Readings: Isaiah 35:4-7; Psalm 146; James 2:1-5; Mark 7:31-37
Grace, mercy and peace to you my dear family of God’s people.
Today, the Lord has a powerful message for us today.
Today, He is calling us to examine our attitude to others. An essential part of spirituality, in fact very indisputable evidence of authentic spirituality, is our attitude to other people.
In the First Reading, we hear God announcing hope, freedom and restoration to His people who are poor, miserable and ill-treated in Babylon. God is saying to them today, I really do still care about you.
The Psalmist of today reaffirms God’s love for the lowly, vulnerable, miserable, poor and oppressed.
In the Second Reading, St. James warns us against discrimination, against showing respect for the rich, beautiful and powerful and then treating the poor and lowly with disdain.
Finally, in the Gospel we see how Jesus paid special attention to a man who was deaf and dumb, the kind of person people would not even notice or associate with.
Before I proceed further, I just want us to pause and thank God for us being able to hear and speak. Imagine someone who is deaf and dumb – such existence must be difficult; one can see but can’t hear or express oneself.
Back to our discussion, what is our attitude to others, especially those in these categories?
A. Those who are vulnerable and need help, those who are dependent on us, those who, as a result of sickness or old age, need our help, those who rely on us as their benefactor.
B. Those who are under us, those we manage, those who shadow us, those we have to write reports on, evaluate or recommend.
C. Those who are different from us in terms of language, culture, colour, ideology, character, mentality and personality.
D. How do we relate to or treat members of our immediate and extended family?
E. Those who have hurt us or have been unkind to us and are now in genuine need of support, love or forgiveness.
The Lord is inviting us today to examine this aspect of our lives. He is calling us to see Him in everyone we encounter and to respect, love, forgive, be kind and compassionate to them. He is asking us to learn from Jesus how to make others feel loved, recognised, valued and important.
Last Friday, I saw a movie titled “Miracles from Heaven” and I was so moved by how a pediatric gastroenterologist, (Dr. Nurko) showed so much love to Anna, a young girl suffering from a rare medical condition (intestinal pseudo-obstruction). He treated her with so much love, fun and respect, giving her all his attention. Watching this Doctor, I felt touched and prayed to be able to treat people in the same way.
Why should we treat people with respect, love and kindness?
I. Because God is kind to us, even though we are undeserving.
II. Because He loves the poor, needy, lowly and broken.
III. Because no condition is permanent and what we are today, others can become and what others are, we can become. No one knows what can happen in the next minute.
IV. Because our attitude to others matters to God.
V. Because that is how to heal the world and make it a better place.
I will end this reflection with these two quotations, the first by Maya Angelou and the second by an unknown author.
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people wont forget how you made them feel.”
“Life is not qualified by the brand of clothes we wear or the car that we drive. It is measured by the number of faces that smile when they hear our name.”
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on September 5, 2021.