk down here and join the church and you said ‘Now I am a member of the church’ but you are not. You marry somebody and say you can count on me, I’ll be there through the thick and thin for better for worse for richer and poor in sickness or in health… you didn’t mean it. You have to be committed to the storm and the rain and the heartache and the pain and the disappointment. You have to believe in the ‘we and the us’ and not the ‘me and the you’ or you are not going to make it.
“It’s a commitment, it’s not a feeling. You gonna come home when you are in love and you gonna come home when you are not in love, or, you are not going to make it. And stay there till the love comes back. It’s a commitment, it’s a commitment, it’s a commitment, it’s a commitment. Commitment does not have to do with your feelings. You do it because you are supposed to. And stop expecting to be rewarded for what you are supposed to do anyway….
“That’s why they said ‘for better for worse, in sickness and in health, the preacher knew that at least one of us was going to be crazy, he was warning you from the beginning! It’s a commitment. You picked out that crazy man, you chose that crazy woman. Shut up, nobody put her on you; you wouldn’t rest till you got her, now shut up. You wouldn’t listen to nobody, now you got her….
“Somebody has to arrest this generation that wants to take everything and give back nothing. You take a half-committed man and a half committed woman and put them together and there you will have some half committed trifling kids and the whole house will be half committed because children will be what they see. Stop fusing at your kids. They are a reflection of you.”
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus, responding to a question he was asked about divorce said: “From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” Mark 10:6-9.
Coincidentally, James admonishes us in today’s first reading: “Let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” In other words, when you say “yes” ensure that you actually meant it and be committed to it. Don’t say “yes” today and suddenly turn around to say “no” tomorrow. That is to say, once you have said “yes” you must keep saying “yes” forever.
This applies not only to married couples but to everyone. As a priest or a religious, if I have said “Yes” to God on the day of my ordination (consecration), I must remain committed to it no matter how I feel tomorrow. It is a commitment, not a feeling. I have to stay here for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, in riches and in poverty, in obedience, in sad times and in happy moments. There is no going back!
Like Job who was steadfast; who refused to curse God when he lost everything, let us remain steadfast no matter how tough things become.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, give me the grace to renew my vows and commitments I made in your presence every day. Amen
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: James 5:9-12 and Mark 10:1-12).
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