Sunday Sermon: charity is the most genuine sign of a Christian life

The liturgy of the twenty-second Sunday in ordinary time is based on the following readings: Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27. The main theme of these readings is a presentation of the kind of life that God calls us to live in contrast to the kind of life that man chooses to follow in his or her daily life. The lesson brought forward is that we usually do not live up to that divine calling. What is asked of us as followers of Christ is to be active testimony of the universal and effective divine love in the world. We should not pay a lip service to this call, but rather get involved in bringing about our own salvation and that of others. That kind of charity is the most genuine sign of our Christian life. Jesus teaches us that we cannot succeed in all this without suffering! Consequently, suffering is a necessary and valuable part of our earthly lives. In Psalm 63, the Psalmist teaches us that there is a natural thirst for God in man, and that this thirst is satisfied only by a life lived in the presence of God: “As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied” (Ps. 63, 5). In the Gospel Jesus forewarns his disciples of the clash that he would have with the elders and the chief priests, and of his death and resurrection. That way, he teaches us that suffering is an integral part of the earthly experience of God’s life. But it was generally beyond their understanding. They could not imagine a suffering Messiah. But Jesus makes his position clear on suffering, which is a condition for being a true Christian: His follower should take up the cross every day and follow him. He then contrasts those who seek God’s Kingdom with those who dedicate themselves to other purposes as their priorities. According to Jesus, possessing the Kingdom should be the priority and the peak of all that we do. Prophet Jeremiah teaches us that God’s teaching has never been easy for man to grasp entirely. We hear him lamenting bitterly to the Lord about his task. The Prophet thinks that in the process of fulfilling what he was asked by God, he himself became an object of derision and scorn, and got a feeling that the Lord deceived him into this task. This is an amazingly honest confession of the hard times to be faced by those faithful to God. It is a confession perhaps that many may feel applicable to their situation but lack the courage of Jeremiah to say it aloud. But Jeremiah on top of his complaints, he all the same found within himself an urge to go on, because he couldn’t rebel against the Lord. So he says that God’s message is like a fire burning in his heart. Cfr. Jer. 20.9. Later on due to his patience, Jeremiah experiences Yahweh as a mighty hero whose teaching needs more time to grasp. In the second reading, St. Paul stresses the point made by Jeremiah. He urges the Christian community not to be discouraged by the difficulties that they may meet on their way. According to him, this is like loosing their Christian identity. He appeals to them not to follow the pagan customs, just because they find them less demanding than the teaching of Christ. He advises them to undergo a continuous renewal which should enable them to live out their Christian identity as God has revealed it to them. Christians of ages need to heed St. Paul’s advice. From a doctrinal point of view, these readings teach us that our earthly life is a pilgrimage, a passing phase towards a definite Kingdom not of this world. With this in mind, it becomes very important for us to live our lives with integrity by living in openness to God and his truth. To do this we must constantly tear down the idols we build in place of God, and build up his image within us. We must let our inner experience of God take root in our lives and actions. Even the little we experience now of God’s Kingdom makes everything else a secondary consideration. This experience spurs us to work for the salvation of all others as our concern. This active, universal and effective love of the salvation of others is true charity. And charity is the most genuine sign of our Christian life. The suffering we meet on our way should not surprise us; it is a necessary and valuable part of our earthly lives. Living as true followers of Christ make us feel that all Christians are our brothers and sisters, and we come together on our first day of the week to worship as a community, and to offer with Jesus, his sacrifice of salvation for all. All this mark us as a people on the move in a pilgrimage towards another life which is eternal. Ends