Sunday Homily for 13th Sunday of Ordinary time year A

 

It was not easy to be a Roman Catholic in the early 16^th century in England after the Anglican Church broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. Catholics were persecuted by law and priests were imprisoned, tortured, and frequently executed. There were official ‘priest hunters’ whose job was to hunt down and capture Roman Catholic priests. To protect them the Catholics began hiding the priests in their houses and helping them escape. And therefore very soon a law was passed which made helping priests punishable by death. Yet, the laity continued to be faithful to their priests even at the risk of their own lives. One such person was St. Margaret Clitherow. Clitherow allowed secret masses to be celebrated in her home, where she also hid Roman Catholic missionary priests. She was imprisoned and executed. She was canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

I present her life before you as it is closely linked with the readings on this 13^th Sunday in Ordinary time which focus not only on hospitality but also on the risk involved in supporting the mission of Christ.

In the first reading taken from the second book of Kings, we see a beautiful example of participating in God’s work. The prophet Elisha is treated kindly by a Shunammite woman of great faith. She willingly opened her home to those in need and shared in the good things God had given her. She wanted to participate in the work of God and she contributed in a way that was possible for her. She provided meals for Elisha and a place to stay. Elisha filled with gratitude promises her God’s favour and the granting of a son. This woman is a great example for those among us who cannot be involved in direct evangelisation. Through her hospitality to the prophet of God, she contributes to the mission of evangelization. The key is to share what we have and this is not restricted to only financial support. What are your skills and talents which can contribute to the mission of the church? Perhaps you are a student, could you assist in teaching underprivileged children? If you are a professional in accounts, engineering or medicine, could you offer your services to benefit those in need? I believe that God has given each one of us skills and talents not only for our own success and glory but to reach out to the least and the last in His Kingdom.

In the second reading taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul suggests that baptism transcends mere symbolism - there is a resemblance to death and resurrection. In our baptism, we share in Jesus’ death and resurrection—we personally experience death and resurrection. However, unlike Jesus ours is not a physical death and resurrection – our liberation is the liberating freedom from sin. Sin no longer has power over a dead person—so it makes no sense that we would give sin dominion over us after dying with Christ and being freed from sin. The purpose of our death and resurrection is to “walk in newness of life”. This “newness” began with our baptism, but the renewal process continues throughout life. Given our human frailty, it is sometimes difficult to accept that we are, in fact, “dead to sin, but alive to God,” but Paul asks us to keep that reality ever before us—to accept that God has, indeed, rendered us “dead to sin, but alive to God.”

The gospel taken from Matthew, highlights the stark realities involved in building the kingdom of God. One needs to be prepared for painful division within families, and risking losing what one holds dear in life. For all of this risk and suffering, Jesus promises, “Those who lose their life for my sake will find it”. This promise is not limited to only those who are sent but also to those who assist and support the ministry. Just as Jesus sent out his apostles, there is still a need even today to send labourers into the harvest. And those sent will still need to depend on the hospitality of others. Jesus says of those who enact such hospitality, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me”.

The gospel speaks about being hospitable to prophets, righteous persons and little ones. However, as we have seen in the life of St. Margaret Clitherow, there are heavy costs associated with this demand. Not only does one have to face financial costs but also one has to risk danger to one’s safety and security. This fear sometimes leads us to practise what I call ‘selective hospitality’. Quite a few years ago when I was in the novitiate, we had to take part in a walking pilgrimage for over 3 days and we do not carry any food or drink with us. We are not supposed to reveal our identity and we are to beg for our food and water from the people we meet. So after having walked for some time, we came across a village which was known to be a catholic village. My companion and I approached this lady we saw there and asked her if she could fill our water bottles which were now empty. We had high hopes of getting some good clean purified water but she looked at us suspiciously and told us to go and fill our bottles from the common water tap in the village. Quite disappointed we had to fetch water from that tap and after some time as we were about to leave, her husband came on a motorcycle, looked at us and told her, “They are brothers from the seminary, welcome them in the house.” Unfortunately, he had met some of my other companions and had figured out who we were. No prizes for guessing what happened after that. We were treated like royalty and we were given not only purified water but also enough food for the day. Would we be treated like that if our identity was not known? That’s why I say it's selective hospitality. We reach out to those whom we know, we help where the risks are less. The gospel invites us to be a part of the difficult mission of a prophet and righteous person. It invites us to be hospitable to those from whom we won’t receive anything. A prophet’s job is not easy, he not only has to announce the good news but also point out the areas where the people are going wrong. Therefore, a prophet is not a popular person and so to receive the prophet's reward is equally difficult. We have to risk being unpopular and disliked by people for doing the right thing.

Let us this week pray for the grace to support the mission of Christ by using our gifts and talents. And like St. Margaret Clitherow let us have the courage to risk being unpopular for doing what is right. Let our hospitality not be a selective hospitality but a universal one. May God bless us all.