The Heart Of Christianity

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Little Canada, MN

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Of all the prophets, Jeremiah is the most vividly alive; the most real and credible. Sometimes he speaks majestically confident, other times he is conflicted. Sometimes he is sure of himself, and other times quite anxious. Jeremiah is a person with complex personality. One of the most inspiring passages in the Book of Jeremiah is his prophetic call. As soon as he is called by God, he immediately resists God’s summons and tells God that he is too young. Biblical scholars speculate that Jeremiah might have been as young as seventeen when he was called. Think about that! We usually think of prophets as long-bearded old men, but people of ancient times don’t live that long. For most people, if they live up to fifty will consider themselves fortunate and they mature much more faster. So, think of a teenager being called to prophecy. Like Prophet Jonah, Jeremiah also tried to run away from prophetic call. But God insists and Jeremiah finally gives in. Then God gives him a difficult message to convey, a message totally at odd with the culture of his time. His job was to tell Israel that because of infidelity, they will be punished by Babylon. He also told them that when the punishment is approaching, they should surrender and not to fight. No part of his message will appeal to any Israelite, either in leadership and in the nation as a whole. It was negative, discouraging and defeatist. But that’s the message God asked this teenager to convey to Israel. 

Biblical scholars call Jeremiah the “weeping prophet,” because of the many difficulties he faced, as described in the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations. More than once, he was tempted to hang up his prophet’s hat and go home. He wept over his nation’s self-destructive rebellion against God and cried out to the Lord. He is also known as “terror on every side.” Why? Because he was always talking about all the terrible things that will happen to Israel— famine, foreign conquest, plunder, and captivity in a land of strangers. Understandably, Jeremiah was mocked, rejected, marginalized, imprisoned, exiled, and according to tradition preserved in extra-biblical sources, was murdered, stoned to death while in exile by his fellow countrymen. However, all his prophecies came to pass. 

Against this background, who is Jeremiah speaking to in today’s First Reading? The shepherds of Israel! Since we are the new Israel, he is speaking to the pastors of the Church from top to bottom. He is speaking to me as a priest, he is speaking to all priests, he is speaking to parents, to faith formators, and to every baptized Christian. Whether you realize it or not, baptism has made you a priest, a prophet and an evangelizer of the good news of the Lord. What is the Lord asking Jeremiah to say? “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture.” To the shepherds who are doing a terrible and abysmal job, who are dispersing and driving God’s people away, who are not caring for them, God is promising to punish their evil deeds. Not only will God punish them, God will also elect faithful and committed shepherds who will protect and lead God’s people in such a way that no one will be missing. But there is another great promise God is making through Jeremiah— to raise up a righteous descendant of David, a king who will reign and govern wisely, act justly, and live rightly. This king will bring salvation to Judah and Jerusalem and secures them forever. This king shall be called, “Yahweh Tsidekenu” which means, “God our Justice” or “The Lord our Justice.”  

Who eventually fulfills this messianic prophecy of Jeremiah? Jesus of Nazareth! In 30 AD, he emerged on the scene in a most extraordinary way. On the hills of Galilee, he began to preach with unprecedented and unnerving boldness, claiming personal authority over the Torah itself, which was the divine law that was considered the court of final appeal for any faithful rabbi. He also performed great miracles of healing, and demonstrates a mastery over the forces of nature. 

The Gospels tell us that all came to him from all sides— most wondering just who this man was. The Gospels also tell us that he invited 12 men to be his closest associates, close confidants and followers. The Twelve men we call the Twelve Apostles. After traveling with them from town to town, from region to region teaching them publicly as well privately on the hills of Galilee, Jesus began to send them out two by two. He also gave them authority over unclean spirits. In today’s Gospel, the Apostles returned to Jesus to report what they had done and taught. Jesus takes them to a lonely place where they can rest a while. But as soon as they settled down, lots of people started to come to them. The supposedly lonely place became so busy that they were not even able to eat. The Gospel concludes that when Jesus saw the vast crowd, “his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” While the shepherds of Jeremiah’s time were uncaring and unkind, Jesus, who happily and correctly claims for himself the title of a “Good Shepherd” was kind, merciful and compassionate. He is compassion personified. His compassionate mission will finally reach its fullness when he lays down his very life for the sheep. 

Sisters and brothers, the heart of the law of Yahweh comes down to one thing— compassion for the other, especially the poor, the neglected, the widow, the orphaned, and the needy. The heart of Christianity is compassion. The heart of religion is compassion. In the end, each of us is going to be judged on how much compassion we show to the neediest members of the society. So, whatever you do in life, whatever is your occupation in life— a scientist, a teacher, a nurse, a doctor, a cop, a financial expert, a secretary, a receptionist, a priest, a politician, a civic or cultural leader etc., do what you do with compassion. What is compassion? In Latin it is “compati” which means “suffer with.” Compassion means making someone else’s heartbreak your heartbreak, and making someone’s own suffering and pain yours and doing something to alleviate or remove them. Genuine compassion for the needy changes the way we live because it is in the lowly that God is revealed and found. Every Christian should wear compassion like a dress for it is what makes us resemble our Lord Jesus.