Father Steve Grunow shares today's homily, which asks us to accept and understand the identity of the lord Jesus as Messiah, and embrace the truth that this revelation will exceed our expectations.
Today’s first scripture is an excerpt from the Old Testament book of the prophet Nehemiah.
Nehemiah, like Ezra, whose words the Church proclaimed last week, records the return of Israel to its ancestral homeland after years of exile in Babylon. Remember, in the year 587 BC, the armies of Babylon had conquered the people of Israel and laid waste to the city of Jerusalem.
When Israel returned from Babylon, the glory of David’s kingdom, existed only in memories. What remained of Jerusalem was only ruins. Nehemiah records that the rebuilding of the city had been decreed by the Persian emperor, Artaxerxes. Though we might note in today’s reading the generosity of the Persian emperor, the text is telling us that even while the city and the temple were to be restored, Israel was ruled, not by the successors of King David, but by a foreign power.
In this respect, Israel’s exile had not ended, and would not end until what had been lost with the destruction of Jerusalem had been restored.
Israel hoped for the coming of the Messiah, who would bring an end to the exile and restore the Kingdom of David and the glory of Jerusalem.
For most in Israel, the Messiah and the restoration, meant the ascendency of Israel as a world power, which would rule the nations in the manner of the imperial powers of Persia, Greece, or Rome.
It is in reference to these expectations that the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, provokes so much surprise and consternation. He presents the reality of the Messiah as being different from what was expected by many in Israel.
The Gospels are making the case that the Lord Jesus is the true Messiah, and that his revelation is meant to transform Israel’s expectations in regards to the Messiah and the restoration of God’s people.
Today’s Gospel is often interpreted as testimony to the radical demands of discipleship. In this respect, we are to accept that life in Christ will entail sacrifices and singular commitment. All true.
But this text can also be understood in relation to Christ’s mission to transform the Messianic expectations of Israel.
The Son of Man, that is, the Messiah, has not come for the restoration of Jerusalem as the capitol of an empire, and therefore does not seek palaces or institutions for himself: “he has nowhere to lay his head.”
The Messiah, expects Israel to set aside its old expectations for the Messiah, which are spiritually moribund: “let the dead bury the dead…”
And those who accept Christ as the Messiah will have to say “farewell” to all those associations that are caught up in the old expectations Israel’s restoration. Do not “look back”- but look to him, and see what the Kingdom of God really and truly is.
You might be asking what any of this means for us, but the identity and mission of Christ as the Messiah is the privileged route of access for understanding not only the Lord, but also the Church. We know neither in their fullness if this is not the reference point for our spiritual seeking.
To know and accept Christ as the Messiah is the fulfillment of Christ’s invitation to us to “seek ye first the Kingdom of God.”
Father Steve Grunow is the Assistant Director of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.