HOMILY WEEK 16 02 – Year I
Brothers and Sisters of Jesus
Optional Memorial: St. Apollinarius
(Ex 14:21-15:1; Ex 15:7-17; Mt 12:46-50)
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Do you see yourself as a brother or sister of Jesus?
The liturgy today invites us to appreciate our baptism which joins us to Jesus and makes us his family, his brothers and sisters, living out our baptism by doing the will of the Father and listening to the Word of God
The first reading from Exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea, is a powerful metaphor of our baptism. One of the first movies I saw in 1957 as a ten-year old child was The Ten Commandments directed by Cecile B. Demille. The scene of that crossing, walls of water to the right and to the left, remains indelibly imprinted on my mind. I saw and felt the power of water which at the same time saved the Israelites and destroyed the Egyptian army.
As marvellous as it was, the Israelites’ exodus was just a foreshadowing of what God would accomplish in us through the waters of Baptism, which both destroys sin and gives us new, eternal life. Here is what St John Chrysostom, an early father of the Church who died in AD 407, taught the newly baptized:
“You did not see Pharoah drowned with his armies, but you have seen the devil with his weapons overcome by the waters of Baptism. The Israelites passed through the sea; you have passed from death to life. They were delivered from the Egyptians; you have been delivered from the powers of darkness. The Israelites were freed from slavery to a pagan people; you have been freed from the much greater slavery of sin. You were captives, but now you are free and citizens of the Church; you lived in the shame of your sins, but now you live in freedom and justice. You are not only free, but also holy. You are not only holy, but also righteous. You are not only righteous, but also sons and daughters of God. You are not only sons and daughters of God, but also brothers and sisters of Christ. You are not only brothers and sisters of Christ, but also joint heirs. You are not only joint heirs, but also members of his Body. You are not only members of his Body, but also the temple. And you are not only the temple, but also instruments of the Holy Spirit.
Baptism joins us to Jesus, and to his body, the Church. And in today’s gospel, Jesus teaches us how to live out our baptism, and what it means to be joined to him, to be his family.
This passage was a concern to an evangelical student in Beauval, who asked me, “Why do you Catholics worship Mary when Jesus pushed her away when she went to see him?” My response was to point out two mistakes she was making: One, we do not worship Mary, we honor her, venerate her and love her as the mother of Jesus our Savior. Second, far from pushing her away, he was also honoring her. Basically, he was saying we can be closer to him spiritually than he is to his mother who gave birth to him physically, if we do the Father’s will. That will truly make us his mother, sister or brother.
There are different translations of this passage in the gospels. In today’s version, Jesus asks us to do the Father’s will. In another version, he states “those who listen to his word and keep it are his mother, brother and sister.” So, to be joined to Jesus means to do the Father’s will and to listen to and live out his Word.
To do the Father’s will is certainly to love, pure and simple. We can summarize doing the Father’s will with these commandments Jesus taught us: love God with our whole being; love our neighbour as we love ourselves; love one another as he has loved us, and above all, love our enemies by forgiving them.
On July 22nd, members of Toronto’s Danforth community gathered to commemorate the anniversary of the shooting of innocent people by a troubled young man who killed a child, a young woman and injured dozens of others, including a young woman who was paralyzed from the waist down. She was present at the gathering, and when asked about her thoughts by the media, she replied, “I have forgiven him from my heart. I don’t hold any ill will against him. In fact, I wish I could have met him, because I think we would have had more in common than he would ever think.” That is truly keeping the commandment Jesus taught us, and doing the Father’s will. She is certainly a sister of Jesus.
Jesus also asks us to listen to his Word and keep it, if we would be his family, his brothers and sisters. That means reading the scriptures, pondering them and praying with them. I would highly recommend the practice of Lectio Divina, which anyone can do anywhere and anytime. Our biblical model here is Mary of Bethany, who was sitting at the feet of Jesus, perhaps not so much even listening to his words, as aware she was in the presence of the Word, and just soaking up his love.
I gave a retreat once on my new book on aging, Still Green and Growing. A 92-year old former university professor and author of three books took the retreat. Realizing she still had some unfinished business in her life to take care of before she died, she did a two-day private directed retreat at the Star of the North. I met with her each day, and marvelled at how she was, at her age, getting more in touch with her feelings, becoming more aware of persons she still needed to forgive, and also of areas in her life where she still needed more healing. She was an inspiration to me of someone who was doing the will of the Father, and listening to and keeping the Word of Jesus.
Today, the Church honors St. Apollinaris, who is a suitable saint for the readings today. Although not well known, his life was remarkable. A commentary in the Living With Christ states he lived in the first century and according to tradition, was chosen the first bishop of Ravenna by St. Peter. He was also one of the first great martyrs. During the reigns of emperors Claudius and Vespasian, he was repeatedly exiled and tortured but continued to evangelize and work miracles until his martyrdom.
The Eucharist we celebrate now is itself a living out of our baptism and the readings today. We listen to the Word of God and experience the forgiving and healing love of Jesus. We are then mandated to go and live our baptism by sharing that love with a world that desperately needs it, as brothers and sisters of Christ.
