31st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B ~ November 3, 2024
LOVE WITHOUT PARTIALITY
Last Sunday we reflected how Jesus restores sight of a blind man who followed him immediately. I believe there are few very interesting facts to check: Jesus is walking with crowd (we could imagine, there must be noise of walking and talking) but this man recognized Jesus among hundreds (if not thousands) of people. Secondly people are trying to silence him, which we experience every day when it comes to expressing our faith. Thirdly the Lord called him to himself which opens ways for us to know that Jesus never forgets us. Fourthly Jesus’ question “what do you want me to do for you” opens up another world not only for the blind man but for us as well who believe in the Lord. Lastly the answer of the blind man “that I may see” is an invitation for us to always believe that Jesus can do anything for us if we come close to him and ask. And this week as we observed All Soul’s Day or I would say Month of Memorial to honor everyone who has gone to the Lord before us, we are invited to choose which is biggest commandment for us.
St. Clement 1, pope and martyr in writing his letter to the Corinthians, reminds us that God is faithful in his promises. Consider, beloved, how the Lord keeps reminding us of the resurrection that is to come, of which he has made the Lord Jesus Christ the first fruits by raising him from the dead. Let us look, beloved, at the resurrection that occurs at its appointed time. Day and night show us a resurrection; the night lies in sleep, day rises again; the day departs, night takes its place. Let us think about the harvest; how does the sowing take place, and in what manner? The Sower goes out and casts each seed onto the ground. Dry and bare, they fall into the earth and decay. Then the greatness of the Lord’s providence raises them up again from decay, and out of one many are produced and yield fruit. In this hope, then, let our hearts be bound fast to him who is faithful in his promises and just in his judgments. He forbade us to tell lies; still less will he himself tell a lie. Nothing is impossible for God except to tell a lie. Then let our faith in him be awakened; let us reflect that everything is close to him.
By the word of his power, he established all things, and by his word he can reduce them to ruin. Who shall say to him: What have you done? Who shall stand up against the power of his might? He will accomplish everything when he wills and as he wills, and nothing that he has decreed shall pass away. All things stand in his presence, and nothing lies hidden from his counsel, if the heavens tell forth the glory of God, the firmament reveals the work of his hands, day speaks today, and night shares knowledge with night; there are no words, no speeches, and their voices are not heard. Since all things lie open to his eyes and ears, let us hold him in awe and rid ourselves of impure desires to do works of evil, so that we may be protected by his mercy from the judgment that is to come. Which of us can escape his mighty hand? Will the world give asylum to one who deserts him? Where will I go, where will I hide from your face? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go to the limits of the earth, your right hand is there; if I lie down in the deep, your spirit is there. Where, then, can one go, where can one escape to, from the presence of him whose hands embrace the universe? Let us then approach him in holiness of soul, raising up to him hands pure and undefiled, out of love for our good and merciful Father who made us a chosen portion for himself.
God’s love does not use the force to follow him but goes right inside our hearts to remind us that his love is unconditional, and he loves us so much that he gave his only Begotten Son so that anyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.
Once there was an old lock shop amidst the narrow streets of city. People would buy locks and keys and sometimes even come to get duplicate keys for their locks. There was heavy hammer in locksmith’s shop which was sometimes used to break locks. Hammer often wondered, “what is quality of these small keys that they can open even such strong locks in a jiffy whereas I don’t know how many blows I had to take to open that same lock?” one day, after shop was closed, hammer asked small key, “how are you able to open even stubborn locks with such ease, whereas as I being strong , can’t do this”. The key replied, “You use force to open the locks, you hit them and by doing so, the locks doesn’t open but breaks, whereas I don’t hurt them, rather I enter into it’s heart and it immediately opens”.
Sometimes similar things happen in human life. If we really want to win someone over, make them your own by getting into their hearts.
This story must speak to us as Christian to examine ourselves if we are able to control ourselves from any evil intentions and become witness to God’s love for other. “Let us love, since that is what our hearts were made for.” -Saint Therese of Lisieux and Mother Teresa confirms it “Love to be real, it must cost- it must hurt-it must empty us of self”.
The whole Bible is full of love which started with the creation of universe and human beings, and it continues to be witnessed today as Mother Teresa said, “Intense love does not measure it just gives”, and “do small things with great love”. Venerable Fulton Sheen explains the mystery of love and reminds all of us to be worthy of that love which God shows everyday in our lives “When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.”
Once a man climbed an inaccessible mountain, there he saw a woman. Man was surprised by her. He got curious, and asked, “what are doing in this deserted place?” Woman replied, “I have a lot of work to do here”. Man asked, “What kind of work do you have because I can’t see anyone around you here”. Woman replied, “I have to train two hawks, two eagles, assure two rabbits, work with a donkey, discipline a snake and tame a lion”. Man looked around and saw nothing. He said, “But where are they, I don’t see any of them?”
Woman smiled and replied, “All these are within me”. Seeing man confused, she explained “two hawks who look at everything I find, good or bad, I have to work on them, so that they only see good; these are my eyes. Two eagles that only hurt and damage with their claws must be trained, not to hurt; they are my hands. Rabbits roam here and there and do not want to face difficult situations; I have to teach them to remain calm even when I suffer or stumble; they are my feet. Donkey is always tired and stubborn, whenever I walk, I don’t want to carry burden, I want to get out of that situation of laziness, this my body.
She continued to explain “you know the hardest part is disciplining a snake, while it is locked in cage with 32 bars, it always eager to bite, pour out poison on those who come near. I must discipline it too; this is my Tongue. I have a lion too; it is futile boosting. Lion thinks that he is king, I have to subdue him; that’s my ego.
The Sacred Scripture for this Sunday present two type of love: Love of God and Love of neighbor. First one may be easy to show but second one is the most difficult as we see people with our own eyes as Mother Teresa said “It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this where our love for each other must start”.
As a Christian I believe we are valued according to the love we show to other people because love according to the Holy Bible means “complete surrender to God and listening to him”. We must remember the words of God at the Baptism of Jesus “He is my Beloved Son, listen to him”. By loving God and our neighbors, we give example of Christian love and thus we witness the one who died on the Cross. However sometimes we are tempted and distracted by our personal feelings and emotions, and we fail to show our Christian witness of love to other people by judging and putting them down. St. Peter does remind us in these words “Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that all your brothers and sisters in the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen” (1Peter 5:8-11). We read in the Gospel of John that “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Begotten Son…” that sums up everything for us to understand that God is the first one who sacrificed his Son for the love of us all. Our value as Christian depends on the love we show to other.
A father said to his daughter “You have graduated with honors, here is a car I bought many years ago. It is pretty old now. But before I give it to you, take it to the used car lot downtown and tell them I want to sell it and see how much they offer you for it.”
The daughter went to the used car lot, returned to her father, and said, “They offered me $1,000 because they said it looks pretty worn out.”
The father said, now “Take it to the pawn shop.” The daughter went to the pawn shop, returned to her father, and said,” The pawn shop offered only $100 because it is an old car.”
The father asked his daughter to go to a car club now and show them the car. The daughter then took the car to the club, returned and told her father,” Some people in the club offered $100,000 for it because “it’s an iconic car and sought by many collectors.”
Now the father said this to his daughter, “The right place values you the right way,” If you are not valued, do not be angry, it means you are in the wrong place. Those who know your value are those who appreciate you.
In the First Letter of John, we read “whoever loves has been born of God” (4:7) this is huge mystery of God’s love. Just think what St. John is saying because he doesn’t say that we are born of God and are able to love rather he says because of love we are born of God. The whole chapter of First Corinthians (13) is all about love and concludes with these words “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love”.
How can we be the witness of love? First Reading gives us the following tools:
- Fear the Lord your God
- Keep all his commandments
- Hear, O Israel
- Observe them diligently
I believe all these tools are very important to show our Christian witness to others. If we keep these in our hearts and minds then we can Love God with our all heart, soul and might and our days on earth will prolong. What kind of love is this? This is a love of sacrifice and full commitment to God and us if we carry these two values then we are able to love our neighbors to show our Christian witness. However, we do need strength from the Lord to love as the Psalmist “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer….”. We need love to be our witness as Christians to change not only the world but ourselves as well. St. Mother Teresa is one of the saints who placed her life on the Gospel of Love and for that love she looked after the poorest, marginalized and rejected people of the society because she believed “Hurt people, hurt people. That’s how paint patterns get passed on, generation after generation. Break the chain today. Meet anger with sympathy, contempt with compassion, cruelty with kindness. Greet grimaces with smiles, forgive and forget about finding fault. Love is the weapon of the future”.
Since this command to love God and neighbors is given such emphasis, it is very important that we have a good understanding of what it means to love. What exactly is Jesus asking us to do when he tells us to remember the commandment of love God and neighbors? God doesn’t leave us in the dark about this. He provides us with a perfect picture of love, and we are asked simply to copy that picture. It is the love of God for us through Jesus. If we want to know what love is, we will need to see the love of God, because “God is love.” It is God’s essence to be a loving God. I suppose there is less disagreement today about this statement “God is love” than any other statement in the Bible. But what does it mean? That means that he doesn’t just do loving things, but that his love shines through in all he does. So, when he judges, he judges in love. But since he is a consuming fire of judgment, he is also holy and just in all he does. And since he is light, his love and judgment are always in complete truth. God doesn’t show us his love by giving us everything we want, but by giving us what we need, and what we need is the incarnation and atonement of Jesus.
At the heart of this Sunday’s Gospel passage, there is the commandment of love: love of God and love of neighbor. A scribe asks Jesus: “Which commandment is the first of all?”. He responds by quoting the profession of faith with which every Israelite opens and closes his day and begins with the words “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4). That shows that he loved us, loves us, and will love us forever. It is from this source, this love of God, that the twofold commandment comes to us: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength…. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Remember the question of Jesus to the blind beggar from last Sunday’s Gospel “What do you want me to do for you?” is very crucial question. There is so much division, hatred, and misinformation out there that people have forgotten to love God and neighbors. In choosing these two Words addressed by God to his people and by putting them together, Jesus taught once and for all that love for God and love for neighbor are inseparable; moreover, they sustain one another. Even if set in a sequence, they are two sides of a single coin: experienced together they are a believer’s strength! To love God is to live of him and for him, for what he is and for what he does. Our God is absolute giving; he is unlimited forgiveness; he is a relationship that promotes and fosters. Therefore, to love God means to invest our energies each day to be his assistant in the unmitigated service of our neighbor, in trying to forgive without limitations, and in cultivating relationships of communion and fraternity.
Our Christian witness of love is under any time frame, but we are called to carry this witness till we die. If we practice seeing with Jesus’ gaze, we will always be listening and be close to those in need. Of course, our neighbor’s needs require effective responses, but even beforehand they require sharing. With one look we can say that the hungry needs not just a bowl of soup, but also a smile, to be listened to and also a prayer, perhaps said together. God, who is love, created us to love and so that we can love others while remaining united with him. It would be misleading to claim to love our neighbor without loving God; and it would also be deceptive to claim to love God without loving our neighbor. The two dimensions of love, for God and for neighbor, in their unity characterize the disciple of Christ. St. John in his First Letter sums our Christian witness in this way “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be, has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (3:1-3).
Once there was a king who was very cruel and had collected a lot of wealth by wrong means and imposing unnecessary taxes on his people. King had hidden his treasure in a cave which was deep inside a forest, in a secluded place. At the entry to the cave there was a lock system. Only the king and one of his ministers knew how to open that lock. One day, without informing anyone, the king alone went into the forest to see his treasure. He opened the door of the treasury and entered. He was relieved by the radiance of the treasure. At the same time, the minister also came out to the area and saw the treasury door was opened, and thought may be king forgot to lock the door, so he locked the door and left. After the king was satisfied with his treasure, he decided to go back but to his surprise, the door was locked. He tried to open the door and even shouted but there was no one to open the door for him. He got exhausted and tired and became thirsty but there was no water. So, he went to a box of treasure and asked for the glass of water, but no answer came. Then he went to gold, silver and diamonds with the same request but there was dead silence. He got faint and decided to make a bed out of his treasure to rest but couldn’t get comfortable. After all the attempts to get out of the cave, failed, he decided to leave a message for other people before he died, so he broke his finger and wrote a message on the wall with his blood. One of the other ministers and soldiers started searching for the missing king. When the minister got to the cave and opened the door, he was shocked to see the dead body of the king with the message on the wall, “All my life I went after money and treasure, but all this treasure could not give me a glass of water or food the time when I needed it most”.
At the last moment, only the wealth of our love for one another will go with us. This is why the life God gave us is a gift and should be lived by doing deeds of love because love does not do any wrong.
Does partiality make love of God and neighbors weak?
Other Sermons In This Series
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A ~ September 24, 2023
September 22, 2023
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A ~ June 25, 2023
June 23, 2023
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year ~ September 18, 2022
September 16, 2022