Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Homily - Tuesday of 33rd week of ordinary time - 11/15/10


Martyrs of El Salvador – Luke 19:1-10
         How often do we go out on a limb for our faith?  Do we make an extraordinary effort to search for God in our lives & to find the ways he is present to us?  Today, in the familiar story of Zacchaeus, which we just heard in our Sunday liturgy back on October 31, we see Zacchaeus literally climb a tree, to go out on a limb, all in order to find God in his life.  He respond to meeting Jesus, to having Jesus call after him, by conversion & repentance, by offering to give half of his possessions to the poor, by willing to make amends to those whom he extorted money from during his work as a chief tax collector. 
         God calls us in the reality & the circumstances of our lives, just as he called out to Zacchaeus while he was up in that tree.  Today, we commemorate a very stark reality that happened in our own lifetime: the anniversary of 6 Jesuit priests who were martyred in the country of El Salvador in Central America on this date in 1989 at their residence at the university.  These men gave up their lives for the faith in the midst of a revolution & great political turmoil in this poor Latin American Country. In our own way, in the reality of our own lives, we are also called to go out on a limb in order to find Jesus in our own lives & to be witnesses for the faith. “The struggle against injustice & the pursuit of truth cannot be separated nor can one work for one independent of the other”: These are words spoken by Father Ignatio Ellacuria, the superior of that Jesuit community that was martyred.  His profound words challenge us to live out the justice that God’s truth calls us to, a justice that cannot be separated from our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.  So, as we reflect upon today’s Gospel story of Zacchaeus, might ask ourselves this question: How is God challenging us today to go out on a limb & to live out his justice in our lives? 

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