Homily for Thursday, 19 June 2014– Ferial

Thursday of the 11th week in Ordinary Time 

Readings of the day: Sirach 48:1-14; Psalm 97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7; Matthew 6:7-15

Do any of us have a loved one, a relative, a colleague, or friend of whose accomplishments we are very proud?

Before I became a Basilian, I was a microbiology lab technician for three and a half years after graduating from college. One significant job I had in the lab was to teach co-op students who came to our lab from various universities in Western Canada basic lab techniques of industrial and environmental microbiology. I would also help to guide these students’ co-op term projects in the lab, proofread their co-op project reports, and critique their final oral presentations. Several students who worked in our lab could essentially work independently of me and the other technicians; their laboratory skills were often remarkable, and they would sometimes teach me as much as or more than I taught them.

Now, as a Basilian, I can say the same of our men in formation for religious life and priesthood; people with deep faith and spirituality who inspire me and teach me as much as or more than I teach or inspire them. These are people who have made me very proud; very grateful for the gifts of God being fostered through family members; friends; colleagues; people of St. Kateri Parish; my Basilian confrères.

The Book of Sirach, from which we hear today in our first reading, speaks of Elijah and of his successor prophet, Elisha. Sirach lists the impressive array of accomplishments of Elijah in great detail. Then, more briefly but just as strongly, Sirach emphasizes that Elisha was everything Elijah was and more: “Then Elisha, filled with the twofold portion of [Elijah’s] spirit, wrought many marvels by his mere word.”

Elijah was so great a prophet and so righteous that our Scriptures say that he was “enveloped in [a] whirlwind”; brought to heaven perhaps without having died, on a chariot of fire, in an impressive display of God’s power! And then Elisha received “a twofold portion” of the spirit of Elijah. Imagine a prophet twice as powerful as the amazing Elijah!

I imagine that, if Elijah were teaching Elisha the basics of prophecy; preparing his hand-picked and anointed successor to be able to prophesy on his own; proofreading and critiquing his end-of-term report, Elijah would have been extremely proud of Elisha.

And so we remember the people we have encountered of whom we have been very proud. We remember the people who, it would seem, have received a “twofold portion” of our spirit; who have received ultimately the Holy Spirit of God himself, the same Holy Spirit we have all received in baptism and confirmation, who through us works marvels beyond our imagination. And we are invited to pray in gratitude for God’s gifts in those people who make us very proud of what they have accomplished.