Sunday Homilies by Fr. Rudolf V. D’ Souza

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2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 20, 2008 Year: A
Is 49:3, 5-6; 1 Cor 1:1-3; Jn 1:29-34
One In Christ

First Reading...
"The Lord said to me,
'You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.'

And now the Lord says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honoured in the sight of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength.

He says, 'It is too small a thing
that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.'" [Is. 49:3, 5-6]

Second Reading...
"From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and from our brother Sosthenes. To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." [1 Cor. 1:1-3]

Gospel Reading...
"John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, 'Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.'

And John testified, 'I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.'" [Jn. 1:29-34] 

Mark Twain used to tell a joke that he put a dog and a cat in a cage together as an experiment, to see if they could get along. They did. So he put in a bird, pig and goat. They, too, got along fine after a few adjustments. Then he put in a Baptist, a Presbyterian, and a Catholic, and hell broke loose. Mark Twain did not even bother putting together a Christian, a Muslim, and a Hindu. That was unthinkable in his days. In today’s world, however, it has become obvious that Christians live in the same cage, in the same city, in the same world, with people of other religions.

Today we are Christians, Baptized into the same baptism. But what are we? We fight, we disagree and we tarnish the name of others.  

There is rivalry, jealousy, competition, and slandering. Can we call it the spirit of Baptism? 

Isaiah, prophesied that the Lord would bring Jacob back to Him, uniting it with Israel in order that both people may be united as one. This prophecy would be fulfilled through Jesus Christ, the Servant of God, who would be formed in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. [Is. 49:3] As biblical history tells us and our recent celebration of Christmas, by the birth of the Lord Jesus within the Jewish people, its tribes were united as one people. 

St. Paul affirms that by virtue of their Baptism into Christ Whom God had made our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, [1 Cor 1:30, 6:11] the faithful are called to be saints with those of every place. By their admission into the Body of Christ through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism, the faithful are "a priestly kingdom and a holy nation" [Ex 19:6] just as Israel was a holy nation by Divine election. In Christ, the faithful compose the Israel of God, forming a sacred assembly, the community of the Lord.

This truth is further affirmed by the words of Paul where he states, "together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours." [1 Cor. 1:2] To call on the name of the Lord as seen in the Old Testament is an expression of faithful unity in adoration. [Ps. 99:6; Joel 2:32] 

John did not become jealous:
Overcoming jealousy is like changing any emotional reaction or behavior. It begins with awareness. Awareness allows you to see that the projected stories in your mind are not true. When you have this clarity you no longer react to the scenarios that your mind imagines.  Jealousy and anger are emotional reactions to believing scenarios in your mind that are not true. By changing what you believe you change what your imagination is projecting and you can eliminate these destructive emotional reactions.  Even when there is justification for the reaction, jealousy and anger are not beneficial ways to deal with the situation and get what we want.

Trying to change anger or jealousy once you are in the emotion is like trying to control a car skidding on ice. Your ability to handle the situation is greatly improved if you can steer clear of the hazard before we get there.  This means addressing the beliefs that trigger jealousy instead of attempting to control your emotions.

To permanently dissolve the emotions such as anger and jealousy in relationships means changing the core beliefs of insecurity and mental projections of what your partner is doing.   

The steps to permanently end jealous reactions are:

1. Recovering personal power so that you can get control of your emotions and refrain from the reactive behavior.

2. Shift your point of view so that you can step back from the story in your mind. This will give you a gap of time in which to refrain from a jealous or angry reaction and do something else.

3. Identify the core beliefs that trigger the emotional reaction.

4. Become aware that the beliefs in your mind are not true. This is different than “knowing” intellectually that the stories are not true.

5. Develop control over your attention so you can consciously choose what story plays in your mind and what emotions you feel.

There are a number of elements that create the dynamic of jealousy.   As such, effective solutions will have to address multiple elements of beliefs, point of view, emotions, and personal will power.  If you miss one or more of these elements you leave the door open for those destructive emotions and behaviors to return.

By practicing a few simple exercises you can step back from the story your mind is projecting and refrain from the emotional reaction. If you really have the desire to change your emotions and behavior you can do it. It just takes the willingness to learn effective skills. 

”I will make you a light to the nations” God tells us in the first reading. How can you, alone or with others, let God’s glory shine through you? For each of these categories, name one way you will reflect the glory of God.  

In defining Ecumenism, the Catholic Church states, "Christ bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time." Christ always gives his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her. This is why Jesus himself prayed at the hour of his Passion, and does not cease praying to his Father, for the unity of his disciples: "That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us,... so that the world may know that you have sent me." [Jn 17:21; Heb 7:25.] The desire to recover the unity of all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit.
 
To effectively help to bring about Christian unity, we are called to personally commit ourselves to walk in harmony with the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church.

We are called to live holier lives according to the teachings of the Gospel.

"Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth" [LG 8, 2.] are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: 'the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.' (LG 15.) Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to 'Catholic unity.' [Cf. LG 8.]" 

In replying to the call of God, Paul participates in the object of the mission of Christ: the realization of the unity of all the faithful! In the measure that Paul responds to the call of God, he already realizes, between Christ and himself, the unity willed by the Father.

God is sanctifying and instructs us about God’s will for us: “Paul, ... to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.”

Just as Christ is the Light of the Nations announced by Isaiah (49:6), so, by responding, like Saint Paul, to the call of Christ, we too can become light in the Lord : “For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” (Eph 5:8) It is by serving the Lord that we become “the light of the world” (Matt 5:14)!

My brothers and sisters in Christ, this week, let us pray that the Holy Spirit will bless us with a true understanding of Christian Unity and Ecumenism so we may prepare ourselves for the week of Christian Unity that will begin next Sunday.

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