HOMILY FROM CANON STEPHEN BAILLIE
Homily
3rd Sunday of B21
Now is the time
More than 50 years ago, in his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech, Martin Luther King Jnr. Talked about ‘the fierce urgency of now’. He urged people to take positive action and to march forward together to address inequality and injustice, and his energy and conviction brought about massive change.
That sense of ‘fierce urgency’ seems to grab Jesus and the disciples in today’s Gospel. In the opening chapters of Mark’s Gospel everything happens ‘at once’ or immediately. There is a sense of hurry, the time has come, the kingdom of God is near, and Jesus needs helpers to work alongside him. Simon, Andrew, James and John are certainly ready, so ready that they are prepared to leave behind their livelihoods, and even their families, to attend to the urgent business of spreading the Good News.
Jesus asks the same of us, his modern-day disciples: ‘Follow me’. We are summoned too. We are challenged to set aside our worldly concerns, to see the world in a new way, and to begin a new way, and to begin a new adventure with Jesus. For every person in our world who is suffering or oppressed or in need, there is a ‘fierce urgency of now’. The work of the Kingdom is too immediate to wait.
The phrase ‘at once’ invites us to think about how we respond, pray, witness, imitate, serve, listen and follow the Lord. In a letter to a non-believer in 2013, Pope Francis wrote these powerful words: ‘for me faith is an encounter with Jesus. It was a personal encounter that touched my heart and gave new direction and meaning in my life. Jesus impacts us, shocks us, renews us.’
I always smile to myself when I hear today’s story about Jonah. After all his fearful panic and urgency about how terrible Nineveh is going to be, it is actually child’s play! Jonah simply spoke the words he had to speak and the people of Nineveh were converted. There is a surreal and unreal hint of humour in this account! How would Jonah fare with us with our hard hearts, stubborn wills and our firm grasp on our freedom and individuality?
We are reminded that the Lord did not save the world by beautiful discourses, by the Sermon on the Mount. He saved the world by his passion and resurrection. That is why we believe in someone greater than Jonah.
The Gospel has its own stark urgency. ‘The time has come and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent and believe in the Good News.’ James and John, Andrew and Peter recognised the urgency and ‘at once’ became witnesses and learning disciples of Jesus. Whatever bright ideas any of us think we have about God, if they are not anchored deeply in the word made flesh, in the one crucified and risen we stay tangled in the nets of our shallow superficiality.
As we continue with another week of lockdown, let us reflect on the urgency of having our online classes and school work for our young people. How quickly our parents and workers had to learn how to work from home and with our faith – adapting to use the livestream Masses, services and devotions. Our ‘Dial a Mass’ continues to develop, with more and more people dialling a Mass. The urgency of keeping our faith a live at home and in our hearts is even stronger than days gone by. Please keep saying your prayers – especially the Rosary, asking Our Lady to give us all peace of heart and peace of mind. Turn to the Sacred Herat of Jesus, to continue to create a positive frame of mind. We have so much to offer others through our faith. Please keep supporting and praying for each other. Only God alone can guarantee the graces we need to grow in faith
Let us finish today with expressing our heartfelt condolences to the family of Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, and to the clergy and people of the Archdiocese of Glasgow. Archbishop Tartaglia throughout his life was a faithful servant of the Lord, and a caring shepherd of the Diocese of Paisley between 2005 and 2012. He was a much-loved Bishop of Paisley and will be remembered fondly by many. May he rest in peace.
