Jesus’ Indefatigable Mission and Ours, Wednesday of the 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (I), September 4, 2013

Fr. Roger J. Landry
St. Bernadette Parish, Fall River, MA
Wednesday of the 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Year I
September 4, 2013
Col 1:1-8, Ps 52, Lk 4:38-44

To listen to an audio recording of this homily, please click here: 

The following points were attempted in the homily:

• In today’s Gospel we learn something about Jesus and about how we’re to follow him. Even after an exhausting time in the synagogue, when he arrived at Simon’s house, he cured his mother in law of a severe fever and then the entire city was bringing the sick to Peter’s house. It would have been easy for Jesus to have asked to rest, or even, to shorten his work, to do a “mass healing,” which was totally within his power. But the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep by name, healed every one individually, because he had come not principally as a doctor to cure physical maladies but as a Savior to cure us of our spiritual cancers through a life of grace and faith. Simon’s mother-in-law shows us the purpose of health when, as soon as she was cured of a severe fever (think 103 degrees), she got up to serve others. Our health is so that we may serve others, as Jesus serves, and she served.
• It seemed Jesus had cured and met with individuals all night. In the morning, he sought to escape in order to pray and the crowds found him. He then told us something really important: that he had come to proclaim the kingdom of God and for that reason needed to go to the other towns as well. He could have easily set up shop in Capernaum and had people come to him, but he knew that the blind, the crippled, and so many others would never make the journey. He had come to go in search of the lost sheep and that’s what he was intent to do. This teaches us that we, like Jesus, must get out of our homes, even of our parishes, and go hunt people down for God, to share with them the gift of salvation we have received in Christ.
• St. Paul shows us this true Christian zeal. Even when he was in a Roman prison cell with arms fastened to a wall, it didn’t stop him from bringing the Gospel to others. He dictated a letter to the Church of Colossae in which he described various aspects of the Gospel that he, and we, are called to bring to the world. It’s a word of Truth in which we free people from ignorance and living a lie. It’s a word of good news, just like the Angels brought to the Shepherds on Christmas morning. It’s meant for all the world, for everyone, including Jews, including Muslims, including secularists, including drug dealers, prostitutes, abusers and everyone you and I know, all our family members, all our friends, all our work colleagues or fellow students, all our neighbors. It’s fruitful, containing within it the power to change our lives 30, 60 or 100 ways or more, and make us overflow with love, just as St. Paul praises the charity of those in Colossae who had received the Gospel with faith. It’s a word of grace; it’s not principally about what God expects of us but what he offers us — and he gives us himself. Finally it’s a word that’s meant to be passed on, just as Epaphras passed it on to those in Colossae, Paul passed it on to so many Churches, and each of us is called to pass on to others.
• At the end of every Mass, Jesus through his priests or deacons repeats his valedictory commissioning, “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” We’re called not to remain in our own houses waiting for people to come to us, but, like Jesus, like Paul, like Epaphras, to go bring the good news to surrounding houses, towns, villages and beyond. To the extent that we’re not in bed with a severe fever or worse, that’s the fundamental reason why we can walk and talk. May the Lord who gives us the Gospel of grace give us all the help we need to fulfill this mission faithfully.

The readings for today’s Mass are: 

Reading 1
COL 1:1-8