Catholic Homily for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B
Theme: “You are my inheritance, O Lord!”
By: Rev. Fr. Anthony O. EZEAPUTA.
Homily for Sunday November 14 2021
St. Paul coined the term “typology” in Romans 5:14 when he referred to Adam as a “type” of Christ. Typological reading of the Bible is a method of interpreting the signs in the Bible in order to reveal the history of salvation. It is the process by which a person or thing, or event from the Old Testament foreshadows a greater person, thing, or event in the New Testament. “The one ark of Noah was a type of the one Church. If then, in that baptism of the world thus expiated and purified, he who was not in the ark of Noah could be saved by water, he who is not in the Church to which alone baptism is granted, can also now be quickened by baptism,” writes Saint Cyprian.
Today’s responsorial psalm (16:5, 8, 9-10, 11) uses typology to speak of the covenant relationship with God and the confidence that comes with it. The psalmist expresses this relationship through two images: the allotted portion of land and the cup. “O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot” (Psalm 16:5).
The allotted portion of land is the inheritance given to each tribe and passed down from generation to generation. This land provided an identity, a sense of belonging, sustenance, and prosperity for the people. It implies that the people didn’t have a future and wouldn’t be able to survive if they didn’t have land. As a result, “the allotted portion of land” is considered a valuable asset for each tribe.
Naboth, for example, declares in 1Kgs 21:3 that he will not sell his “ancestral inheritance.” The implication is that Naboth inherited his vineyard, the land requested by King Ahab, from his father, who inherited it from his father, and so on. Thus, Naboth is adamant about not losing his connection to his forefathers and the means of his survival to King Ahab.
The psalmist implies with the image of “the allotted portion of land”, that God has taken the place and the importance of “ancestral inheritance” in the religious consciousness of the people. The LORD is now associated with the blessings and promises that were previously associated with land.
The second image is the cup. This represents the communal cup that was passed around and drank from by all. This action cemented the bond between those who drank from the common cup. When this action occurred during a cultic meal, those present were united not only with one another, but also with the deity. According to the psalmist, the LORD is actually this unifying cup. In other words, the psalmist is joined so closely with God as almost to defy separation.
The allotted portion of land” and “the cup,” foreshadow the covenant relationship we should have with God and the blessings that come with it. Because of our covenant with God, we have an identity, a sense of belonging, sustenance, and prosperity. God is the ground for our existence. “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Without coming into communion with Jesus Christ, we have no future and will perish. As a result, the psalmist proclaims, “You are my inheritance, O Lord!”