Homily: June 23, 2024, Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (New creation)

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 “So, whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Old is gold. Many products in the past were created by skilled craftsman, they were made with pride and made to last a long time. Many old memories were filled with innocence and simple pleasures. Friendships that can last the test of time are treasures, valuable as gold.

However, nowadays, many things and devices are made to be replaced, because if they last too long, businesses will not get new sales and will not survive. Even relationships develop into intimacy very fast but break up even faster, because people look for immediate gratification and have no patience to grow together. Memories are made up of more regrets than rewards. The pace of life is so fast that everything is new, because there is no time for anything to stay long enough to become old. Disposables are now so common, acceptable and practical.

But then again, is old always good? Not everything.

And is everything new bad? Not always.

My computer was serving me well, but my nieces and nephews complained that it was too slow. I was a slow user, so to me, it was okay. Then it broke down. Now my new computer is fast, and I am loving it because I can get more work done in a shorter time. If the old didn’t go, I would not have gotten the new and better equipment.

But not everything old needs to be replaced. We are restoring our one-century-old pipe organ. With some effort and careful work, this grand old treasure can become as good as new again. I can’t wait to see the result. I mean, I can’t wait to hear it.

For us humans, we are made for eternity. God did not intend us to break down, be replaceable nor disposable. Everyone of us is valuable to Him and made to last forever. However, with the presence of sin, we forget our purpose, our life becomes dull and dark, our existence is threatened by death. We need to be restored, to be renewed, to be redeemed.

Jesus is our Redeemer.

Thus St. Paul says: “So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Jesus has come to restore, renew and redeem us. When we encounter Christ and begin to live in Him as He lives in us, we will detest and detach from our sinful past and be restored to new life. We become a new creation in Christ.

A friend of mine used to make a lot of money singing at the bars, earning hundreds of dollars just from tips every weekend. He was also drinking heavily along with the job. And he was not happy with his life.

One day he attended a retreat at St. Anthony’s and experienced the profound love of Jesus. That encounter moved him so much that he decided he would never again sing at bars but would dedicate all his singing only to the Lord. Without being paid much, and never even a tip, yet he found deep satisfaction and fulfilment singing for the Lord. And to this day, he continues to serve at his parish church strumming and singing joyfully for the past eight years. He is a new creation living a new life in Christ, for Christ.

Have you encountered Jesus?

Are you detached from your sinful past?

Are you living as a new creation in Christ?

Many of you are cradle Catholics like I am. We have been baptized since young, but we might not have personally encountered Jesus. We obey the commandments, avoid sin, keep up our obligatory duties and devotions, but our faith life could be stagnant, our spirit has become dull. We need a renewal.

How?

Let us look at the Gospel text for an answer.

After calming the storm, Jesus asked His disciples, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”

The disciples were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

The disciples lived physically with Jesus day-in and day-out, and saw with their own eyes everything He did, yet they did not have the eyes of faith to see clearly who Jesus truly is, not just to the world, but to each of them personally.

When we understand who Jesus is to us personally, we would know who we are to Him and what He wants of us, how He wants us to live. What next?

We would want to leave our past and do all we can to live life according to our Lord’s wishes. We would never want to displease Him again. We would do anything and everything for the love of our Lord.

Once, a media reporter saw Mother Teresa cleaning a leper and commented, “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.”

Mother Teresa agreed, “Neither would I, but I would gladly do it for Christ.”

How can we ever know Jesus personally?

Call on the Holy Spirit. Sincerely pray and ask the Holy Spirit to come into your life, to make real His presence, to let you encounter the person of Christ, to know and love Him. And then you will want to serve Him.

When we know who Jesus is to us, we will want to be a new creation in Him, we will do everything for Him with great joy, we will live totally for him, as He lives fully in us.

He wants that to happen, very much. How much do you want it too?

Amen.


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Homily, Wednesday,January 5, 2022, Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop

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