Fullness of Life is Jesus' Free Gift to Us | 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily by Rev. Fr. Erl Dylan Tabaco, SSC

In the prologue of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek Him, to know Him, to love Him with all his strength.” We are all called to follow God and all His ways. Life attains its meaning only in God, for He knows the innermost desire of our hearts that it is only Him who can fill all our emptiness. This call is both a blessing and a responsibility. It is a blessing since God called us despite our shortcomings and flaws. No matter how crooked our ways, God has countless opportunities to bring us back. He drives us closer to Him even how many times we choose lesser gods over Him. He knows everything about us; our hopes, joys, struggles and pains. So, from the very beginning we are already meant to be with Him. Even before we are knit into our mother's womb, He already chose us to be His own. God designs our life wondrously. He gives us the reason to live. Thus, our existence could never be an accident. Each day from the moment we are born up to our last breath, God assures us that we have a role to plan in His mission. At the same time, our calling is also a responsibility. God cannot coerce us for He gives us the freedom either to say YES or No. Though at times, the kind of life that we live is contrary to God´s will, this doesn´t mean that God has given up on us. He still invites us and patiently waits for the right time when we can finally decide to turn our backs from the worldly idols and choose Him to be the center of our lives. When we choose God, this decision should not be done overnight. It is always a work in progress and a daily commitment to follow Him. We share in God’s mission, a blessing that we are invited to take responsibility in sharing it with others.

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life." This response of Peter to Jesus speaks to all of us, our desire to commit ourselves to follow the Lord. This is never meant to be easy since our commitment demands a radical change, to the extent of giving our whole life to Jesus so that God may be glorified. Perhaps as we explore our deepest longing to be with the Lord, it is good to reflect these questions and honestly ask ourselves where are we now with our relationship with the Lord. Does our commitment strong enough like a house built in a solid rock amidst life’s difficulties and challenges? Does our commitment weaken when we no longer understand the turn of events in our lives? Do our life’s choices reflect our identity as followers of Jesus?

One of the unforgettable experiences that I have is when I had the opportunity to visit an orphanage where most of the children had different infirmities. Aside from the nuns who were taking care the needs of the children, there are some volunteers who regularly visit the foundation. One volunteer that struck my attention, since it was my first time to encounter such volunteer, is an orphan herself and dealing with her own share of infirmities. She was born blind, deaf and hunchback. She is with the foundation all throughout her life. Watching her as she attended to the needs of the children, I was amazed on how her disposition reflects her faith. During our conversation, since she can interpret my hand sign as she kept holding my hand, I was inspired on how she offered her life as an expression of her faith in God who entrusted her with a special mission. She may have those inborn disabilities, but her heart is full of joy and passion to serve. One thing that I learned from that encounter is how we remain committed in doing God’s mission despite whatever challenges that comes on our way. No matter how overwhelming our life’s situation is, even if we cannot totally understand the turn of events in our life, but if we have faith that pushes us to our limits, everything is possible. The story of this passionate and joyful volunteer will always be a reminder for me and all of us that our commitment to take an active part in God’s mission will always give meaning to our life. Life without a mission is like a journey without any direction. This is not what God wants for us. He will never allow this to happen and this is the reason why God constantly invites us to express actively our Yes to Him.

Our readings for today highlight the authenticity of our response to God who loved us first and continuously draws us closer to Him. God who made Himself known to us never ceases to let that personal and intimate encounter with Him happens. He knows that the fullness of life is only possible when we have an intimate relationship with him. This relationship is deepened through time. We just have to be opened to His ways, though many times we cannot fully understand God’s ways. Nevertheless, we keep trusting God and this trust involves giving our whole self to God regardless of whatever situations that we are in. It is easy to express our faith in God when everything runs smoothly, but it becomes more challenging when things happened the way we least expect.

The history of Israel gives us an image on how God never leaves the people whom He called as His own. From the moment they were chosen, there is no slavery or exile that would stop God fulfilling His promise. Israelites have gone through a lot of setbacks in their journey through the Promise Land. As they fled from the bondage of Egypt through the leadership of Moses, God’s chosen people suffered terribly from the consequences of their infidelity to the covenant. Their ingratitude led them to revolt God’s ways by worshipping earthly idols, surrendering their allegiance to those lesser gods. In spite of this, God persistently brought back his unfaithful people, redefining them as who they are and guiding them to fulfill the promise that was instilled in them. Joshua in our first reading, being the successor of Moses was used by God to continue leading His people. Joshua reminded his fellow Israelites to submit their allegiance to Yahweh who never gets tired of saving them from their foes. Despite their infidelity, Yahweh will not turn his back from them. The covenant relationship has to be strengthened and accepted wholeheartedly. Through the leadership of Joshua inspired by the guidance of God, the people recommit their allegiance to God. Thus, the people said: “May God not permit that we ever abandon Yahweh to serve other gods! For it was He who brought us and our ancestors out of Egypt, the house of slavery. It was He who did those great wonders that we have seen; He protected us on the way and through all the land where we passed.”

Like the people of Israel, we too are reminded of God’s faithfulness to us. Our relationship with God should align our priorities, perspectives and desires. Jesus, the visible image of the invisible God became one with us to reconcile us to the Father. The saving plan of God is definitively revealed through Him and ultimately unveiled the purpose of our existence. We are brought into this world with a purpose and this can only be accomplished if we remain with Jesus. He didn’t teach us only the values of God’s kingdom, but also empowered us to live them out. He is our only way to the Father and everything that He did is what we are ought to imitate. Jesus’ entire life is God’s commitment to humanity, a commitment that will never fade for His love endures forever. This is the kind of commitment that Paul invited his community in Ephesus which is highlighted in our second reading. For Paul, all our forms of relationships should be centered in Christ. No genuine relationships exist apart from the Lord. The image of Christ’s undying love for His Church is expressed on how a husband should commit his love to his wife. Both of them should strengthen their commitment to each other as they offer their loving relationships to the Lord who remains faithful to them. Husband and wife are called for a mission. Their commitment to each other is a blessing to the world which corresponds to their fidelity to the mission that is entrusted to them. Married life like any vocation has its own challenges and difficulties. Married couples’ journey is not a rose without thorns, but when their loyalty belongs to God, no life’s adversities can separate them. Their commitment to submit themselves to each other, makes God’s love active and life-giving. This commitment brings fruition to the relationship of a married couple bounded together by the sacramental grace of matrimony. As Paul says: “The husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of whom he is also the Savior. And as the church submits to Christ, so let a wife submit in everything to her husband.”

Following Jesus demands radical change and inner conversion of the heart. His word is living and effectual, and more piercing than any edge sword. We cannot compromise Jesus’ invitation to be his disciples with our self-centered conditions. His teachings can be mind-blowing especially if we are used to live by our own comforts. The values that he wants us to adopt as our standard of living are non-negotiable. Unless we turn our backs from our worldly desires, we cannot be his disciples. This is the reason why many are called but few are chosen. Despite the universal dimension of Jesus’ invitation to be part of his mission by showing the world of God’s unmeasurable love, not all can fully participate on it. This is the reason why in today’s gospel, Jesus was upset when a number of his disciples upon hearing his teachings were turning away from him. For those who don’t want to be challenged by the demands of the gospel, they would have a hard time to follow Jesus. After all our discipleship is to live everything behind so we become dependent always to God. It is in our nothingness that we can be more proactive in the mission that is entrusted to us. This is persistently preached by Jesus to believe always in the providence of God. When Jesus said that he is the bread of life that comes from heaven, many find it illogical and unacceptable. Only those who have faith and willing to commit their lives to the Lord can accept and respond freely to do his mission. Thus, Jesus asked Peter, “Will you also go away?” a very important question that will determine his fate. What a deep faith that Peter had when he himself identified Jesus as the source of eternal life. This respond of Peter must have developed gradually through time as he totally gave himself to that intimate relationship that Jesus wants. He reaffirmed his faith with Jesus as he was drawn closely to his hearts’ desire. The profession of Peter manifests his commitment to Jesus and the mission that is entrusted to him until the very end of his life. This is the kind of commitment that we need to abide in our daily lives. A commitment that is very deep and firm which cannot be shaken by whatever storms that we go through in life. It is only the Lord that matters so that our life will be fruitful and meaningful.

As with Peter, we are drawn to this kind of relationship that we should have with the Lord. We need to form our faith by the words of Jesus, the source of our hope. We need to nourish our faith by receiving his body and blood in the Eucharist which has a lasting effect in our lives. It only Jesus who can help us seek the will of our Father in our lives. Even though we are weak and sinful, we remain special to God. We just to expose our vulnerabilities before God so that His grace will work all the more in us. May the respond of Peter be our response too. As we embark on the road to discipleship, we pray to be opened to God’s transformative power in us and to remain committed in participating the mission that Jesus entrusted to us so that our life will become a life of service, compassion, seeker of truth and advocate for justice and peace. Amen.

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