18 June 2023 – 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

by Fr Joachim Robert

Dear friends,

Today on the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we celebrate Father’s Day as well. And as we look at the readings of today, at the images that comes from today’s readings, we are called to ponder and reflect where the Lord invites us into. A time to look at these images and to see where the Lord leads us.

In the First Reading of today we see an image of an eagle carrying its young and in its wings. And the image of the eagle carrying its young in its wings makes us realise of the sense of security, a sense of comfort, a sense of assurance that comes together with that eagle traveling together with its young. And that image of the eagle, dear friends, is one that brings to a sense of liberation, a sense of assurance, a sense of comfort.

As we look at the Book of Exodus, we see how the people of Israel was led. And they set out on a journey again into the wilderness of Sinai and how they were gradually led to the Promised Land and in that desert, a place where there is little life and perhaps there is little nourishment to sustain life. But we know that that story speaks to us in the history of salvation of how God has led the people of Israel into the Promised Land under His wings. And as we look at our own journey of life, our own families and our own community, I am sure there has been so many ‘eagles’ in our lives who have led us out to a place of liberation.

And today as we look at Father’s Day, we come to realise of the gift of fatherhood who leads us and becomes that eagle who leads us into greener pastures. And we know that our fathers sometimes are not perfect. Some fathers who have been close to us, some fathers who are not together with us, some fathers who have to raise their children alone, some fathers who have gone before us in heaven. We have so many different types of fathers, perhaps, but we know that this fatherhood comes from the gift of our Father in heaven. And we need our fathers to become that reflection of the fatherhood of God.

In the Second Reading of today, we are reminded of how St Paul tells the people and he says:

We are still helpless when at his appointed moment, Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man, though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die.

And here we see in the Second Reading, dear friends, this gift of Jesus in our lives and the gift of forgiveness. Jesus has to come into sinful humanity so that he can bridge the gap between God and man. And as we look at the sense of reconciliation that Jesus brings about in the Second Reading of today, we know that the initiative to redeem us, to save us, comes not from us but from God. God takes the first initiative to reach out His hands to us and lift us and bring us back to that union of love to be together with Him. And that is what each and every one of us, dear friends, need to embrace. The gift of forgiveness, the gift of love, the gift of including everyone into that family of love.

And as we celebrate Father’s day today, I would like to look at three things:-
First is the aspect of Prayer.
Second is the aspect of Appreciation.
And the third, the aspect of Embracing.

As we look at the first aspect of Prayer, we need to remind ourselves that prayer plays an important role in any vocation in life. And when we are grounded in prayer, we allow that heart of God to resonate together with us so that we are able to share that love of God towards one another. And especially for fathers, dear friends, I would like to invite you to enter into that deep intimacy of prayer to be together with God. Because when you pray, you also inspire your family, you also inspire people around you to go down on their knees and to trust that there is something, there is someone beyond us.

And when I was a young boy, I used to see my father going to the grotto, going to the Blessed Sacrament to pray. And very often he does not tell us what is he praying for. And as fathers, I am sure you have so much of burdens that you have to carry to provide for the family, financial difficulties, situations that makes you realise that you are limited. And very often fathers suffer silently and they turn to God for consolation.

And as we look at fathers, we also must be reminded that fathers sometimes perhaps may not have the support system in place to nourish them, to accompany them and to inspire them. And that is why prayer becomes very, very important. As I look at my dad praying, it also made me realise of the deep connection that I need to have with God. Because when you see your father praying, coming before the Lord, something stirs in your heart to want to seek and to pray together with him.

And I am sure as families, as children, I am sure you have seen your father go through such situations of life. And for that, dear friends, I would like to ask you, especially fathers, to be connected with God, to put God at the center of your life and to pray to God for whatever struggles and challenges that you have. Entrusting your challenges to God. And as family, we also need to pray for our fathers so that they are able to be sustained by God’s grace. That they are able to reflect the heart of God in their lives, in the way they treat their families.

So the first thing is Prayer.

The second thing that we need to do, dear friends, is to Affirm them. As I mentioned just now, very often fathers suffer silently without having the support system for themselves. Because sometimes men can be quite private. And when they fall, when they make mistakes, they also need to be affirmed that they are doing the best they can to provide and sustain their families. And as they provide and sustain their families, they also need to be affirmed with their gifts, with their charisms and to allow them to grow further and further into the image of what God wants of them. And for that, they need a supportive family, they need people who are close to them to inspire them and to affirm them. And to appreciate of them as a gift towards the family.

And as for family as well, dear friends, we need to appreciate and affirm our fathers so that they are able to become the best father that they can be. And as we affirm, as we appreciate them, they come to a deeper realisation of how much they are appreciated so they can give themselves even more.

And the third thing is to Embrace. When fathers face challenges and obstacles of life, they need to be reminded that they are not facing them alone. They need to embrace those challenges and difficulties but not run away. And when you embrace those challenges and the gifts that God has blessed you with, you are able to embrace the cross because God will sustain you along the way. And as family members, as well, when you find obstacles and challenges of life, embrace them and be supportive of one another because just like how the image of the First Reading where the eagle carries its young on its wings and soars, you and I are called to support one another as family, as fathers, as children, as a community so that we can soar with that gift of faith that God has blessed us with. And for that, we will definitely face challenges. For that we will definitely face obstacles in life.

And as we look at the Gospel Reading of today, we need to remind ourselves that when we soar, when we find ourselves being led in the process of liberation, Jesus tells his disciples that because each and every one of them were chosen and they were sent. Chosen to be in the family, chosen to be sent on a mission because your family becomes a mission area for you to give and receive.

And Jesus tells his disciples:

As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, cast out devils. Received without charge and give without charge.

Perhaps we need to look at these areas, dear friends.

The first thing is to cure the sick. In our families, there may be areas of our lives that we are ill. Areas of our lives that we need to embrace and to reach out. Because when we see our family and our community sick, we need to reach out, to take that time, to spend time with those who are weak. To spend time for those who are alone. To spend time with those who are isolated. And in doing so, we are able to bring healing and to cure those who are sick within our family and our community. All of us are not doctors but when we reach out in that time and spend time together, we are able to cure and bring healing in their lives. Just by listening to them.

And the second thing that Jesus speaks to his disciples is to raise the dead. And I am sure I do not want to see someone rising from the dead. Perhaps I will run far, far away. You know but when we look at our families, when we look at our communities, there are so many people who are dead in their spirits. Perhaps they need someone to talk to. Perhaps they need someone as an inspiration for them to be led into a greater awareness of how God loves them. And we need to give them hope, we need to give them love, we need to restore their life in faith, and these are the ways that we can raise the dead, especially for those who are dead spiritually.

And the third thing is to cleanse the lepers. Even now we may have remedy or medication to cure leprosy but the way we treat one another, by the way we relate to one another can be very different. When we are indifferent to the people around us, when we are indifferent to the family members, when we are indifferent to the people around us, we have to ask ourselves do we treat people like lepers around us? Because what we need to do, dear friends, is to embrace the gift that God has blessed us and include them into the family of love, into the family of faith. And in doing so, we can cleanse the leprosy and perhaps cleanse the lepers within our hearts and our families.

Lastly is to cast out devils. And I am sure many of you are afraid to cast out devils and perhaps you want to exorcise them, exorcise the devils especially. And when we look at casting out devils, we can exorcise the devils that is present within our lives and within our families. The sense of pride, the sense of hatred, the sense of isolation, the sense of gossip that perhaps may continue to stir our hearts and colour the perception that we have in our community, in our families. And in doing so, we can cast out devils in our lives and in the lives of another. Because when we look at our own lives, dear friends, Jesus has said “You have received without charge, give without charge.” Each and every one of us have received the mercy and the blessings of God in our lives. And we need to give that freely without conditions.

And let us pray, let us pray for fathers especially today that as they grow in that awareness and they become reflections of God’s love and mercy, that they will continue to grow in the awareness of who they are as chosen by God to be in their families and that family becomes a mission for them to nurture and carry together with them. Just like the eagle who carries its young, fathers too have to carry the family and the children together with them so that they can soar. To lead them from a place of bondage to a place of liberation.

So I would like to ask you. Again, three things I mentioned. Can remember? The first thing is Prayer, second is Appreciate and Affirm and the third is Embrace.

So let us pray, dear friends, that we may pray together with our fathers, to appreciate them and the gifts of one another and to learn to embrace them. So when you go back, pray, appreciate and give them a hug when you get back home.

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