Homily for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time- Year A 2014
Theme: It is the duty of the followers of Christ, who went round reconciling people
with God and each other, to commit themselves, to build bridges between the
divided people in the world.
Let me tell you a story .... Buddha was once threatened with death by a bandit. He
said to the bandit, be good enough to grant my dying wish. “Cut off the branch of
that tree, then put it back. The bandit laughed and said you're crazy to think
anyone could do that. .” “On the contrary, Buddha said, it is you who are crazy to
think that you are mighty because you can wound and destroy. The task of the mighty
is not to destroy but to heal and build".
In today's world, there seems to be a lot of children among grown-ups who go round
pulling down bridges that keep people together. Their goal is to divide people and
keep them apart. They provoke and indulge in conflicts and wars which not only kill
but also scatter. When will our society realize that the real test of power is to make
peace not war. It is to this world divided by conflicts, wars, hatred and grudges that
we Christians are sent to heal and build bridges.
The readings invite us to become bridge-builders between people and
plant seeds of peace. One of the tasks which faced the prophets after the
fall of Jerusalem was to rebuild a shattered society. So God spoke through
Jeremiah: “You have scattered my sheep and driven them away, but I
myself will gather them again'’ (Jer 23:2). St Paul also was concerned with
building a new society in which both Jews and Gentiles would find peace
as Christ “announced the good news of peace to those who were far off
and brought them near” (Eph 2:13). When the heart of Jesus went out to
the crowd who were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mk 6:34) he was
bridging the gap of alienation between the poor peasants of Galilee and the
religious leaders who never cared for them.
More than two thousand years have gone by, since Christ went round
building bridges. But our society still remains divided and
hostile especially as seen this past week between Gaza and Israel and the
conflict in Ukraine . If only we could build bridges between people. Pope
John Paul chose “Build Bridges” as his theme for one of his Masses in the
Philippines . The whole Mass lasted three and a half hours. At the end of
the Mass, the Pope made this commitment on behalf of everyone present:
“We commit ourselves”, he said, “to build bridges between all
people, young and old, rich and poor, children and their families,
workers and the unemployed, people of different races, and all
religions, churches and nations”.
It is the duty of all of us who enjoy the peace of Christ to commit
ourselves to build bridges between divided people. It is not an easy task,
but not an impossible one provided we keep before our eyes Jesus Christ.
Like the Gospel says "Plant the seed". The seed of forgiveness, charity,
peace, and above all the imitation of Jesus and as the prayer of Saint
Francis says:
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, the truth;
Where there is doubt, the faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
Let us sow seeds of peace and build bridges.