July 4, 2010: 14th Sunday Ordinary (C)
(I'm spending time with my parents out of town, so I'm posting a small homilette. Beginning July 6th, I will begin my new assignment as the associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Denham Springs, Louisiana)
The day that Korea was freed from Japanese occupation was on August 15, 1945 after decades of occupation. My mom tells me the story of what happened to her father. He was a judge, and he was active in the independence movement. He was imprisoned by police and tortured. He became invalid, and my mom recalls taking care of him as a child.
The word 'freedom' and 'independence' in this country evoke much different connotation than what my grand father fought for. Often here, it is freedom to do something unhindered and unfettered. But for Jesus, freedom meant much like what my grand father yearned for. With Jesus' arrival, a new kind of independence dawned--freedom from slavery to sin. We can be in a 'free country' and yet enslaved to sin. We can be in the most free and wealthy country, yet we can be enslaved to sin. Our Lord is looking for men and women of my grand father's caliber to be his co-workers to bring true freedom--freedom from sin--to others. Hence he said, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."
The word 'freedom' and 'independence' in this country evoke much different connotation than what my grand father fought for. Often here, it is freedom to do something unhindered and unfettered. But for Jesus, freedom meant much like what my grand father yearned for. With Jesus' arrival, a new kind of independence dawned--freedom from slavery to sin. We can be in a 'free country' and yet enslaved to sin. We can be in the most free and wealthy country, yet we can be enslaved to sin. Our Lord is looking for men and women of my grand father's caliber to be his co-workers to bring true freedom--freedom from sin--to others. Hence he said, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."
