HOMILY OF SUNDAY OF THE 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C
1 Kings 19:16b.19-21, Gal.5:1.13-18, Luke 9:51-62.
THEME: A CALL WITH A PRICE
Though the call to discipleship is a privilege, it has some prices attached to it. Every special mission goes with peculiar disciplines. When we are chosen and are separated for specific mission, we must maintain the decorum that befits our status.
The call of Elisha and his response is a typical example of one who has chosen to follow the Lord without looking back. “He returned from following him [Elijah], and he took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.” 1Kings 19:19-21] Elisha disposed what could hold him back from answering God’s call, so that he could follow Elijah with undivided attention.
As Christians, our major problem is the inability to say goodbye to our past life and embrace the new which life the Lord has deigned to offer us. We want to eat our cake and have it. In the Gospel reading, the Lord Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62
However, to the man who wanted to follow Jesus, he said, “foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head” This is an invitation to embrace the sacrifices that our inclusion in Christ project bring. For those who shy away from responsibility in the church on the ground that salvation is free, the Lord is saying that we must be ready to pay the price. Though grace is a free gift, someone has paid for it on the cross. We cannot answer the name Christians but remain the same. We must be ready to pay the price of discipleship. The Christian life is not a bed of roses.
Moreover, to the one who gave excuse, the Lord said, “leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” His father was not dead. He was simply telling Jesus to wait till that later time when his father would die. He wanted to follow the Lord on his own term. Here, we must learn how to embrace God’s call to serve at any given time, lest we miss the opportunity. If we give God a later time when he needs us in the now, we may miss the singular opportunity that may click us into our destiny.
Let us pray that we may know the occasions when God needs us most, so that we may respond to him appropriately.
PRAYER
O Lord, we want to be the best we can be. In your infinite mercy, may you show us what you see in us, so that we may give you all you ask of us. Give us your spirit and set our spirit free.
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