Homily for January 25

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Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Scriptures for today's Mass)


Audio for homily

A few weeks ago Boston was named as the United States candidate

for hosting the summer Olympics in 2,024.

When I read about that I thought,

 “Hmm…  2024.  Wonder if I’ll still be around for that…”

That was the first time such a thought crossed my mind in a real way.

Could be, I won’t be here then…

2024 is only 9 years away but 9 years from now I’ll be 76 years old.

And after checking some charts I found that the life expectancy

of a white American male is 76.2 years, but –

and this is the good news – 

the life expectancy of a white American male

living in Massachusetts 

is 77.5 years!

I certainly hope to live longer that but, as we heard from St. Paul today,

“The time is running out…”

What a precious gift is time.   

But for all of us, all of us, 

time is running out…

What a precious gift is the promise of tomorrow.

But for all of us, the number of our tomorrows dwindles

with each passing day.

I think of Dr. Michael Davidson 

going to work this past Tuesday morning  

at the Brigham and Women's Hospital.

We never know how much time we have…

St. Paul certainly means for his words to have 

the sobering effect they do

though when he writes about “time running out”

he’s referring to his expectation that the risen Jesus

would return at any moment, in Paul’s own day.

But that didn’t happen. 

Paul’s time ran out before the Lord’s second coming.

And Jesus has yet to return so time continues to run out,

my time, your time, young and old alike.

We also heard from Paul this morning that:

“the world in its present form is passing away.”

In other words, time is running out for the world, too.

Time is running out on all material things

for all material things will pass away.

You see Paul’s purpose here is to get us to look at

what doesn’t pass away, what endures

in contrast to our letting our lives be shaped and programmed

by what really doesn’t last.

That’s why Paul asked us this morning to look again

at what makes us weep and what makes us happy.

That’s why he asks us not to own or use material things

as if they could fulfill our deepest needs and desires.

My guess is that St. Paul would have a problem

understanding our fascination and concentration

on deflated footballs.

What passing, material things do I desire?  work for?  

collect? save?  hoard?

What transitory things capture my imagination, rule my calendar,

shape my career, inform my thoughts and opinions?

And what’s the importance of all these things

relative to my heart’s deepest and truest longings?

Time is running out, writes St. Paul.

The time we have to get our priorities in order 

- is running out.

The time we have to do the right thing 

- is running out.

The time we have to reconcile with God and one another 

- is running out.

The time we have to grow a real prayer life 

- is running out.

The time we have to be generous with all we have 

- is running out.

Jonah’s message to the city of Nineveh 

was like Paul’s message to the city Corinth.

Jonah preached that time was running out:

40 days, he told the folks, that’s what you’ve got left 

- 40 days and then time’s up!

Jesus’ message in the gospel today is even more immediate

– no warning of how much time is left, but rather:

 “The kingdom of God is now, it is at hand, it is today!”

And, he’s right.

Jesus has not yet come again – but he has already come.

Time for waiting, time for delay has run out: 

the time to act, the time to change, is now, is today.

It’s time, now, to take an accounting of my life

and to act on what I find

and to change what needs to be changed.

The world in its present form is passing away

and if all I end up with is this world’s goods

then I’ll find myself left with very little

and with my hands and my heart empty.

The good news is that in every moment,

without a day’s delay, without a day’s wait,

the Lord is ready to meet me right where I am – now –

and help me make the best of the day I have, the day at hand.

He stands ready to forgive me and heal me,

to reconcile my past, and to be with me today

as I wait to see what tomorrow may bring,

as I wait to see if tomorrow will come...

At this table, the Lord who came 2,000 years ago

but who has not yet returned in glory,

this same Lord will come this morning, 

to be with us, to nourish and strengthen us

in the Bread and Cup of the Eucharist.

At this altar then, let us consider 

what makes us weep,

what makes us rejoice,

in what, in whom, do we place our trust?

Let us come, today, to Jesus.

Let us come back to him, today - 

because time is running out...

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