HOMILY FOR 30TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A
THEME: LOVE INSURANCE.
By; Fr Andrew Ekpenyong.
1. Best TV Advert. In recent times, the Superbowl (annual championship game of the National Football League) has been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year. No wonder it features the most expensive commercial airtime. This year, 2023, a 30-second Super Bowl commercial was a record-high average cost of $7 million. This year’s 115.1M viewership is 2nd only to the most watched US TV broadcast of all time, namely the Apollo 11 moon landing viewership of 150M. However, it was during the 2020 Superbowl that we had perhaps the best ever TV Ad of all time, presented by “New York Life”, a Life Insurance Company. Let me repeat the first 46 seconds of this 1-minute advert. “The ancient Greeks had four words for love. The first is ‘Philia’. Philia is affection that grows from friendship. Next, there’s ‘Storge’ – the kind you have for a grandparent or a brother. The third is ‘Eros,’ the uncontrollable urge to say, ‘I love you.’ The fourth kind of love is different. It’s the most admirable. It’s called ‘Agape’ – love as an action. It takes courage. Sacrifice. Strength.” The Ad ends with the proposition that providing for our loved ones when we are gone, as a form of Agape, is a life well-lived. So true. It is the best TV advert because it tells us the best way to live, just like today’s 1st reading (Ex 22:20-26), just like the love exemplified by the Thessalonians in the 2nd reading (1 Thes 1:5c-10). It tells us what the Gospel reading (Mt 22:34-40) reminds us today. The Ad correctly presents life insurance as a form of love insurance.
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2. Agape in Action. Sisters and Brothers, Agape is first of all God’s love, Divine Love, unconditional love, sacrificial love, Christian love. Agape is the love in John 3:16. Agape is the love in the Scripture Readings today. Agape is the greatest commandment in the Bible, namely, to love God and express it in action by loving Him in our neighbor. In the Gospel reading our Lord gave the Pharisees a clear answer, citing Deuteronomy 6:5 “…Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your strength”. Yes, that TV Ad was right: agape takes courage, sacrifice and strength. Then our Lord added its complementary law from Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Thus, our Lord summarized the entire sacred library in two sentences. All these hang on two loves: love of God and love of neighbor. And in one word, Agape.
3. Absence and Presence. Today’s first reading tells us clearly what will happen if we fail to show agape to our less fortunate neighbors and those neighbors pray. God will answer their prayers. Notice the examples of our less fortunate neighbors given: widows, orphans, debtors, foreigners, etc, in short, the greatest victims of the vicissitudes of life. Violence and wars are currently plaguing many parts of the world. Violence and wars are times of great and amazing agape, and also times of shocking lack of agape. In the spirit of agape, faith-based charities, the Red Cross, Red Crescent, Magen David Adom (Red Star of David), some governments, corporations, and individuals around the world are praying, speaking out, sending food and medical supplies, etc, to help those affected by these conflicts. No surprise that the largest independent humanitarian organization in the world, the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement, has two mottos involving agape, namely, “inter arma caritas” meaning “In war, charity”; and “per humanitatem ad pacem” meaning “Through humanity to peace”. They exemplify our collective love insurance for our neighbors during conflicts as in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, right now. Unfortunately, some people do turn the misfortune of others to their benefit by exploiting wars and violence for political and even economic advantage. Yet, the 2nd reading encourages us today by praising the presence of Agape in a Christian community in Thessalonica. The surest path to loving people is if our love for them is rooted in our love for God. And after we all joined Pope Francis on Friday 27th October 2023, in fasting and praying for peace, he reminded us today: “At this time, let us not allow the clouds of conflict to hide the sun of hope. Rather, let us entrust to Our Lady the urgency of peace, so that all cultures might be open to the Holy Spirit’s outpouring of harmony.” Yes, even as the clouds of conflict thicken, our Agape for God and neighbor can grow through prayer, penance and sacrifices for peace. Hatred will not have the last word. Love will always win.
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