Homily for June 24, 2018.
“You created my inmost self, knit me together in my mother's womb. For so many marvels I thank you; a wonder am I, and all your works are wonders. You knew me through and through.” Psalm 139:13-14.
Not too long ago, I saw this beautiful post on social media. A man took his cloth to the tailor and asked him to fix the little opening near the pocket. To his surprise, the tailor turned the cloth inside out and began to tear the pocket with his hands. In protest, this man shouted: “I said you should sew, not tear… you are tearing my cloth oh.” But the tailor replied: “I know!” This two-word reply of the tailor sank into him like a heavy stone sinks in water. He had to keep quiet and allow the tailor work.
When Zechariah and Elizabeth got married, they had hoped that by the next year or at most within a few years they would be carrying their kids. Fast forward many years after and they still weren’t blessed with a single child. Zechariah himself was a Priest and from time to time, the lot fell on him to enter the “holy of holies” to offer sacrifices on behalf of the entire nation of Israel. I can imagine him saying to God many times: “Lord, I need a child, I am not getting younger, even my wife has a new name in our neighbourhood; people call her ‘the barren woman’.” But what did God say? “I know.”
Dear friends, the first lesson we learn today is that WE SHOULD NEVER LOSE HOPE IN GOD. God deserves our absolute trust and confidence even when it seems as if our prayers are falling on deaf ears and our situation is becoming worse. Like this tailor, God may just be increasing the tear so He can mend it completely. While Zechariah and Elizabeth were crying and worrying why God refused to answer them, God was busy making plans, doing calculations on how He would give them the greatest gift ever.
The truth is that Zechariah like most of us actually lost all hope and confidence in God. He felt there was a limit to God’s providence. He underestimated God and for this, God removed his power of speech. This is another big lesson for us today. WHEN YOU ARE DOWN IN FAITH, PLEASE BE SILENT. In moments of anger, desperation, or anxiety, the words we use can affect our destiny.
Remember the Israelites during their journey in the wilderness? The twelve spies had just come from the Land flowing with milk and honey only for ten of them to bring a damaging report. In response, the people cried out: “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why does the LORD bring us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” Numbers 14:2-3.
The remaining two spies, Joshua and Caleb, tried to persuade the people but they picked up stones to stone them. God was disappointed with what the Israelites were using their mouths to say. And God said to Moses: “How long shall this wicked congregation murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the people of Israel, which they murmur against me. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness…” Numbers 14:27-29.
Like Zechariah who was just on the verge of being blessed with a son, the Israelites were so close to entering the Promised Land, but they spoke themselves out of this favour. That rebellious generation did not enter the Promised Land. Be careful of the words you say to God in the midst of frustration and anger. Zechariah may have wanted to vent his anger, to ask God why he waited so long to answer, to tell God how he wouldn’t live long enough to carry his children’s children, blah blah blah… but God sealed his lips. *Sometimes, we just have to shut up and let God do His work.*
Finally, the third lesson for us today comes from the fact that we are celebrating the birthday of a Saint on a Sunday which is really unusual. We are we giving John the Baptist so much honour? Recall the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 11:11 “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Again we may ask, why did Jesus give John this award? It is because John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus. John the Baptist knew his purpose on earth, he knew God called him from his mother’s womb (as Isaiah says in today’s first reading) and he did live out his purpose. Even at the height of his popularity, John the Baptist did not assume the place of the Messiah, he said he wasn’t even worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals (as Paul explains in today’s second reading). We need to ask ourselves: “Have I discovered my purpose?” “Am I willing to make God a priority in my life?” “Do I draw attention to myself for what I do or do I allow God to receive the glory that truly belongs to Him?”
Like John the Baptist, we must all do our part in preparing the way for God in any capacity we can. At home, in your office, in your shop, in the market, wherever you find yourself, create an atmosphere for God to shine. Do not allow or support immorality and sin in the name of entertainment, fashion or modernity. Do you make efforts to select the kind of movies your children watch? Do you keep pictures of naked persons in your room? When people enter your office, is there something that makes them want to talk about God? Dear friends, prepare a way for God!
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, deepen my trust in your providence and give me the grace of silence and patience when nothing seems to work. Amen.
*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Birthday of St. John the Baptist. Bible Study: Isaiah 49:1-6, Psalm 139:1-15, Acts 13:22-26, Luke 1:57-66, 80).*
Fr. Abu
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