Giustizia

Homily on the 30th Sunday after Pentecost and Sunday before our Lord’s Nativity.

At the beginning of today’s gospel, we read the names of the ancestors of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ our God; beginning with Abraham all the way to Joseph Foster-Father of Jesus. It is a list of His (Jesus’) family tree or blood line if you will. It is produced for us in order to silence those who wish to dismiss the legitimacy of Christs Kingship.

Moreover, as I have learnt throughout my 4 and a half years of study (seminary), when one wishes to state a case regarding a subject they are conveying, they are to back up what they say via quotations, documentations and any types of authentic evidence that ill-willed people (having a poor understanding of history, ecclesiology, and theology) cannot rebuttal nor deny!

Hence, the old Italians of yesteryear often speak about the importance of the patriarch of the family; going back to as many generations as possible. This aspect of course is held in high esteem for they were the ones who held together the family unit together and so on. Sadly, today the younger generation don’t know what their grandfathers/mothers did to make things work especially with the notion of sacrifice....Such can never be comprehended via a most spoilt and at times arrogant frame of mind that we see harbored in today’s society which dims hope for a better humanity whose objective should be scope!

In addition, not only had we began to lose interest in our family tree, but we have willfully destroyed the family unit. That, which once severed as the domestic Church (the power house of faith in the world) has now become somewhat a bordello (brothel)- in the sense of things been messed up; prayer in the family house is seldom!

Since the 1960’s when the divorce rate in Australia peaked all thanks to the new age flower movement; where people were using drugs to feel artificially alive, God had been expelled in a most gruesome way. The Divine was replaced with synthetic drugs and marijuana giving a false spiritual - out of body experience making one believe in some cases that they are Jesus the Messiah! (Sergei Torop of Russia cult leader) Let us also flag that when the human psyche expelled the notion of spirit (psychology) – the crippling of our capacity and God given faculties began!

Hence, the lack of care given to the older generation, the divorce of couples and the complete breakdown of the family; God was kicked out of the picture and so was everything else! This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Jn 3:19

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. Mt 1:1-17

Thus, the second part of the gospel coincides with my last homily where I spoke about our reply to God’s invitation RSVP. Although Joseph had reservations about the love of his life (Mariam Mother of Jesus) falling mysteriously pregnant, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him in a dream, he (Joseph) could have easily decided that Mariam was unfaithful – handing her over to be stoned for breaking the law of Moses.

However, he decided to take a leap of faith and say yes to God’s invitation just as Holy Mariam said Yes to Him (God) when He asked via Arcangel Gabriel if He may take of Her flesh and blood in order to become Son of man and restore His creation to its full dignity that it lost at the fall of our first parents. Adam and Eve

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Mt 1:18-25

On Wednesday evening we will hear the recount of the Holy Nativity of Emmanuel as we gather to celebrate Christ entering into our humanity for our liberation out of the clutches of death!

More importantly, how God loves the world so much that he gives of himself as proof of his love and becomes a fragile human baby boy who needs affection, care and nurturing; an invitation for us to render hospitality to the Most High who comes to be born in the manger of our hearts and who desires to be seen in the person of those we meet along the way!

We all know the story, however there is one part that often times gets overlooked; when the inn keepers and all whom Joseph asked for accommodation refused them: rejected! This happens on a daily basis, people are rejected for whatever reason; their race, their gender, their appearance (a lame criteria employed via artificial contests we behold) However, this sad reality is extremely prominent within our school systems and has been since the fall of Adam and Eve.

I recall in my early school years, there was a boy who was very large and when it came time to play sports, he was the last one to be chosen. Sadly, nobody wanted him on their team because they feared that due to his size, they would lose the game. Let us remind ourselves that such actions of rejection damage a person especially in this most critical phase of life; resorting to numb the pain down the track via vice or even suicide!

This particular memory of mine was exactly like something out of the movies where the big kid was treated differently from the others and your heart (for those of us who care and have consideration for others) hurts for him. However, one day something extraordinary happened to the boy, we began to play soccer and our team needed a goal keeper so the team leader decided, since the boy can't run fast, we’ll make him the goal keeper.

All everyone could say is WOW!!! This boy was the best goal keeper. He blocked nearly every ball that was about to enter the nets and from that day onwards every time we played soccer the teams would be fighting against each other for who would have the boy on their team. Again, the talented/gifted individuals are always the ones who do not fit artificial criteria; a reason why God always chooses those who do not fit in order to make the world fit again into the divine adgenda!

Hence, we as broken and frail humanity tend to judge a book by its cover as we say in our Australian native tongue. Most times we don’t give people a fair go because we perceive something false about them that our minds fabricate; jealousy is a vicious mistress!!!

These days suicide is one of the most common causes of teenage deaths around the world - mostly caused by bullying; Cybar threat thereof has truly become a phenomena! This is something truly unholy, young people ending their lives because of others inflicting physical and mental abuse. Lets not kid ourselves – this is a taste of the demonic!!! As a parent I fear that one day my daughters may encounter bullying however, placing my confidence in God and teaching my daughters as much as I can about our faith and the love of God; I believe bullying will not have such an extremely negative affect on them.

The Martyrs are a great example to teach our children, for when those who wanted to silence them came and “bullied” them they were not phased; their faith in God ridded their fear and what their persecutors did to them was of no consequence. They embodied the love of God come into the world and became the cradle which hosted his presence; fear had been expelled and they longed to be united to him via the promise given to all who believe – the kingdom!

Thus, may I stress that I will not teach my girls to stand there and be physically hurt absolutely not! I, like any other good parent teach them “If someone hurts you for no reason other than bullying, you must do what is needed and follow your instincts! All I want my girls to learn is that harsh words and made-up stories must be of no consequence!

In conclusion, these next few days leading up to our Lord’s glorious birth remind us to never pass judgment onto others unfairly but to always give others a fair go or at least the benefit of the doubt. Most times we may be very surprised at the outcome. Lastly, may we keep our young people in mind and in our prayers for they are fighting battles which the older generation never had to fight – internet, Facebook, Instagram and so on – yes they may be the same battles for all generations but within this age of technology; the battle is fierce and we literally need a strength and mentality of steel – the armor of God as it were which of course is faith!

Through the prayers of the Theotokos and Saint Joseph, Lord Jesus Christ our God have mercy on us and save us!