Homily
Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Ordinary Time
27 January 2010
Holy Spirit Parish
Year for Priests

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David wants to do more for the Lord than the Lord commanded him to do. He wants to build a temple for the ark of the covenant, and for the Lord who has done great things for David. It is an honorable intention, except for one thing. David forgets to ask the Lord if this is what he desires. David does not ask the Lord for permission. Part of being obedient to the Lord is always asking before someone does something. There is no way for David to surprise the Lord, who sees everything. He should have asked, and since he didn't, the Lord has to chastise David for being disobedient. David's intentions are good, except that they take him outside of God's will for him. David should know that what the Lord desires is better and more fruitful than what David desires, for it the by the power of the Lord that David had won all his many victories. David, remembering this, should have praised God for his past mighty deeds, and asked for his permission to build a temple, rather than presuming the Lord's will. Like us, David is a disciple, a follower. Followers must always stay behind their leaders.

Jesus points out to his closest disciples that they are the privileged ones to whom he is explaining the mysteries of the kingdom of God. For everyone else, there will be no shortcuts, because shortcuts are not good for them. If the Lord had been with his apostles longer, he could have spoken to them in parables as well, drawing out from them over time the understanding of the Kingdom. Yet time is of some importance. Jesus must ready those closest apostles for the paschal mystery to be accomplished in Jerusalem. They must have the interpretive keys for what is about to take place, so that they can hand on the Gospel to others. For everyone else, Jesus speaks to them in parables. He does this because the things we most value in life, are the things we have to work for. A PhD is more valuable than a gold star on our first spelling test. Winning a great upset against a formidable foe is more valuable than beating up on someone inferior to you. So too with the mysteries of the kingdom, which we are to value and to pursue above all things. There are no shortcuts to understanding God, whose thoughts are so far above our thoughts. There are no cliff's notes for knowing his ways, which are so far above our ways. We will be rewarded insofar as we become good soil, in which the mysteries of the kingdom can take root and bear fruit. +m