Homily 23rd Sunday Ordinary Time C (Partial)
Fr. Paul D. Williams, Jr., St. Joseph's, Dalton
“Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.'”
Let's look at this parable from God’s perspective. God wanted to build a tower. The tower is the Kingdom of Heaven, which would bring about the Salvation of the people he loved, us, even though we had sinned. He sat down to calculate the cost, and while theologians say that there are many ways in which God could have saved us, he chose the most perfect way, the way that would show us the infinite depth of his love. He chose to become one of us. So, the Word was made Flesh, God became Man, Jesus Christ was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus is the foundation, the cornerstone of the tower that is the Kingdom of Heaven. As St. Peter said, 1 Peter 2:4-7, “Come to Jesus, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God.”
By becoming one of us, Jesus then shared with us his life and teaching, the path to salvation, the path to our place in the Kingdom of Heaven. But he wanted us to cooperate with him in building this tower, so he founded the Church, which would continue his mission to all peoples in all ages. St. Peter described it this way, “like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it says in scripture: "Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame."”
And God is not like the foolish builder in the parable, who did not plan well enough to complete the tower. So Jesus made a few promises to see that his plan would be fulfilled. First, he said, Matthew 16:18-19, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven."” In doing this, he gave his Church authority and promised that even the gates of hell would not conquer it. How would this happen? He promised to send a helper, an Advocate, the Holy Spirit. In John’s Gospel he says, almost anticipating the tough journey that lay ahead for the Church, John 16:12-13, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.” The Holy Spirit would be with the Church to guide it to all truth in the midst of the confusion and perplexity of the modern world. Finally, in his great commission at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus said, Matthew 28:18-20, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” He sent the Apostles out to continue building the Tower, the Kingdom of Heaven, and most importantly, he promised to be with us always, especially in the teachings of and sacraments of the Church.
