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Saturday, February 2, 2013
4th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 03.02.2012
Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19 /1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 or 1 Corinthians 13:4-13/ Luke 4:21-30
One of the most revered symbols of the Catholic Church is the crucifix.
On the crucifix are two symbols of the truth.
One is, of course, Jesus Christ, Son of God, crucified on the cross and died to save us.
The other symbol is the placard that has the letters “I.N.R.I.” which stands for “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum”, which means “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”.
Yes, these two are symbols of the truth, the bare truth, the stark truth, the truth of who Jesus is and what the cross stands for.
Yes, the crucifix is a revered symbol and on this revered symbol, these two truths are proclaimed.
There is also no denying it that this revered Christian symbol of the truth is subjected to denial and rejection.
Some say that the crucifix is focusing too much on the sufferings of Christ and not on the resurrection and hence it is not the correct symbol of Christianity.
Also not many people pay attention to the placard with the letters “I.N.R.I” anymore, and its truth and meaning are also slowly forgotten.
As much as we know that the truth will prevail, yet it is quite often that lies and half-truths seems to be running loose.
There is a story that truth and lie went for a swim. They took off their clothes and put them on the side as they went into the water.
Lie finished swimming and came out first and wore truth’s clothes and went off.
When truth finished swimming, and found that its clothes are gone, it refused to wear lie’s clothes.
And that’s why, to this day, people cannot accept the bare truth, the stark truth, the naked truth.
That’s also why it is said that a lie can go around the world a couple of times while truth is still putting on its shoes.
With that we may understand why Jesus met with rejection and violence even in His own hometown.
Jesus preached the truth to them because they were His people and they were important to Him.
If someone isn’t important enough to tell them the truth, then there is no need to tell them anything at all.
Jesus preached the truth to His people because He cared for them, He loved them, and He knows that the truth will save them and set them free.
So at first they were astonished by His words and even gave Him their approval.
But when they realized the truth of what He was saying, they were enraged, and then turned violent and hostile, and even wanted to throw Jesus down the cliff.
So what was the truth that disturbed them so much?
Well, the truth was that they were God’s Chosen People, and that He has blessed them and even sent prophets to keep reminding them to be faithful to His covenant.
Yet the problem was that they kept rejecting the prophets and even persecuted them.
Among those prophets was Jeremiah, whom we heard about in the 1st reading.
Jeremiah was also known as the “Weeping prophet” because he faced rejection, opposition and persecution from his very own people as he proclaimed God’s Word to them.
And now Jesus is telling them that God’s Word and His blessings are also for the pagans and the non-Jews.
He cited two well-known prophets from the Old Testament, Elijah and Elisha, and how God’s Word had gone to the people who were non-Jews and that they were even granted God’s help and blessings.
And that truth was like the pointed end of the spear head that was being stabbed into their hearts.
In effect, Jesus was saying that God’s Word and His blessings is not the private property of the Chosen People.
God’s Word and His blessings are for all peoples. And that is what the people of the hometown of Jesus cannot accept; it enraged them and even made them want to kill Jesus.
They wanted God’s Word and His blessings to be their sole privilege, since they were God’s Chosen People.
If the pagans and non-Jews are to get any blessings then it will be what falls off from their tables; but those pagans and non-Jews are not going to get an equal share.
And here Jesus tells them “No!” They already have had enough of God’s blessings.
Also God’s blessings are for all peoples, in fact for the whole world, regardless of whether they are the Chosen People, or Catholics, or Christians or pagans. And that is the truth.
And so can we accept that truth? That we, who are the Church, already have enough of God’s blessings.
In fact we are the ones who should be giving thanks and gratitude to God, and we should teach others to do likewise.
There is this story of a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport as the daughter’s departure had been announced. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, “I love you and I wish you enough.”
The daughter replied, “Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom.” They hugged and the daughter left.
The mother walked over to the window at the waving gallery, and she said to the friend who was with her, “Have you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?”
The friend replied. “Forgive me for asking but why is this good-bye forever?”
“I am old and she lives so far away. The reality is that the next trip back will be for my funeral,” she said.
The friend said,”When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, “I wish you enough.” May I ask what that means?”
“When we said ‘I wish you enough’ we want the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them”.
That is the truth about life. We just need enough of God’s blessings to sustain us so that we can give thanks and teach others to do the same.
And with that, let me tell you my “wish-list” :
“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your needs.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I just want to wish you just enough, and that you won’t long for more.