A HOMILY FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY I

Nobody likes to be left out or passed over. You can be the most humble person in the whole world, and you’re still going to notice it if other people get opportunities that YOU don’t; I don’t care who you are. We learn this early on. Just try giving one kid one cookie and the other kid three cookies. We have an innate sense of justice in all of us. We can remember this happening on the playground at recess when we were kids, and others were picked before us. We can remember this from high school and even college, when some were chosen for the club, or the fraternity or sorority, or the team, or the play, or the band, and others were passed over. As adults, we’ve seen this at work with promotions and other opportunities, where some seem to be favored over others. And sometimes it’s fair. And many times it’s not fair. The Bible doesn’t say anything about life being “fair”. We just don’t like to be left out. I have a friend of mine from Logansport who grew up in a large family. And every Christmas, his Mom and Dad would hide their children’s Christmas gifts all over the house, and on Christmas morning, the kids would have to “hunt” to find their Christmas gifts. I think they stole the idea from the Easter Egg deal. But my friend told me, that on this one Christmas, his little brother looked and looked and looked, and could not find his Christmas gift. He didn’t tell anybody he couldn’t find his gifts. He didn’t ask for help. The little brother was so upset that he was left out, that he just locked himself in the bathroom and wouldn’t come out, because he thought that everybody got presents except for him! My friend’s father had to take the hinges off the door to get his little brother out. Nobody likes to be left out.

Today in our Gospel, we get what happens next in our Gospel from last week. Let’s review: Remember last week, Jesus went home to Nazareth. He went to the Synagogue and read the scroll from the Prophet Isaiah. Then, Jesus told them that day, Isaiah’s words were fulfilled in their presence. That was last week. This week, things start out well. The good people of Nazareth are amazed at their local-boy- who-made-good. Then of course, they want Jesus to do some of the miracles that they had heard that He had done in other places. It’s like they were saying, “Show us some of your miraculous power!” And here’s where things start to go downhill. Jesus tells them, that “no prophet is accepted in his native place”. And then Jesus reminds the good Jewish people of Nazareth of two other very hurtful times, that the Jewish people were left out, while others received a miracle: the first was when Elijah during a famine, took care of the Widow from Zarephath, who wasn’t Jewish, but was a pagan woman, while the Jewish people died from the famine; the second case, also just as hurtful, was when Elisha the Prophet cured the pagan, Naaman the Syrian from his leprosy. There were thousands of Jewish people who had leprosy at that time. God didn’t cure them. He cured Naaman. These were not popular stories from the Scriptures. In fact, how do you think that these stories went over? How’d that work for Jesus? Do you think that the good Jewish people of Nazareth were happy about hearing about when they were left out? Oh NO! Reminding these people of these two accounts, only served to enrage them that much more! God wasn’t fair. They were supposed to be His Chosen People. What was going on here? These people in Nazareth were Jesus’ neighbors and townsfolk, how could He not do anything for them? He was helping everybody else. They felt left out. They felt like they had been passed over. They felt like it wasn’t fair. These people were angry. And they missed out on God right in front of them, because He wasn’t what they expected.

My brothers and sisters, this Gospel text is meant to be a warning to all of us too. We can’t just expect God’s blessings and mercy. We can’t fall into the trap of thinking that just because we are Catholic Christians, that God has to choose us. We can’t take our Faith and our relationship with God for granted. God calls everybody to be His Holy people. If we don’t want to be holy, if we don’t want to follow Jesus, if we don’t want to build the Kingdom of God, FINE! But let’s not be surprised when God calls somebody else! The Jewish people wouldn’t listen. So God gave their inheritance to others. Don’t think for a minute that God won’t do the same with us. We could be left out of the Kingdom. We could be passed over. Think about that! The time to stay close to God is now. The time to give God every chance that you can in your life, is right now. The time to acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, and Lord, and God of your life is right now! Don’t miss out! Don’t get left behind! Don’t let Jesus give something that should go to you, to somebody else.

May God bless us today and help us to be prepared, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti… Pray for us !!!