Homily for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

One hot summer afternoon, a woman was weeding her flower beds and pruning the plants in front of her house. The flowers were especially magnificent. 

A passerby said to the woman, "I really like those flowers." 

As she wiped the sweat from her face with a dirty hand, the woman's weary response was, "I do, too, but only when they bloom." 

The passerby thought about how many people have a similar attitude toward Church, family, work, or life in general – "I only like it when it is in full bloom and beautiful."

The passerby also thought of those necessary times of hard work – mulching, weeding, cultivating, pruning, and transplanting – as well as seasonal dormancy, which are all needed to bring about the blooms which precede the bearing of seeds and fruit. 

Our readings today all speak of burdens, of having things to do. Everyone in our readings has some purpose, some task that they are performing. In the Book of Job, the speaker is one who is lamenting his life's labors. St. Paul speaks of the burden of preaching the Gospel that has been "imposed" on him, of the stewardship entrusted to him. 

Finally, in our Gospel, we see Jesus laboring for the health and salvation of others. He performs many healings and preaches the Good News. Even the woman he heals gets up and immediately waits on those present. 

Our readings give a sense of people who are tired. Even Jesus goes off for rest and prayer after preaching and healing all day and, when his disciples tell him, "Everyone is looking for you." Jesus responds wearily, "Let us go… that I may preach. For this purpose have I come." 

Anything worthwhile in life can take a lot of labor and effort. And, at times, it may even seem to be very burdensome. But if we have a sense of why we are doing it and what we will have at the end of our labors, this keeps us going. 

In the case of the Gospel, which we are all called to preach, we labor to spread the Good News of God's kingdom to all people. It is a daunting task, especially when people don't want to hear it. And, without seeing much in the way of results, it can seem burdensome. But it is for this purpose that we have come to where we are today. It is for this purpose that we gather for Mass each Sunday. It is for this purpose that we call ourselves Catholic and Christian. It is for this purpose that we live.+