Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv DD STL, Bishop of Parramatta
Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Readings: Is 66:18-21; Heb 12:5-13; Luke 13:22-30
Embodying God’s all-embracing love and God’s pathos for the least
Dear friends,
We live in a world where the mass movement of people has increasingly caused tensions and even strong anti-migrant policies in some countries. Pope Leo, like his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, has pleaded for understanding, compassion and respect towards those who are searching for safety, freedom and a better future. No one is more worthy than another and we all have an equal dignity in the eyes of God. The Pope declares: “All of us, in the course of our lives, can find ourselves healthy or sick, employed or unemployed, living in our native land or in a foreign country, yet our dignity always remains unchanged. It is the dignity of a creature willed and loved by God.”
This Sunday, the Word of God presents us with a call to discipleship and mission. We are called not to conquer and dominate but to infuse the world with the all-embracing love of God, shown in the life of Jesus. There is no other path for us believers than the narrow door of humility, service and selfless in the patter of the Servant Master.
In the first reading, Isaiah speaks to the returned exiles about the vision of the new Jerusalem and the new Temple. The long Babylonian captivity has deepened his understanding of what it means to be the people of God. He breaks out into a euphoric prophecy, not of Israel’s exceptionalism but of her universal call. In this final chapter of the book, Isaiah looks forward to a messianic age where Jerusalem is not just a capital of a Jewish nation but also a beacon and a light to all the nations.
At the height of Jewish monarchy, Solomon built a golden temple not simply as a religious symbol but also one of political dominance. Ironically, Israel had betrayed its destiny. It had become an oppressive imperial system like Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. It was characterised by social fragmentation, division and corruption. This distortion of the covenant relationship was why Israel needed a time of cleansing, correction and conversion.
As they return from exile, they begin to see the true vocation of the Chosen People. This vocation is not to make Israel into an empire. Rather, it is to bring Yahweh’s universal love to all the nations. Hence, Isaiah prophesies a new Jerusalem that draws far distant lands like Tarshish, Put, Lud, Tubal and Javan into its embrace. It rises above national, religious and cultural boundaries. It points to a wondrous future filled with justice, integrity, joy and hope for all the peoples.
Isaiah’s prophecy inspires us even today as we seek to understand our place in the world as a vehicle of God’s universal love. Like our spiritual ancestors, we too need a time of cleansing, correction and conversion. We too need to learn that our vocation is not to return to a triumphal Catholicism of yesteryear but to bear witness to God’s universal love even from a position of humility and vulnerability.
God acts beyond our narrow confines and stereotypes. This crucial insight gained during the exile is also reinforced and expanded by the boundary breaking way of Jesus. Last Sunday, we heard that discipleship was more important than family ties and biological relationships. Today, he teaches that discipleship trumps any claim of special treatment. “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets.” These and similar claims carry no favour because God does not operate out of the merit-based system of this world. It is not one’s social status, privilege and entitlement but discipleship in action that counts. Jesus repudiates the notion of worthiness that is predicated on one’s attributes, abilities and connections rather than personal integrity.
It was a reality check for the disciples to know that God would act outside their narrow confines of religion, race, ethnicity and culture. Today, we too need this kind of reality check. We need to rise above our tribal Catholicism. It is our humble service to the needy and the vulnerable that is the hallmark of Christian discipleship. It is, as the letter to the Hebrews tells us, our embrace of suffering for the sake of the world transformed into God’s design.
Dear brothers and sisters,
This week, we mark the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed. The first Ecumenical Council in 325 was the first attempt to reach consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom, and to affirm the Christian faith and witness to the society around them. The Creed has been recited down the centuries as a shared declaration of belief, unity and hope. Then, as now, the call to unity was heard within the context of a troubled, unequal, and divided world. As Catholics, this anniversary calls us to work towards ecumenical unity and to join in partnership with fellow Christians for our common mission.
The world often operates out of exclusionary frameworks of self-interest, narrow nationalism and dominance. We are called to transcend all boundaries and divisions in order to embody God’s all-embracing love and God’s pathos for the least. No easy task. Yet we are propelled by the power of the one who is the way, the truth and the life. May he strengthen us to enact his vision for the world.
