Homily for Sunday, 19 January 2014

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

World Day of Migrants and Refugees

Readings of the day: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34

My sisters and brothers in Christ, we hear the LORD through the prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading: “It is too little… for you to be my servant… I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

What does it mean for us, as individuals and as a Church, to be “a light to the nations”? This seems to me to be a daunting task.

Almost fifty years ago (some of us may be able to remember that far back), the Second Vatican Council published a document called Lumen Gentium, or “Light of Nations.” Lumen Gentium’s purpose was to explain the Church’s core identity: Who are we as Church? Lumen Gentium begins by describing who Christ is, namely “the light of nations,” borrowing from the passage we just heard from the prophet Isaiah. Then, Lumen Gentium describes the Church; us. We are “in Christ.”

If we are “in Christ”, called to be Christ-like; a “light of nations” that brings God’s salvation “to the ends of the earth,” is it not indeed too little” for us to be merely God’s servants? Our task‒ that of being “a light to the nations”‒ has just become no less daunting. So how are we to accomplish it?

Would not a Church that is “light of nations” and “to the nations” be primarily a missionary Church; a Church that brings Christ to people and nations that do not yet know Christ or who know him only faintly? Would not this kind of Church be unafraid to point Christ out to people, despite our own insecurities; our own lack of faith; our own sin from time to time? Pope Francis has certainly advocated this kind of Church: a Church that risks becoming “hurt” and “dirty”; a Church that smells “like the sheep.”

If we turn to our Gospel reading, we hear that John the Baptist also advocated this kind of missionary Christian discipleship. John admits repeatedly that, before Christ came to him, he “did not know” Christ fully. But lack of knowledge of Christ did not stop John, who knew the purpose given him by God: “That Christ might be made known.”

Christian mission; being a Christ-like “light to the nations”; making Christ known to all nations; testifying that Jesus Christ “is the Son of God” does not require our perfect knowledge, perfect faith, or perfect holiness. Christian mission is not about John the Baptist, not about me, not about us, but first and foremost about God and his Christ. We, like John who is our model in Christian mission, are called to point Christ out by our words and actions: “He is the one… the Son of God.”

But perhaps many of us find pointing Christ out to others to be difficult. For many of us, our physical scope of mission is limited. Many of us have not traveled to other countries, perhaps other states, or even other cities. Some among us or our loved ones, because of infirmity or other reasons, are often kept in or near our homes. And yet we are all called to Christian mission; to point out and to be “a light to the nations.” How can we do this?

Let me propose, for all of us, a kind of “reverse mission.” Instead of focusing on an active, outgoing kind of mission, especially for those of us who are incapable of such mission, have you ever allowed another person to be of service to you; to be a “light” that brightens your day or eases your sorrow; to be kind to you; to be like Christ to you at a time when you are in need? I am sure that most of us can think of a person who has been and that we have allowed to present to us in this way. I can think of many such people in my life.

One of my brother Basilians has often said to me that to serve another, especially within a religious order, is easy. We have more difficulty allowing ourselves to be served. Yet allowing another to be Christ to us, to serve us freely, is every bit an act of mission as is freely acting as Christ toward another person; serving another person. We can be a “light to” other people, indeed “a light to the nations,” by allowing them to be a light to us.

Our actions of allowing others be a light to us can have far-reaching, even worldwide, implications. This weekend we celebrate the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. How many of us know someone who is an immigrant or a refugee; someone in need of welcome and of friendship to ease adjustment to a new country and a new culture?

I think back to many instances, particularly when I was involved in refugee ministry in Toronto as a seminarian, when “the nations,” personified in the refugees and migrants with whom I ministered, were a light to me. In one of these instances, I translated an appeal of a denial of refugee status for a mother and her small child. Success of such appeals in Canada is rare, so I thought the odds of this case to be long at best. Weeks later, the mother entered the office where I was volunteering. With tears of joy in her eyes, she embraced me and thanked me, her papers of her refugee claim acceptance in hand. Her tears of joy met mine. If I were called to be a light to the nations through refugee ministry, on that day the opposite happened: The light of Christ came to me from among the nations.

I believe these instances are evidence of why, in his message for this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis describes migration as offering “possibilities for a new evangelization, open vistas for the growth of a new humanity foreshadowed in the… mystery [of Christ’s passion and resurrection]: a humanity for which every foreign country is a homeland and every homeland is a foreign country.”

If you know a refugee or immigrant, of whom there are many in this immigrant and refugee-rich city of Rochester and state of New York, and can reach out to; befriend this person; be Christ’s light to her or him, I invite you to do so. Your friendship; your light will return to you. If you know someone in any kind of need, I invite you to satisfy this one person’s need in whatever way you are able. And if you are in need, do not be afraid to ask for someone to satisfy your need; to be a Christ light to you. In this way, we will be “a light to the nations”; the nations will be a light to us, and together, I am confident, we will make Christ known in our world. We will bring God’s salvation “to the ends of the earth.”