This Sermon is prepared by
Rev.Fr.Peter Jayakanthan sss
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament
Corpus Christi Catholic Church,
Houston, Texas, US
11thSunday of Ordinary YearShelter of Love!Eze17:22-24 2Cor5:6-10 Mk4:26-34Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, we shall welcome each other as we enter into the celebration of Eucharist. The Eucharistic altar is the shelter for all, are the words of St. Peter Julian, the Apostle of the Eucharist. We come here to experience the unique and loving acceptance of our Lord. His unconditional caring keeps us, His beloved Children. We are also called to offer sheltering help to others who are lonely, separated and neglected. We will carry all the refugees throughout the world and offer them on the altar, that they may be part of the sheltering protection of our Lord.In 2014, some 160,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean to Italy, up from 42,000 in 2013….. Migrant workers encounter rejection and alienation throughout the world…. Elderly people are alienated from their big family of children…. Separated couples experience alienation from the Church… Young students under addiction or abuse, face rejection and humiliation….. All these alienated and rejected ones want the shelter of love. Being unwanted is an experience from the womb until the tomb, and is a haunting moment. The readings of this day invite us to recognize the sheltering presence of the Lord. It also challenges us to create a shelter of love around us. We have the reference to the Cedar tree in the first reading. Jehoiachin, the last king of Judah, was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, in the year 590 B.C. It was the downfall of David’s kingdom. They failed to cooperate to the call and promise of God. At the end of the Babylonian exile, the prophet Ezekiel speaks the words of the Lord, that the People of God will be led by the Eternal King, the Messiah who will offer tender love, unending mercy and shelter of love. This shelter of love is confirmed with the example of Cedar tree. It is a beautiful tree; it is a hardwood and red in color. It is used for high priced buildings, for beams, for pillars and furniture too. The Cedar tree grows up three times taller than the Oak tree. The spread of its branches can be a great refuge for all kinds of birds and animals. The Cedar tree is a powerful Old Testament image for sheltering people. It starts from a small shoot, a tiny, insignificant and unnoticed one. But it grows on its own to become a huge tree. The disfigured and distorted Israelites will be in and part of the sheltering hand of the Eternal King, the Messiah. In the Gospel, Mark addressed the Apostles with words of encouragement in their mission of taking the Gospel of Jesus to unknown places. Their task was to create the shelter of love, where all could be included. Mark also spoke this sheltering message at the time of Nero’s persecution, inviting Jewish Christians, Pagans and Roman Citizens to participate. He is assuring the God’s People of unified care and support under the one umbrella of love and acceptance. Scripture is replete with examples of the shelter God offers to His people. The Mustard seed is tiny, too little, unnoticed and hidden, yet its large bounty offers shadow and shelter for many. The birds of all kinds, will find refuge, shelter and home in the tree. Noah’s Ark was a shelter for all who accepted God’s call. Daniel’s explanation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, refers to people of different nations, who will be under the sheltering care of their king. Jesus offered shelter for humanity through salvation from the wood of the Cross. The Church is a Cedar tree and Mustard tree. Birds of all kinds represent the universal children of God, who responded through the Sacrament of Baptism and other Sacraments. The Church started with twelve men, a tiny group of Apostles; they were like the unnoticed Cedar root and hidden Mustard seed. Yet the Church has grown, giving shelter universally for people of all languages, cultures and nationalities. The Church is strong like red wood of the Cedar. The Church is generous in accepting the oppressed and the rejected like the huge Mustard tree. On his journey to Madrid, Spain for World Youth Day on August 18, 2011, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was asked by journalists about the future growth of the Church, and the participation of youth in the future. The Holy Father responded saying, “The Church grows in silence and vigorously. I know from other World Youth Days that a great many friendships were born, friendships for life; a great many experiences that God exists. And let us place trust in this silent growth, and we may be certain, even if the statistics do not tell us much, that the Lord’s seed really grows and will be for very many people the beginning of a friendship with God and with others, of a universality of thought, of a common responsibility which really shows us that these days do bear fruit.” The Tsunami of 26th December, 2004 took away life of 225,000 people from eleven countries. The loss could have been more. Paramesvaran and Choodamani couples’ son Kirubasan, daughters Rakshanya 12yo and Karunya 9yo became victims to this satanic wave while they were at the beach with their 40 year old dad, Paramesvaran. After searching for their three children by midnight Paramesvaran had found his children's bodies and the bodies of most of his relatives. He found Kirubasan "lying like a stone statue" on the beach. Rakshanya was floating face down in the ocean. The waves left Karunya's body entangled in a thorn bush. The next morning he buried his children together in a grave he dug by hand. They went through depression, suicidal thoughts, blaming each other and angry with God. One day they realized a mission while looking at more than 60 children in the village who lost their parents in the tsunami. With no one responsible for them, they wandered from house to house, relative to relative, begging for food and living under blue tarps that served as temporary shelters. Paramesvaran said, "If we would have died…I could have seen my children in this group." The couple initially took four children into their home. Over time the number has grown to 20 – six girls and fourteen boys. There are so many others, like this couple, who are shelters of love. Through the Eucharist, Christ is the shelter for all, welcoming everyone into God’s community of loving embrace. In the sheltering arms of the Cross, we experience the munificence of divine love whose total sacrifice attracts we who are poor in spirit, the refugees in the world’s community who are looking for the sheltering protection and loving acceptance of our Lord. How do we make our neighborhood and community as shelters of love, compassion and acceptance?-Amen. 
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