The Power of God’s Word: sharper than any two-edged sword

Homily for 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2015

Jonah 3:1-5,10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

Introduction

You have heard the saying, “actions speak louder than words.” You have also probably heard what St. Francis of Assisi told his followers when they asked him the best way to spread the gospel.  This is what he said: “Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words.”

These two sayings seem to suggest that we should prefer action and witness to words and talking.  And many of us would probably agree, because human words often are empty and hollow.

Ø  With sweets words people will promise to give you the moon.

Ø  With inspiring words people will be all talk and no action.

Ø  Even words of prayer can be empty if they don’t come from the heart.

While human words might deceive us, today’s readings tell us that the Word of God is different, for it is trustworthy and powerful.

Scripture and Theology

In the first reading we heard the Lord sending the Prophet Jonah, to deliver a special message to the sinful people of Nineveh.  Nineveh was a very large city needing three days to walk through it.  And so Jonah began to preach the special message: “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”

He had barely gone through a third of the city, when the people were convicted by his words.  And so we heard that they not only believed God, but they also proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth, including the animals if you read on the rest of the passage.

In the case Nineveh, God’s Word, delivered through the mouth of Jonah achieved its intended effect.  The people heard the Word of God, were convicted, and turned from a life of sin to a life of righteousness.  And most importantly, when God saw their response to his word, he forgave them.

In the gospel passage, it is Jesus who is speaking.  And his words are simple and urgent: “This is the time of fulfillment.  The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  Just like Jonah had warned the Ninevites to change or else, Jesus also warns the Jews of his time, telling them that the awaited time has come.  They were waiting for a Saviour who would restore them to a right relationship with God.  He, Jesus, is that Saviour.  The people need to repent and believe, that is, they need to make a radical change in their lives as well as accepting the message Jesus is teaching.

Unlike the people of Nineveh who responded to Jonah’s words with immediate action, the Jews were a little hesitant and slow in responding to Jesus.  Only a few repented and believed in the gospel. 

In today’s gospel passage we heard examples of those who responded to the words of Jesus.  Simon and his brother Andrew, James and John the sons of Zebedee, all left their fishing jobs to follow Jesus.  He tells them that he is converting them from being fishermen to becoming “fishers of men,” those that with the bait of God’s Word, will bring men and women back to God.

It is clear then, that although we sometimes misuse words, we should not throw the baby out with the bath water.  The only time actions speak louder than words, is when those words are divorced from truth.  Words, especially God’s Words are powerful; they help people to change their lives.  Words can speak just as loudly and often even more clearly than actions, if they are based in truth and especially if they lead to action.  There is no doubt that God’s Word is the truth and that is why it has such a great effect on human beings.

Christian Life

God continues to speak to us today and we must listen to what he has to say.  Without hearing his Word, how else would we know what he wants us to do?

Like God has done throughout history, even today he often speaks through intermediaries and messengers.

·        In the Old Testament those intermediaries were the Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Jonah.

·        In the New Testament those messengers were the Apostles like Peter, James, John and even St. Paul who did much writing.

·        Today’s messengers and intermediaries who carry God’s Word to us are the Pope and the Bishops, being the successors of the Apostles and Prophets.

Do we listen what they have to say?  Even more important, after we listen, do we act on what we hear, like the Ninevites did when Jonah delivered God’s Word to them, like the four fishermen did when Jesus spoke to them?

It is one thing when the secular media attacks and rejects the teaching of the Pope and bishops.  It is another thing when we Catholics, sons and daughters of the Church do the same thing.  We could do better than our society, which has a chronic distrust of any teaching authority.  We could do better than our society’s children, who routinely ignore what their parents and teachers say and even worse don’t do what they are taught to do.

The teaching of the Pope and the bishops is God Word, revealed in the Bible and chewed over during 2000 years of the Church’s history.  But we seem to be selective in what teaching to listen to and act upon.

·        On the one hand, if the Pope and bishops teach from Genesis chapter 1 about caring for God’s creation or if they teach the parable of the Last Judgement, which calls for the care of the hungry, thirsty, sick, prisoners and the immigrant, we call them communists.

·        On the other hand, if the Pope and bishops teach from Genesis chapter 2 about a man leaving his father and mother and clinging to his wife, and the two of them becoming one body, or if they teach from Ten Commandments about preserving life we call them backward or worse.

But God’s word cut across all these ideologies.  For example, we have observed, during this past week two days that shine the light upon two different, but equally important aspects from the teaching of Jesus.

·        On Monday, as we remembered the life of Martin Luther King, we were reminded of the biblical themes of freedom, peace and justice.

·        On Thursday, the anniversary of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision, we were reminded of the biblical injunction to preserve life, especially the life of the unborn.

For us Catholics, what these two occasions signify is not mutually exclusive.  We cannot choose between God’s Word that asks us to fight for civil rights of the living or God’s Word that asks us to fight for the rights of the unborn.

As the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, “the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword.”  God’s Word cuts both sides, cutting to the left and to the right.  God’s Word cannot be reduced to petty ideology, for it is much more profound, penetrating “even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow” (Hebrews 4:12).

Conclusion

May today’s readings remind us again about the importance of God’s Word.  May God’s Word be the force that convicts and moves us to action.  May our action always find grounding in God’s Word.

After all that is what God wanted when speaking through Isaiah he said this about his word: “It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).  Actions might speak louder than human words.  But God’s Word speaks just as loudly and louder.