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ST DOMINIC`S MAJOR SEMINARY

HOMILY OF SEVENTENTH SUNDAY, YEAR B

Readings: 2 Kings 4:42-44; Psalm 145; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15

ST DOMINIC`S SEMINARIANS

BY

KHOMA DENNIS MANTU

LECTURER:FR ROYD MWEEMBA

LUSAKA-ZAMBIA

1 November 2011

THEME:CHRIST CALLS US FROM LIMITNESS TO UNLIMITNESS

My brothers, Christ calls us, not for personal feeding but a call from limitness to unlimitness Priesthood, a call from selfgoverning to self giving. Today the world needs Priests not bread nor food to be shared but Priesthood as a gift to be multiplied, feed and satisfy the human race,beyond races, tribe and national boundaries. That is being prophetic and Christ like, a call from limitness vision to an unlimitness vision.

Today`s readings are not about whether the miracle happened and how, instead about serving with compasion. The beauty of first reading is that , prophet Elisha is done with talking prophesies but he acts. Elisha had a present brought him of twenty barley-loaves and some ears of corn ( cf.2 Kings 4:42), a valuable present in those ages of drought. Having freely received, he freely gave. It is through Priesthood that God has promised his church ( cf.Ps 132:15) that he will abundantly bless her provision, and satisfy her poor with bread, for whom she feeds he fills. This is definetly the beautiful hands of a Priest, the hands that receive ,bless the baby at baptism, hands that offer us Christ at Mass, hands that bless and anoint us at our death beds. Therefore , we ought to train ourselves to open hands and take “the decision of Elisha to share with those who are in need the gift he has just received”. Hence we are called to break, share the gift of Priesthood from God by sympathasizing and praying or laying-hands on the poor, venerable, sick people of God, the list is endless.

We often times limit our capabilities, consequently when “faced by the dramatic problem of world hunger we are tempted to get discouraged…”and we ignore or send the people away without preaching to them or Mass. This what one Lecturer in St Dominic`s would have called acting against ‘Romantazation of ministry’. Like the servant of Elisha and the disciple of Jesus in today`s readings, we limit the large vision of God. We feel like saying that the, “Lord, healing the sick is one thing but feeding the multitudes with just five loaves and two fish is asking for the impossible!” Did the disciples think that if Jesus failed to feed the crowds they would all look like fools? Andrew said to Jesus, “what is five loaves and two fish between so many?” (cf. John 6:9) Did they feel like saying to Jesus, “Jesus, do not be impossible.” My dear future Priests, similarly our vision is often limited and to be like Jesus in today`s gospel is irrational and senseless. We try to avoid, ignore, cripple and disable ourselves to exercise our Priestly office, to do miracles in satisfying the starving flock. Hence, to be with the multitudes of hopeless, retired, HIV patients, marginalized and the brain beaten persons is unreasonable but rather we shut the parish doors for anyone to enter. It is like, a mother eating from size twelve dish while her baby is crying of hunger. But to us and the disciples in the gospel, to follow Jesus is to lose something, maybe we have to lose or pill-off our egoism, tribal customs and individualism, in order to share the gift of Priesthood with all. Paul says we are called to walk worthy or our vocation is to walk answerable to those high and glorious hopes which the gospel raises the Christian up to the expectation of (cf. Eph 4:1).

When Jesus, the High Priest, multiplies the loaves and fishes, the people sat down and are served by the Lord and each of his apostles. This is the way it will always be, the Eucharist is quite ordinary in appearance, and at the Eucharistic banquet the people are seated at the table while Christ and his ministers "those who serve" wait on them. But we ministers, priests instead of serving we do the contrary. The mission of us future priests is to be Jesus´ hands to distribute the bread of the Eucharist and of the word, an unmerited grace to the entire humanity. Brothers the priesthood we aspire for, has to be primarily and essentially a service, not a distinction or something for oneself, personalizing the Eucharist and selling the Eucharist. My brothers ,in priesthood the Lord looks at us with love and sees in us his Spouse, the Church and he makes her sit down while he serves her.

The starving, hungry multitudes gathered around Jesus to be feed with what is sweet. We will not be spared from this scenario; they will come in large numbers, at any time. What would you do? Like Jesus, give them what they want. For our aim to priesthood is to go and give those multitudes what they salivate for, like the sacraments, good news, and that sweetness of priesthood. We should not block them with undesirable words, deeds and contaminated pastoral ideologies. I like Paul`s writing to us tomorrow ministers that be not angry, and sin not but have a Christly attitude (cf Eph 4:1). Otherwise we will be like the Swiss guards blocking Mother Teresa from meeting Pope John Paul II in 1980. Hence the saying “only prepared Catholics are to receive communion”. I sometimes shy away.

Jesus` miracle of multiplication of loaves and fishes pointed to the Paschal mystery, where Jesus was given a gift of the cross, he humbly accepted it and he freely offered himself to the multitudes by stretching his hands and without cultural clothes. This is what we should quest for in aspiring to Priesthood, a call to total self giving and self-sacrifice to the people of God. From now, let us chew stones in discerning well on this true image of priesthood and keep on moving from limitness selves to unlimited selves, to merit the act persona Christi.