Welcome to read homilies for the Sundays of the year. These are
sample homilies which you can read with devotion. You may use them in your own
homilies without asking my permission. You may also change or edit these to fit
them to your audience. A unique quality of these homilies is that they are
Christ-filled. From beginning to end they present to us some aspect of Jesus so
that beholding his glory we “are being transformed from glory to glory into his
very image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NAB).
The Precision of Jesus’ Knowledge of the Future and our
Present
When we lie down at night to sleep we are confident that the
sun will shine on the morrow. We know this for a certainty. The knowledge of
what will happen the next day is sure enough for most of us. At the beginning
of the month we know that on the 15th or end of that month we will
receive our salary or wage, for those of us who are working for others. We also
know this for a certainty. Some events may intervene which would invalidate
this knowledge, like sickness or an accident. Whether for a day or for a month
we know things in advance. The farther the time the more uncertain we are of
the future. More or less we know that one year from now you and I will still be
living. But this is not sure knowledge because we know that we can be dead by
then from an accident or sickness, God forbid. And ten years from now we really
do not know what will happen. The economy may crash again, the political
situation will be in an upheaval, the environment may be devastated. Much more
if it is a century or one hundred years from now. For sure we will no longer be
here. So we really do not know what will happen then.
But with Jesus he knew precisely what would happen centuries
from where he stood.
In his life he knew precisely what would happen days or
weeks ahead of time. He knew, as recorded in Matthew 21:1-3, that as he was
speaking a man would tie his colt and that his disciples would get that colt
and bring it to him. As early as in Matthew 16 Jesus knew that he would suffer
and he knew precisely how he would suffer. He did not just say that he would
meet a violent death. In Matthew 20 he told us that it was the scribes and
chief priests who would find fault with him, then he would be handed to the
Romans, he would be made sport of, flogged and crucified. He knew the details.
But Jesus’ precise knowledge of the future did not apply
only to his personal life. He knew also what would happen years after his
resurrection and ascension to heaven. In fact he knew what would happen
centuries later.
The Gospel for today’s Sunday tells us the details of Jesus’
knowledge of the future. He told us, “There will be signs in the sun, the moon,
and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring
of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming
upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they
will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
He used the future tense in the indicative mood. He did not
say, Maybe this or that will happen because of this or that. He went straight
to the future facts: the sun, moon and stars will behave abnormally, nations
will be in dismay, the seas will roar with waves that are gigantic. Then he
will come in a cloud with great power and glory.
But this knowledge of Jesus was not only about the big
events in this world. He knew precisely what would happen to us. In fact
because he now is Lord of this world he knows what is happening to each one of
us. And he knows what will happen to us. That is why he counselled us in the
Gospel reading “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and
drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise
like a trap.”
He knows that we will be anxious about our daily life and
that this anxiety will take away attention from him. That is why he tells us in
Matthew 6:26-34 to stop worrying about our today or our tomorrow.
He knows what is happening to each of us now. For those of
you who have actualized the grace given you in baptism you know that Jesus
lives in you. There inside you he knows what is happening to you. As the
Psalmist says in Psalm 139, “Truly you have formed my inmost being, ... My soul
also you knew full well, ... your eyes have seen my actions”.
For those of you who have not undergone the conversion which
enables you to be fully conscious of being truly a child of God, Jesus is
waiting that you surrender your life to him so that he can take over your
affairs. Unless you do this, you will be trapped by the cares of this life. Now
is the time to surrender to him, as the Little Flower St. Therese of the Child
Jesus advices us. For her this is the new and shortcut road to perfection, love
and unconditional surrender to Jesus as Lord of our personal life.
Jesus knows what is happening to us because he knew this
centuries ago. He takes care of us, if we let him do it.
Let us bow down our heads and pray.
Jesus, you prophesied your second coming centuries ago. You
knew then what would happen to us. You know what is happening to us now.
Because you have resurrected and ascended to heaven and you have sent your
Spirit to us we know that you are present among us and in each of us. Make us
follow your advice not to worry about our daily life because you care for us. Amen.
