As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Church
Tobit
4:5-11,16-21; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 11:25-30
Last week Br
Luke challenged us to realize we are also commissioned by Christ to continue
the work He was given by his Father. How do we proclaim this new life Jesus
taught to all who believe?
Jane Goodall,
who died last year on October 1, 2025, after spending her life first studying
and then protecting Chimpanzees, has been quoted as having said, “We will have
to evolve, all of us, from ordinary human beings into saints… or at least
mini-saints.” St Francis, whose feast we celebrate today, reminded his
followers that we are to be extensions and partners of the Source of goodness.
We serve as conduits, channels through which the love of God is given to all with
whom we come into contact. Created in God’s image, our fulfillment comes about
when we allow the likeness of God to develop in us.
How do we do
that?
The word of
God is not revealed to us in a flash. Answers to our questions leave us
wondering and wanting more. God’s word
is an invitation to go deeper. Jesus
said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens… learn from
me; for I am gentle and humble of heart… for my yoke is easy and my burden is
light.” This morning’s Gospel reading
Part of
wisdom is recognizing the limitations of our knowledge and understanding in
dealing with the ultimate meaning of life. Wisdom manifests itself through
humility.
Humility teaches
us that we are not masters of our own destiny, nor can we control what happens
around us. In accepting all of ourselves and our experiences, including
suffering and failure, we learn to truly trust God. We can take each day and
each moment as it comes, and seek to find our own life-giving path.
How do we
allow the likeness of God to develop within us?
We can reflect
that it is a gift from God to realize that God is Love. How many other
gifts do we recognize as God’s gift to us? Our own ability to love others is a
gift. It is a gift to know that we are
part of all humanity. When we pray, we are praying for all other humans who
exist—for what we consider the bad as well as the good within everyone. All humans are my brothers and sisters. Allowing
ourselves to show anger or impatience towards another is hardly a way of being
that conduit of love to which we are commanded.
Those who scheme, hoard, withhold,
and store up excess for themselves alone, who attempt to collect and keep
everything for themselves, are motivated by fear, selfishness, and a disbelief
in the providence and love of God. Seeing ourselves as we really are,
rather than what we wish to be, is a suffering. It can make us bitter or blame another,
or it can help us be humble and turn to God for help. Besides noticing all the things
we consider good in humanity and in creation itself, we may come to realize that
even our sufferings are gifts.
Christ is in
our midst!
