Christ Walks Among Us
2023년 1월 29일Christ Walks Among Us
< Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time >
Several weeks ago I gave a homily about how a monastery of monks was spiritually renewed when a visitor shared his observation that Christ lived among them–but in disguise. Remember? Well much to my surprise last Sunday I actually saw Christ among us in no less than four different people. I won’t mention their names for two reasons: one, I don’t want to embarrass them or make them self-conscious or worse, make them proud. And two, of the four people, I only know two of their names. This week as I was preparing today’s homily, I read today’s readings. In the first reading from the Prophet Zephaniah, we hear that those among us who are humble and fulfill God’s laws will help protect our community in time of trouble. The Responsorial Psalm celebrates the blessings of God working through our acts of kindness. In the second reading, St. Paul reveals that you have a calling in Christ to show mercy, especially to the poor. And the gospel reminds us of the Beatitudes, that mercy, healing, compassion and kindness is God blessing the world through our actions.
So who were the four people who revealed Christ among us last week? Did you see the poor woman asking for help outside our church last week? I saw one person go out of his way to give her a donation. Another person took the time to make her feel welcome in our church. A third person, one of the women who cooked our delicious Dduk Gook, prepared a container of soup for the woman to take home with her. You should have seen the gratitude and smile on the woman’s face. So, who was the fourth? I believe that was that poor woman herself. Through her Christ tested us to see if we were putting the gospel into practice. To all of you who saw someone in need and helped, maybe not then and there but elsewhere last week, thank you. You prove that Christ is truly alive in St Paul Chong Ha-Sang Catholic Church. And that gives me more joy than ever to announce that Christ STILL walks among us. When you get home today, reread the gospel we just heard and consider: Jesus is talking among you.