THE GOOD NEWS
ARCHBISHOP BELTRAN
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October 22, 2006 The Good News ...All Things Are Possible for God Homily, 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time “They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said: ‘For human beings, it is impossible, but not for God. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE FOR GOD.’” My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Those of us who believe in the one true God, the Triune God, who reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, certainly know that nothing is impossible for God. God is good. He is gracious. He loves us totally. Everything we have is a gift from God. He created us in His own Image and Likeness. He redeemed us through the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus. He sanctifies us with His Holy Spirit and He has promised us the fullness of life in heaven. These are the truths that we proclaim in the official Creed of our holy Catholic Church. These truths, based on the mysteries and revelation of God, give meaning and direction for our everyday life. Human beings are created by God to share in His life and His love. By His creative plan, our human nature craves and seeks full possession of the life and love of God. This is the longing that St. Augustine expressed when he said: “O Lord, our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.” It is this restlessness in our hearts that we experience as pilgrims during the journey of life here on earth. It is also true that the restlessness in our lives will lead to fear and despondency, to fable and folly, unless we recognize that we cannot save ourselves. We cannot find peace and security and real happiness in money, possessions, fame or power or any other human resource or endeavor. True peace and happiness and fulfillment of our human longings are found only in God. For this reason, for our eternal salvation, God our Father sent His Son Jesus to save us. Jesus alone is Lord and Savior. There is salvation in no other name but in the Name of Jesus, the eternal Son of God. He and He alone is our Redeemer. All of this is confirmed in today’s Gospel reading. The astonished disciples of Jesus ask that perennial question of human longing — “Who can be saved?” And Jesus responds: “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” It is this clear teaching of Jesus that enables us to live a life of faith in Him. Whenever we gather together to celebrate the Eucharist, we come as a people of faith. When we seek healing, whether it be physical or spiritual or emotional, we must come in faith. When we face the contradictions and difficulties of our everyday situations, we must have faith. When we live and when we die, our faith must be placed in Jesus and in Him alone. Faith comes to us as a gift from God. It is given to us out of love, the tremendous, limitless love that God has for each one of us. At this time of year, nature itself gives us a visible, tangible example of how faith can be received and nurtured and grow. All around us are countless acres of freshly plowed red earth. This ground has been properly prepared and drilled and planted with wheat seeds. Slowly and steadily, we see the change taking place. The bright sun, the cool nights and the necessary rains cause the wheat to sprout. Spotty green patches turn into luscious green blankets totally covering the red earth. The little blades of wheat will continue growing until next spring when they make their final surge to ripen for the June harvest. Like the wheat seeds, faith is given to us as a seed. It is given to us by God so that we will receive and cherish it, nurture and care for it. It is a living faith that must grow and blossom in our lives by the response we make to God in love. God plants the seeds of faith in us at our baptism. He nurtures this faith with the other sacraments by calling us to conversion, to repentance. He invites us to receive His love and to love Him in return, especially in the Holy Eucharist. He challenges us to hope in Him and to trust Him. He offers us a new and a better life. Jesus calls us, inviting us to prepare for eternal life and complete fulfillment with Him in heaven. In order to develop this gift of faith given us by God, in order to overcome sin and temptation, in order to face the problems of daily life, in order to grow in the likeness of Christ, we must recognize in love, our total dependence on God. We must come to a greater awareness of God’s presence among us. He is indeed always with us. He loves each of us totally. He will never abandon us. This renewed awareness of His presence with us and His tremendous love for us impels us to a greater love of God Himself. It is that love, our response to God’s love, which He requested when He said: “The first and greatest commandment of all is to love God with your whole mind, with your whole heart, with your whole soul and with your whole being.” Oh what a marvelous opportunity we have here today. What a great blessing is bestowed on us right now by our good and loving God. In just a few minutes, after we have made our public Profession of Faith in God, gifts of bread and wine will be brought here to our altar. Then, Jesus, through the ministry of the ordained priests concelebrating with me, will change the bread and wine into His own Sacred Body and Precious Blood. Then, together with Jesus, all of us will joyfully pray to our Father in heaven. Then, unworthy though we are, in faith we come forward to receive Holy Communion. This is the Body of Christ. This is the Blood of Christ and again in faith, we will respond “Amen” and “Amen.” The eternal Son of God will come to us in this intimate fashion. This is the Jesus Who was born in Bethlehem. This is the Jesus of Nazareth, the Jesus Who prayed in the temple of Jerusalem and Who died for us on the cross on Calvary. He is the Jesus Who rose from the dead. Thus by His life, His death and His resurrection, He is our Redeemer. This living Lord Jesus comes to us, Body and Blood, to forgive us, to heal us and to nurture us. The seed of faith, like the grain of wheat, develops and grows in us if we humbly and lovingly are receptive of God’s gift of Himself in Holy Communion. Today, when the Mass is over, the service of faith and worship continues as Father DiOrio leads us in praise and trust in God. This extended worship will prepare us to return home to our families, to our friends, to our work, with a greater awareness and appreciation of God’s presence and love. Then, in our homes, in our schools and churches, at our work and recreation, we must continue to fulfill that great commandment of love of God that we have expressed here today. We will do that only if we truly love our neighbor. A radical but good change will have taken place in us if we begin to look at other people with even greater love and respect and forgiveness. Yes, we must always treat others as they truly are, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Very often we face prejudice and misunderstanding. Sometimes we are confronted by rage and violence. We might experience fear and anger as we are treated rudely and even unfairly by others. Sometimes we are deceived or someone may take advantage of us. Yet, Jesus says: “Love one another as I have loved you.” Can we do this? Is this possible? Yes, if we walk in the presence of God because Jesus assures us, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God” and God is with us! |