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Institute for Homiletics

A Collaboration of The Catholic Foundation and the University of Dallas

Year C

Ripe for the Picking

The universal love and providence of the Creator are celebrated in this most unusual reading. Unlike earlier traditions that envision creation as a kind of reordering of cosmic debris after the primordial battle, this passage depicts a Creator who is personally involved with every dimension of the natural world. We find here the same cosmic power, but it is coupled with love and mercy. Just as the power of the Creator is matched by the love of the Creator, so is this love manifested through mercy. God is merciful precisely because God is powerful. Finally, the author claims that the imperishable spirit of God is in all things. 

Paul assures his people that though he has been the minister of the word, it is God who called them, and it is Paul’s prayer that they remain worthy of that calling. He states that though they are obliged to live ethical lives, it is the prior grace of God and not the ethical behavior that saves them. He further teaches an “already-but-not-yet” form of eschatology (teachings about the end-times).  Though the eschatological day of the Lord is imminent, it is not yet present.  Believers must continue to live their lives in patient anticipation of Christ’s coming, realizing that they do so in his presence, for he has already come. The story of Zacchaeus demonstrates Jesus’ mission to seek and to save what is lost. Not only did Zacchaeus belong to the hated class of tax collectors, he was chief among them. This means that he probably benefitted both from the taxes paid and from the fees that tax collectors themselves exacted from the people.  The narrative draws bold lines of contrast between Jesus’ attitude toward this man and the scorn of some of the bystanders. Jesus insisted that only those who are lost can be found; only those who are perishing can be saved. Those who revere themselves as righteous seldom understand this, and as a result, miss opportunities for their own salvation. 

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Scripture Study for

The universal love and providence of the Creator are celebrated in this most unusual reading. Unlike earlier traditions that envision creation as a kind of reordering of cosmic debris after the primordial battle, this passage depicts a Creator who is personally involved with every dimension of the natural world. We find here the same cosmic power, but it is coupled with love and mercy. Just as the power of the Creator is matched by the love of the Creator, so is this love manifested through mercy. God is merciful precisely because God is powerful. Finally,  the author claims that the imperishable spirit of God is in all things. 

Paul assures his people that though he has been the minister of the word, it is God who called them, and it is Paul’s prayer that they remain worthy of that calling. He states that though they are obliged to live ethical lives, it is the prior grace of God and not the ethical behavior that saves them. He further teaches an “already-but-not-yet” form of eschatology (teachings about the end-times).  Though the eschatological day of the Lord is imminent, it is not yet present.  Believers must continue to live their lives in patient anticipation of Christ’s coming, realizing that they do so in his presence, for he has already come. The story of Zacchaeus demonstrates Jesus’ mission to seek and to save what is lost. Not only did Zacchaeus belong to the hated class of tax collectors, he was chief among them. This means that he probably benefitted both from the taxes paid and from the fees that tax collectors themselves exacted from the people.  The narrative draws bold lines of contrast between Jesus’ attitude toward this man and the scorn of some of the bystanders. Jesus insisted that only those who are lost can be found; only those who are perishing can be saved. Those who revere themselves as righteous seldom understand this, and as a result, miss opportunities for their own salvation. 

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The Power of One

Holy Trinity Parish in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., recently inaugurated a  one-day operation called “The Power of One.” The goal was to engage as many parishioners as possible in various kinds of service in the community during one day. The “one” is not the one day or any one individual, but one community—a community working together for the good of the greater community. The power, of course, is rooted in the love God poured into their hearts to flow out into the world. 

Today’s feast celebrates the power of one that entered into the world through the dying and rising of Christ, and has been a presence in the world through all those who have been drawn into the one body of Christ through baptism.  It is the power that comes when men and women are poor in spirit, mourn the world’s sorrows, are meek, hunger and thirst for righteousness, are merciful, clean of heart, peacemakers, and withstand persecution for the sake of living in right relationship with God, others, and the world. They not only will receive heaven,  they bring it into the world during their lives. 

All Saints holds up a vision reminding us of our future when we will be fully joined with those who have gone before us, but with whom we are one even now in singing praise to our God, as we are reminded at every Eucharist. With them we cry:  “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” 

Consider/Discuss

  • Have you known the power of belonging to a community doing good?
  • Who are the saints who witnessed to you through their faith and now rest in the Lord? 

Responding to the Word

God and Father of all, thank you for the gift of your saints, especially those now forgotten men and women who embraced and incarnated the Beatitudes in their lives. May we join with them for all eternity to sing praise to your glory in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior.

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Scripture Study for

The events of the first apocalyptic vision unfold on earth; those of the second take place in heaven. Both visions depict vast assemblies of the righteous. One hundred forty-four thousand is clearly a symbolic number. Twelve is squared and then multiplied by a thousand, resulting in a number that indicates completeness. The multitude gathered around the throne comes from every nation, every race, every people, and every tongue. The universality is complete. The multitude represents those who survived the distress of the end-times because they were purified through the blood of the sacrificial Lamb. This distinction entitles them to participate in the celestial celebrations. 

According to the Letter of John, love is generative, transforming. It makes believers children of God. Everything that happens in their lives is a consequence of their having been recreated as God’s children. They are a new reality and consequently they are not accepted by the world, the old reality. The type of behavior they choose is frequently in opposition to society at large. The “now but not yet” of Christian eschatology (teachings about the end-time) is clearly stated.  Though believers have already been reborn as children of God, their transformation has not yet been completed, nor has it been fully made known to them.

In form and content, the Beatitudes are wisdom teaching, not Christian law, as is sometimes claimed. Like most wisdom forms, they describe life situations that draw a connection between a particular manner of behavior and consequences that flow from such behavior. Most if not all of the sentiments expressed in the  Beatitudes are found somewhere in ancient Jewish teaching. While the teachings of Jesus are all in some way directed toward the establishment of the reign of  God, the values that he advocates are frequently the opposite of those espoused by society at large. This fact offers us a way of understanding the challenges set before us in the Beatitudes. They invite us to turn the standards of our world upside down and inside out. 

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Praying for Mercy

There is a funny song in the highly irreverent musical The Book of Mormon. One of the two young Mormons being sent as a missionary to Uganda is a real “golden boy” with genuine expectations of doing great things. When he is paired up with a less prepossessing fellow named Callahan, he sings a song predicting the great things they will do. The song’s title is “It’s You and Me—But Mostly Me.” 

The prayer of the Pharisee falls into this category. It is not a bad prayer, we are told. The Pharisee stands before God in gratitude for many blessings. But the focus quickly shifts to “I . . . I . . . I . . . I . . . ” It is the simple prayer of the tax collector that wins God’s heart. Note how Jesus expresses it: “the latter went home justified.” To be justified is to be in right relationship with God; it is a gift of God.  Asking that God be merciful puts us in right relationship with God. 

We can make our own several prayers found in Luke’s first two chapters.  Consider the prayer of Mary upon hearing Elizabeth’s words of greeting (1:46–55),  the prayer of Zechariah at the birth of John the Baptist (1:68–79), and the prayer of Simeon in the temple when he takes in his arms the Christ Child (2:29–32).  Each keeps our focus on God as a God of justice and mercy. Each calls us to bow our heads humbly in recognition of who we are and who God is. 

Consider/Discuss

  • Does God really want us bowing our heads and beating our breasts?
  • Where is the line between self-acceptance, self-esteem, and self-absorption? 

Responding to the Word

When I am tempted to be boastful in my prayer, O God, help me to recall that  I always stand before you as a sinner.

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