You can't wait for the storm to pass; you need to learn how to dance in the rain.

 

ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  A  2023

 

Father’s Day

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is traveling to all the towns and villages of Galilee. And he is described as doing two main things: 1. “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom”   2. “curing every disease and illness”

 

So, what does this make Jesus? the motivational speaker and the talented doctor? What exactly is Jesus doing? 1) Upon first hearing, “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” sounds terribly vague to me. Nowadays, when we say, “proclaim the gospel”, we tend to think of someone reading or reciting Bible verses. Is Jesus reading Old Testament verses in town square after town square?

 

No. Jesus is doing so much more. Firstly, “gospel” means “good news”—which Jesus uniquely proclaims. Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God.  The kingdom of God is God Himself. And so, Jesus is not reading a message from a book. Jesus is sharing God. In the end, Jesus is revealing that God is “at hand”, God is present and accessible and revealing that, being the God-man, He is the doorway unto God. Jesus does not inform about God. Jesus gives God.

 

 

The original message of Jesus was that God is already in us and among us; the message is still the same today.  In the words of the Gospel, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  We are living in the reign of God.  So, if you are waiting for God to come into your life and cure your cancer or save your job, you misunderstand the reality of God’s presence.  God is already in your life.  If that is not enough for you, that is a personal tragedy.  God is already in your life.  We are to claim and become more unaware of God’s unending love for us.

 

In the midst of life challenges, God is present to you and within you.

 

A way of saying the same message is:  “You can’t wait for the storm to pass; you need to learn how to dance in the rain.”  God’s presence within you enables us to dance in the midst of the struggles of life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Jesus also cures every disease and illness. This second thing that Jesus does is a very manifest consequence of God’s presence. When God is present, we are healed: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

 

 In the Gospel account, “Jesus went about all the cities and  villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing any disease and every sickness.”  Jesus is on the move, teaching, preaching, and healing.  He is bringing his way of life to all who will hear him.  His energy comes from compassion.  When he sees people troubled and abandoned, he identifies with them.  His heart goes out to them.

 

 

Today we celebrate Fathers’ Day.  Our congratulations go out to the Dads in our faith community.  May your special day be filled with joy and gratitude for the blessings of your family.  My prayer for the fathers of our faith community is that they give abundant witness to the compassion of God in their family life.  In today’s second Scripture reading in Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul writes:  “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”  This shows what is involved in divine love, that is, a willingness to die for the undeserving.  Dads, your most biggest challenge in all of life is to witness to God’s love in the life of your family.  To that end, you must pray over Paul’s letter to the Romans.  You are to become channels for passing on that love to others without evaluating how much they deserve it or their capacity to return your love.  You are very much in our prayer today that you will be the icons of God’s love and compassion for your children.

 

In the Gospel, Jesus says to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest.”  While Catholic tradition tends to think of “laborers for his harvest” as priests, deacons and religious, the ministry of compassion is the work of disciples, of the entire community of the baptized.  Don’t get me wrong.  We need to identify young men in our parish community who will respond to the ministry of compassion as ordained priests.  We need to invite young men in our parish to respond to the call to the ordained priesthood and to the permanent diaconate.  Deacon Roger and I are most willing to share this ministry with you.

 

 

 

 

At the same time, may everyone in Church hear and respond to God’s call to the ministry of compassion.   June is the month for final exams.  As the greatest of teachers, Jesus gave his disciples a final exam too.  He sent them out to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and drive out demons.  Within our limitations,

Jesus gives us the same test.  We are called to bring healing to the sick by our love and care.  We are called to bring life to places and situations where hope seems dead.  We are called to cleanse the leprosy of hate, prejudice and injustice.  We are called to drive out these demons from our midst 

 

May we make visible in our parish community the compassion and welcome of Jesus to all who stand in need.

 

 

What is also wondrous, is that, as Jesus makes use of us, we too are being enlightened and healed and liberated and cleansed. God gives freely indeed. We must, in turn, freely give. Otherwise, we betray the love, and, in the process, stunt our growth and happiness. Being an instrument is not an option for a true disciple. It is intrinsic to the love with which we are freely loved. Let us then desire. Let us then love.