Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time--Liturgical Cycle C

Reading I: Zechariah 12:10-11; 13:1
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
Reading II: Galatians 3:26-29
Gospel: Luke 9:18-24
Texts of Lectionary Readings

Homily

Our continuous reading of the Gospel of Luke during this Liturgical year left off the last Sunday of February. Then Lent, Easter and Pentecost intervened as well as Trinity Sunday and Corpus Christi. We continue our readings today on the Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary time with the ninth chapter. In order for us to get a full picture of the Lukan gospel we ought to go back and regroup.

At Wal-Mart the other day, I was shopping for a wrist brace. They had braces for ankles, flat feet, hips, back, elbows, wrists, neck. If you fall apart, you can GLUE yourself back together again with Velcro. It occurs to me that the Word of God is a bit like Velcro. You can pretty much find a brace in the bible for any ailment. We can pick and choose what suits us.

Actually, we need to be reglued by the whole gospel message, not just a band-aid here and there.

We have learned that we are on the journey with Jesus up to Jerusalem and the events of our redemption. We are numbered among his followers, listening to the teaching. True disciples, we learn, do not simply preach about Jesus and the reign of God but participate in the reversal of roles, status and concern which the coming of salvation brings. Some renounce everything for the Jesus company while others use their resources in ways quite different from the ways of the world. The disciples do not seek exchanges which would create obligations to reciprocate. They do not pile up wealth, consuming for themselves the good things of creation. Instead, the disciple aids people who will never be able to repay them. They give so no one in the company will be in need. The disciple’s only anxiety is acquiring heavenly treasure. All are to follow Jesus’ example of suffering service rather than demanding service from others.

Last week, the eleventh Sunday, we heard the marvelous story in Chapter 7 of Luke, in which the woman washed the feet of Jesus, drying them with her hair during the feast at the home of a leading Pharisee. We heard Jesus’ dramatic teaching on forgiveness, an insight which connected forgiveness with lovingly giving-for. “I tell you, that is why her many sins are forgiven – because of her great love. Little is forgiven the one whose love is small.”

The multiplication of the loaves is a development of this sense of loving giving, in the selfless gift of the lad, and its eventual image at the Last Supper. It is the broken bread given-for, forgiving, in the shared cup, the Blood poured out, given for you in this New Covenant.

When all had eaten until they had enough and twelve baskets were left over, Luke places Jesus at prayer in the gospel reading today where he asks the disciples “Who do people say that I am?” and again, “Who do you say that I am?”

The first question doesn’t matter much – what other people think of Jesus is unimportant and Jesus pays no mind to it. But the second question is the one that you and I must answer: Who do you and I say that Jesus is? The answer need not be theological. Just a simple, deep-in-our-hearts knowledge of Who Jesus Is for me.

Even more decisive than that question is a second one, the answer to which will put the Velcro brace on our whole selves. “Who does Jesus say that I am?”

How we experience Jesus is one thing. How Jesus experiences us is quite another.

Today’s gospel puts before us two important questions: The first is, “How do I experience Jesus?”

Do we travel with Jesus on the journey? Hearing the teaching all along the way, do we pick and choose only what we feel is our present need, putting a Velcro brace here, another there? Is the Word of God a cane, a crutch, and academic proof or an exercise? A few minutes each day and a bit more on Sunday and then on about the really important things in living!

Or does this Word glue us together, sustaining us in every way?

The second question is even more important: “How does Jesus experience us?”

As a disciple or as a fan? Do we imitate Jesus or simply admire him? Do we pick up our selfless, giving cross every day as we follow him, or do we sit on the sidelines and applaud as Jesus passes by on the road?

We risk our lives and resources, both personally and in communion, as we engage in diverse ministries in living out this mission of ours.

Who is Jesus in our life? In my life?

Who are we, who am I, in Jesus’ life?


Body
--Fr. Pat

Excerpt from "A Catholic's Companion: Liturgical Cycle C" (c)2000 C. Patrick Creed
Published by Watchmaker Press. Maggie Hettinger, editor