Sermon : The spirit of repentance can soften human hearts

The Liturgy of our third Sunday in ordinary time is based on the following readings: Isaiah 8:23-9:3; Psalm 27; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23. The theme of these readings is on God’s will to redeem all people through Christ, by dispelling the darkness of the world. Christ does this through his unifying and demanding message; which requires repentance and a willingness to leave our old lives and follow him. The doctrinal message of our liturgy takes the unfailing hope as its point of departure. It uses the example of Zebulun and Naphtali, the first provinces in northern Palestine to have been overrun by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III in the eighth century B.C.. The prophet Isaiah is telling its inhabitants who knew the pain of destruction and exile, that there are better days ahead of them. That God has not forgotten them at all. That time will come when they will have an ideal king, one who would bring happiness to his people again. Here Isaiah meant that no people as a group or individual should despair because God has a way of remembering and rescuing his people. And many peoples who have been tested by despair know how this is correct. When Christ came as the hope for all who were in despair, he was calling for undivided hearts. He wanted those who wish to follow him turn away from their old ways: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. To date, this message reminds us the central point of Christianity; that it cannot exist without the cross. The cross is an indispensable ingredient of the life of a Christian even today. The cross is still a symbol of pain and hope for us in our daily life and we should not empty it of its meaning to sweet our own way of life. However, this does not mean that Christians must necessarily suffer more than their neighbours. It only means that they should have their Christian way of uniting theirs with the suffering of Christ and a way of interpreting it in a Christian way. Our liturgy tells us that Christ’s message has never been easy to any generations. That is why Christ chose to have human collaborators in all generations who would go on promoting it to their contemporary as a style of living. Today Christ does not necessarily choose the genius or those with exceptional human eloquence for his collaborators, but just ordinary people like you and me, the Simon, Andrew, James and John of our time who would be generous and ready to leave their boats and their careers on a moment’s notice from Christ. That is what Christ requires of us today, that generous response to collaborate with him in his mission of saving the world, of uniting it, of bringing hope to the hopeless and of liberating all those who are burdened in one way or another. Once we choose to be Christ’s collaborators, then we should allow optimism to permeate the marrow of our lives. “I know him in whom I have believed” (2 Timothy 1:12). Pessimism should only have place in our lives to signal a need for a deeper prayer life. Our liturgy encourages us to have a trial at being serious collaborators of Christ in whatever way. Christ wants to tap your talents. Why should you doubt it? After all, he turned fishermen into fishers of men. He used the skills these fishermen exercised daily in their boats like patience, teamwork, tenacity and sobriety, to spread his message to the ends of the world; an exercise which is still going strong today as a non stoppable force. Grace can surely build on your nature and make you part of the team. The question is which skills that you already have that Christ is asking you in order to continue building his Kingdom here on earth? If you hear this kind of call, do not hasten to say no. Progress in the spiritual life always demands constant conversion and at your own pace. No body is pushing you, but that spirit of repentance itself might soften your heart such that others may see you as part of the solution in dealing with their daily shortcomings. If that is the case, add the idea on your resolution for 2011, and it is not too late to start implementing it. The simple reason is that God continues to send labourers into the vineyard. He sends each labourer in a different way. How do you come in as part of the team? Yes, you can. If so many others have done something about it what about you and me? Where there is a will there is a way. Ends