HOMILY: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 12:49-53
14 August 2022
Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA
Nabudol na ba kayo sa online shopping? Habang tumitingin ka lang, may makikita kang jacket… Sabi mo… “Uyy, parang maganda ah”. Wala kang kabalak-balak bumili pero inadd-to-cart mo na at chineck out mo pa. Bahala na! You wait with much anticipation and when the rider rings your doorbell, you get excited in seeing the blue or orange parcel in his hand. You practically rip it apart… Ang ganda ng kulay, ang ganda ng quality! You put it on and then… your heart sinks. Ang sikip sa braso at kahit hindi ka huminga, hindi mo talaga maisara ang zipper. Maliit pala ang sizing nung store. It’s not what you were expecting. Tapos magagalit ka sa seller at mag-iiwan ka ng hindi magandang review. Tama ba?
Sa pakikinig sa ebanghelyo sa araw na ito, marami din sigurong makakaisip na nabudol sila ni Hesus. After all, He is the Prince of Peace meant to unite us all, and yet, He speaks of pitting one person against the other, even family members against each other! A picture of Jesus saying, “I came for division!” (Luke 12:51) seems very out of character for Him. We would probably much like to hear Jesus say, “I come so everyone might just get along.” Sadly, it is not so. It is very confusing —not at all what we would expect! Is it time for us to have second thoughts about Jesus? Ipagpapalit na rin ba natin Siya? Wag naman sana. Tayong mga tunay na nakakakilala kay Kristo ay hindi dapat matinag sa mga salitang Kanyang nasambit.
There ought to be no doubt that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. When Jesus was revealed to the shepherds, the angels declared: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of goodwill!” (Luke 2:14) We echo this greeting of the angels every time at mass we sing or recite the Gloria. At the Last Supper, do we not recall Jesus saying that He was giving His peace to His disciples — a peace that the world cannot give and that no one could ever take away from them? (John 14:27) Peace was also the greeting of the Risen Christ in the various post-resurrection encounters He had with the disciples. Jesus is all about peace. He gives peace. He is peace. He cannot contradict Himself.
The division He speaks of is not His goal but rather a consequence of His presence and His teachings. Siya ang matatawag nating POLARIZING. You either like Him or you don’t. You accept Him or reject Him. Walang patumpik-tumpik at pag-aalinlangan. There is no middle ground. Sa wika natin, hindi pwedeng mamangka sa dalawang ilog. You either follow Him or you don’t. There is no “half way”. Hindi pwedeng sabihin nating tagasunod tayo ni Kristo, gagawa tayo ng maganda sa kapwa at sa simbahan pero pagdating sa bahay malupit tayo sa ating mga kasambahay. You cannot be a doting mother or father, being so loving and generous towards your children and family members and yet you make a living by cheating other people or running a drug business. Living by Christ’s teachings means turning away COMPLETELY from sinful ways and the ways of the world to keep our gaze fixed on Jesus and our hopes pinned on a Heaven that we only see, for now, with the eyes of faith.
In His lifetime, Jesus Himself saw and experienced personally, a powerful opposition. He challenged abusive power and manipulation, false religiosity and arrogance, selfish living and neglect of the poor. He came to call people to a new way of life. In doing all this, He clearly did come to “set the earth on fire.” (Luke 12:49) Jesus called people to a radical way of living that challenged them to making the hard decisions in life. And thus, His message was either met with repentance or provoked anger and strife against the messengers. Like Jesus, Jeremiah’s preaching divided the city and incited such opposition that people wanted to kill him. Do you think they wanted enemies? Of course not! Who wants enemies? But it was inevitable. Jesus had enemies in the Scribes and Pharisees and among His own people — the Jews. They did not like that He was shining a light on their wrongdoings. They even orchestrated His death so they could persist in their way of life and keep their power and influence.
Isn’t it no different when we look to our political arena? Whistle-blowers who call out certain government officials involved in graft and corruption practices can be made to seem like the bad guys. Sometimes, they too, stand alone. Sometimes they are made to testify in the Blue-Ribbon Committee or they are interviewed by prominent and credible journalists but their enemies work overtime to destroy their reputations — lies are spread about them and people are paid to bear false witness. Only when, in time, the truth is exposed, are they vindicated. Sometimes it is too late because they would have already lost their lives.
It doesn’t always have to be dramatic. You often experience similar situations in your own homes. Kayong mga magulang na may higit sa isang anak, alam ninyo ang ibig kong sabihin. Hindi ba’t minsan, nag-aaway ang inyong mga anak at nagkakasakitan pa sila? Siyempre, kailangan ninyong awatin! Sasawayin ninyo at papagalitan ang anak ninyong nagsimula nung away. Tapos magagalit at magtatampo ang anak na iyon dahil sa tingin niya kumakampi kayo sa kapatid niya. Eh ang totoo, wala naman kayong kinakampihan, pinapangaralan niyo lang sila, itinutuwid ang mali nilang ginagawa at inilalalgay sa tama. Sila na nga ang mali, sila pa ang galit at kayo pa ang masama. Hindi po ba? Paghumupa na ang kanilang galit at natanto nila ang kanilang pagkakamali, nagkakabati na ang lahat. Take note. They need to realize their mistake first and choose to do what is right. Doon lang nailalagay sa ayos ang lahat at doon nagakakaroon ng kapayapaan sa inyong tahanan.
Being committed to our Christian faith always places us in the cross-hairs of opposition. As followers of Jesus, we, too cannot expect that our preaching of the Good News will always be met with “Glorias and Hallelujahs”. Discipleship demands a readiness to stand alone. Sadly, at times those closest to us may even be the ones who never get to understand us for standing up for our faith. I know of a youth leader who is the only Catholic member of his family. He is admirable in the way he holds his ground on the Catholic teachings. Though he finds himself alone in going to church on Sundays, he is not discouraged nor does he compromise on what he believes in. How does he manage? He prays fervently for strength and perseverance. He prays for steadfastness in faith. He prays for patience. He prays for the conversion of His family. He prays. He prays. He prays. As Christians, we cannot think we can succeed apart from Jesus. He is our Guide, our Protector and our Ally. Let us keep Him close at our side at all times!
In the end, we have to take stock and commit ourselves more fully to the ways of God. Gospel living is not always easy but we can be assured that we are never alone. Jesus and the heavenly court are ready to assist us. The Letter to the Hebrews assures us that there is a vast throng (“a cloud of witnesses” Hebrews 12:1) cheering us on to remain steadfast in our faith and to press on towards our eternal rewards in God’s Kingdom!
Sunday Gospel Reflections 