Perseverance for the sake of the kingdom
Father Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR
Homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, 2010
Holy Names Church
Memphis, Tennessee
Today Jesus speaks to us about wisdom and witness. He was coming to the end of his earthly ministry. The setting of this gospel is the Temple in Jerusalem. The gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus was standing in one of the courtyards watching people as they come and go. Then he overheard some people marveling at the beauty of the Temple. They were not talking to God; they were rather talking to themselves about the costly stones and votive offering in the Temple. They were not praising God; they were praising the Temple. They were not glorifying God; they were glorifying the Temple. They did not marvel at God’s beauty and majesty, but that of the Temple. Jesus released the bombshell- all earthly things including the Temple are vanity unless they lead us to God. He then prophesied the destruction of the Temple: “All that you see here, the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
Jesus’ listeners must have been baffled at what he said. The Temple was huge; and a magnificent sight to behold. Remember, it took the Jewish people many years to complete it. But Jesus was right. In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed the Temple, and leveled the city of Jerusalem.
In today’s gospel, Jesus also speaks of other calamities like wars, famine and earthquakes: “Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.” To those who believe in him, Jesus says “they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.” Again, these prophecies of Jesus came to pass like his prophesy of the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem. So many early Christians were persecuted, tortured, and killed by some Roman emperors. Emperor Nero, for instance, destroyed the lives of so many Christians. He was so ruthless to Christians that the Christian writer, Tertullian accused him of the being the first to persecute the Christians. When it rained in Rome, Nero accused the Christians for praying to their God to send the rain, and he would order for their killing. Peter and Paul, like many other disciples of Jesus were killed. Remember, Stephen too. He was regarded as the first Christian martyr. But in all these tribulations, the early Christians did not give up their faith. They believed in the promise of Jesus to be with them till the end of time. The early Christians believed they were not alone. In fact, in today’s gospel, Jesus promised “Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you wisdom in speaking that your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.” In that expression, the Lord assured of his ever constant presence.
Dearest in Christ, I don’t want to dwell on the end time. I don’t want to dwell so much on the signs of the end time. Everything that Jesus said in today’s gospel has come to past, and some of them are still happening today. We still witness wars; nation still rise up against nation; hunger and famine have devastated life; earthquake still happen; this year alone, it has occurred in Haiti, Chile, China, and Indonesia. Awesome sights like hurricane, volcanic eruption, and human bodies littering the streets of wars are still being seen. In some Islamic and communist countries, Christians are still prime targets for persecution and death. So everything the Lord said in today’s gospel has either occurred or still occurring.
But in the face of all these calamities, Jesus tells us “Do not be terrified” (Luke 21:9). Do not be afraid because Jesus is always with us. We should not give in to life’s troubles. We should not surrender to life’s misfortune. Jesus says “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” By your perseverance, you will inherit the Kingdom. Quitters do not win; quitters cannot run the race; quitters do not get to the finish line; quitters are never praised both by God and by humans. Quitters give up before morning. The Bible says “there may be mourning in the night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Those who do not persevere do not see the morning when joy is enjoyed. Those who do not persevere all through the night till morning do not see the joy of a new day.
Jesus has not promised us a crossless life. He never promised us a rosy life without thorns. He is actually telling us that opting to follow him is opting for persecution, arrest, betrayal, imprisonment, backstabbing, and public ridicule. But the Lord has made a promise “By your perseverance you will secure your lives” meaning, “if you persevere till the very end, you will be saved.” If you continue to be faithful to me even when it is very difficult to do, you will be saved. If you continue to be my arm in the world, even when it is not encouraging to do so, you will be saved. If you continue to be my voice in the world, speaking truth, peace and justice, even when you are not being appreciated, you will be saved. If you continue to be my hand reaching out to my people, even when those you are reaching out your hand to try to cut off your hand, you will be saved.
Brethren, we have heard it today from our Lord. No one likes misfortune. I do not like it either. I want my life to be free of any problem and trouble. Incidentally, such a path is not the path that leads to life. If there is no cross, there will be no crown. For those of us who have golden jewelries, think of the painful process a piece of gold will have to go through before it is finally purified. That’s the life of a Christian. All the troubles we experience in our lifetime are our passing through purification. Like gold, we must be heated before we become the shinning piece of God’s ornaments. If you persevere, you will be saved. But if you quit, you may be lost.
Sisters and brothers, the wind will blow; sickness may come; insecurity and threat to life may heighten; advancement in age may weaken out movement; our good actions may not be appreciated; what you ask for in prayer may not exactly be given to you; life may be really hard; the once joyful marriage may end up being a nightmare; your children may not appreciate all you are doing for them; you may be invisible to others; things you never expected to happen to you may happen to you; you may be on the brink of loosing your house; the night may be long; the journey may be far; the mountain of life may be high, but Jesus tells us “Do not be afraid.” When Jesus says “Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you wisdom in speaking…” he was simply saying “I will be with you all the time.” I will be with you all the time to grant you wisdom. I will be with you all the time to lighten the loud. I will be with you all the time to ease your pains. I will be with you all the time to comfort you. Do not give up. May your desire for the kingdom never let you give up. By your perseverance, your life will be saved.
May God bless you today, bless you tomorrow, and bless you always.
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