Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A: January 27, 2008

Given by the Most Reverend Stephen E. Blaire at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Stockton.

The great prophet Isaiah, who lived about 700 years before Jesus, described an area of land known as Naphtali and Zebulun, as a place of anguish, darkness and distress. This was probably due to foreign invaders who ruled in an oppressive manner and introduced pagan elements into the religious practice of the peoples. But Isaiah was not a man of gloom. He prophesied that there would be a new ruler and a new age. A bright light would shine, there would be an abundance of joy and the people would make merry. Matthew presents Jesus as this new light, who comes from Nazareth to begin this new and final age of the world. He is the messiah, the anointed one of God, the Son of God. “From that time on,” Matthew says, “Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

In some ways the world of today is not terribly different from the world at the time of Isaiah and Jesus. People still experience anguish. People are filled with anxieties of all sorts. People hurt and know suffering. There is no light in the darkness of greed and crime and violence. There is extensive distress. But it is into this darkness that a great light has come: a bright light which offers hope for the world, a light that illuminates more than we can imagine or even see with just human eyes. There is a reason for living. There is a purpose to our human experience, and we can even find redemption in our suffering. All is not lost to gloom and despair, even if the stock market is turbulent.

Matthew presents the light that has arisen, Jesus the Christ. He presents Him as teacher, as herald of the kingdom, and as the one who heals. “Jesus,” Matthew says, “went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.” What we have here is a summary of the ministry of Jesus and of the work entrusted to the Church. The Church has a mission to the world to teach the way of God. All of us, each in our own way, are called to be engaged in this great enterprise of evangelization. Jesus is our teacher and we are his disciples. The kingdom of heaven is not just the heaven of future life, but is the reality of God’s presence in the world of today, a dynamic presence which sustains all creation in its existence and a presence of mercy and love. God is a personal God deeply involved in our lives. Without God we can do nothing. With God we can bring healing and comfort to those who suffer and hurt. We can bring Christ to them and in doing so we will find Christ in them.

Our world desperately needs the light of Christ and we can be that light for we are indeed the body of Christ.

This morning it is my privilege to recognize one of the priests of our diocese who has spent the many years of his priestly ministry bringing the light of the gospel into so many people’s lives, Monsignor Robert Silva. He is a very talented and capable pastor of the Church. In his early years he built a very successful campus ministry at the University of the Pacific; he worked as an administrator at Theological College in Washington DC; he has served as Pastor of St. Patrick’s in Sonora, Presentation and the Cathedral in Stockton. For two terms he was elected president of the National Federation of Priest Councils. Currently he is the Diocesan Director of Continuing Education and Formation of our Clergy and lay leaders. Our Holy Father Benedict XVI has appointed him as a Chaplain to His Holiness, with the title of Monsignor.

Last Update January 29, 2008