04 February 2024 – 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) | RCIA Rite of Sending

by Fr Joachim Robert

Dear friends,

In our Gospel today, we are reminded of Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law. And after healing Simon’s mother-in-law, we also see that Jesus calls each and very disciple to participate in that vision to heal, to cast out devil and to be participants in this mission to proclaim the Gospel. And after looking at these two things, dear friends, of what Jesus did, we also come to see how Jesus roots Himself with that relationship with the Father. Because of His closeness with the Father, He is able to carry out His mission.

And as I begin this homily, dear friends, I would just like to ask you: How many of you can relate to Job in the First Reading? If you can relate with Job in the First Reading, can you raise up your hands? The rest of you seem to have a wonderful life. Because I am sure, dear friends, even though you are a bit shy perhaps to say that you struggle in life, but I am sure each and every one of us in our journey of knowing God, in our journey in life, goes through some form of challenges, some form of difficulties and as we live in this world, it is not easy. And we are confronted with these challenges of life and we see how Job initially he grumbles, he complains but ultimately at the end of the Reading from the Book of Job, he comes to a deeper realisation to trust in that providence of God.

And as we look at the Second Reading of today, we too are reminded by Saint Paul that he will do what he can in order to preach the Gospel. He said:
I made myself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost, and I still do this for the sake of the Gospel, to have a share in His blessings.
And here Saint Paul invites us to have that same passion, that same zeal. If he can save one soul, he was willing to go all out to preach the Gospel and proclaim the love of God.

And are we able to do that?

And as we take a look at ourselves, dear friends, are we willing to go the extra mile, are we willing to share the message of Jesus to people who need to hear the Word of God, people who perhaps may not have listened and perhaps need that tenderness of God, the closeness of God and the compassion of God in their lives? You and I, in some way or the other, have received the love, the tenderness and the compassion of God in our lives, through our encounters, through the Sacraments, through the Eucharist. And how are we willing to take that step forward in proclaiming Jesus to others?

But Jesus today gives us simple examples of how we can live our faith. As you take a look at the Gospel, after going to the synagogue and after preaching, He straight away went to Simon’s mother-in-law’s house and she had a fever. And they told Him about her and He went there straight away. He went to her, took her by the hand, helped her up and the fever left her and she began to wait on them. Here we see the simple gesture of Jesus reaching out to one who is in need, one perhaps who is sick and to lift them up.

By simple examples like that, dear friends, by simple gestures we are able to lift someone’s spirit. By doing something just simple, we are able to show the tenderness, the compassion and the closeness of God in their life. And you and I, dear friends, may feel insignificant but the little closeness, the little gestures of faith, the little gestures of closeness in reaching out to them sometimes can make a big, big, big difference. And that itself is already a process of healing that has taken place.

Secondly, as you take a look at the mission that the Lord invites us into. Jesus calls them together and after calling them together, He gave them power, empowered them to continue this mission. And this mission was not only kept to themselves. He allowed others to participate, he allowed others to be engaged in that ministry, in that mission that the Heavenly Father has given on them. And doing so, as I look at our own parish, there are so many, many different ways the parish has been able to engage one another, to bring others who perhaps are in the margin, perhaps may need a sense of closeness of God, the tenderness of God in their lives. And doing so you were able to bring them and show them that love, compassion and the tenderness of the Heavenly Father in the way you minister to them.

And as we continue this mission, we must be reminded the mission that Jesus entrusted the disciples so long ago continues even today and even now in the way of how we reach out to one another. And sometimes, dear friends, when we reach out to others in love, we can become discouraged, we can feel that we are burdened. But when we are experiencing and when we are overwhelmed, the Responsorial Psalm today invites us and gives us some source of encouragement. It says:
Praise the Lord who heals the brokenhearted.

In whatever situations that we are in, dear friends, the Lord comes to heal us and to lift us up. And we see Jesus, when He after a full day’s work perhaps (with the busyness perhaps that He had to preach the Gospel, preparing Himself to preach the Gospel, to proclaim in the synagogue) and after the evening, after the sunset, after a whole day’s work, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were possessed with devils.

And sometimes, dear friends, when we do the mission of God, we can get tired. We can get discouraged. We can get disillusioned. But the invitation of Jesus is to draw us out from there and to spend time alone in prayer. Because when we are able to draw ourselves, just like how Jesus did, early in the morning before dawn He got up, left the house and went to a lonely place and prayed there. We must have that closeness, that relationship with God, to commune with Him so that we are able to look at our mission, at our service in a different light. And when we are able to see the vision of God in our lives, then we are able to embrace the circumstances and the difficulties that comes along because you will be able to see in a different light all together.

And today as well, as we draw ourselves alone together with Jesus, we are invited to have that closeness of relationship with God so that we are able even though we are challenged, even though we are overwhelmed with so many things, we continue to do it because the love of God continues to inspire us to do so. Even though it may be difficult like Job the Lord invites us to persevere and press on so that we are able to proclaim His goodness.

And today as we have all these candidates of the RCIA who have gone through these whole journey of preparing themselves, and today they come to a milestone in their spiritual preparation. And as they take this step forward, and after this Rite of Sending, they will go through this Rite of Election together with the Bishop later in February. And when they take this step forward, and we as a community send them because we want to encourage them, we want to be there when they are going through this journey. To also embrace that the challenges and the obstacles that come together with the path that they have taken will continue to enlighten them and to see in a different light. 

Because of they making this step in faith, we too are encouraged to take a deep look at our own selves to see where we are in this relationship with God and where have we grown in that relationship in our spiritual preparation as we grow in holiness.

And two days ago when I was traveling to Ipoh for the ordination, I had some conversation with another priest. And after the conversation, we shared about our ministry, we shared about our life and after that one of the things that came to mind in our conversation was how the love of God is symbolised in a stream. And that stream is like God’s love. Because when water fills the earth or water fills any particular environment, it goes through the lowest part and it does not get itself entangled in many ways. It goes through the lowest part and slowly fills them up, to fill the cup or to fill the barrel or to fill the stream. And doing so, dear friends, the love of God is like that.

And when we are able to recognise the presence of God in our own life, we are able to embrace that love of God in another as well. And as I have listened to some of the stories of all our candidates who will be going through the RICA, many of them have inspiring stories to share. Stories of how God has been real in their life, stories of how God has reached out to them in their brokenness of their own life and how God has led them out from that place and to make that decision in faith.

So today as a community let us encourage them and support them with our prayers and in their journey.

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