HOMILY WEEK 27 06 – Year II

Free to Live the Word of God

(Ga 3:22-29; Ps 105; Lk 11:27-28)

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You have probably heard the somewhat cynical saying that was used years ago to describe the life of a church-goer – pay, pray and obey!

In the gospel today, Jesus urges us to go beyond that – to pay attention to the Word of God, to truly listen to it, live it out in our lives and experience inner freedom in so doing.

It is interesting that the gospel begins with praise for the Blessed Virgin Mary, who carried Jesus within her womb, who gave birth to him and nursed him. It is important that we venerate Mary for her role in our salvation history. But we need to take a cue from Jesus in not just venerating her, but also imitating her faith and her love to the best of our ability.

When Jesus responded to the enthusiastic person who blessed his mother, by changing the focus from family to the Word of God, he was insisting that the new community of the kingdom is more important than even the most revered social system. When we give the family a disproportionate importance it becomes in short order dysfunctional. For Jesus, what is more important than this very special relationship he has with his mother, is that we believe in him and his Word. We are to not just hear that word, but also truly listen to it, and then try to live it out in our lives with love. Everything else will fall into place if we are doing that.

For St. Paul in the first reading, our relationship with the Word of God is all about freedom. We are no longer under the constraints of any laws, because we are now in a faith-filled relationship with Jesus making external rules and regulations superfluous when placed within the context of a committed faith and selfless love. As St. Augustine put it, “Love and do what you will.”

Paul uses fairly strong language to articulate this new relationship with Christ. He compares humanity under the law to prisoners incarcerated and watched over by guards. The law was limited to pointing out what was wrong, what should be done, but was powerless to change the hearts of anyone to actually fulfill that law. That all changes with faith in Jesus Christ and his Word – we enter into a loving relationship with God as our loving parent, become sisters and brothers of Jesus Christ, and are one in him.

An example for us might be Nelson Mandela, who went from being prisoner to president of South Africa. The law had made him a prisoner, but when released, it was evident he was living out of a higher law of love, with the ability to forgive those who oppressed and incarcerated him unjustly. He was actually a free person even when in prison.

When I was accepted to travel with the international singing group Up With People as a university student, I decided before setting out to Santa Fe where I joined them that, as I was considering a vocation to priesthood and religious life, I would not smoke, drink or date when with the group. Upon my arrival, I was informed the group had three rules – no smoking, drinking or dating! With a chuckle, I realized those rules were in my heart, already being lived, and as far as I was concerned, totally unnecessary.

I could also watch with bemusement the struggle some of the other cast members were experiencing trying to keep those rules (and sometimes breaking them) because, precisely, they were imposed on them and not a freely internalized code of conduct. I must admit that was a youthful experience of what I would later come to realize St. Paul was talking about when he proclaims over and over again that Jesus came to set us free.

The Liturgy of the Word within the Eucharist takes on deeper significance in the light of this gospel, as this is truly one of the best ways we can hear the word of God and keep it.

So, all we must do to hear the word of God and live it, is believe in who Jesus is, and freely love as he taught us; have faith and do charity, or as the prophet Micah put it: Live justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with our God.