How to Shop at the Bible Pharmacy.
Sunday, December 15, 2019 homily by Father François Beyrouti, Ph.D./D.Th.
Colossians 3:4-11. Luke 14:16-24.
Sunday of the Forefathers. The Gospel of the Great Feast.
Homily.
The pharmaceutical industry is very profitable because it produces a remedy or a soother for every kind of sickness and discomfort that we may be feeling. There are medicines for everything from a headache to the worst kinds of sickness. All we have to do is make sure we take the right remedy. If we have a headache, a pill for indigestion won’t help. The importance of picking the right remedy for our sickness may be obvious when it comes to our bodies, but sometimes it is less obvious when it comes to our soul.
The Bible is like a pharmacy. There are many lessons in it that both teach and soothe us. That is why it is important to read the Bible every day so that we are familiar with everything God wants us to know. By doing that we will know where to go in the Bible if something specific is troubling us.
There are specific sections in the Bible that will help us if we are feeling lonely, tired, angry, anxious, or hurt. For example, Psalm 23:4. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” You may also want to remember Matthew 11:28. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
When you read the Bible write down or memorize verses that help you through the different situations you are going through because the Bible has a remedy for everything we are going through. Best of all, this pharmacy is always open, always offers us comfort and direction, costs nothing, and there never any negative side-effects to the Bible pharmacy.
However, the Bible is a pharmacy but not a smorgasbord where we pick and choose from a few favorite verses and overlook the ones that really challenge us. That is why it is important to know the entire message of the Bible to help us balance all our life situations.
Around the major feast-days of the Church, the Sunday readings are selected to highlight what we are celebrating. The Church is like a good doctor who writes a specific prescription and leaves it up to us to take action.
For example, today’s Gospel reading is about a man who gave a supper and invited many. What we would expect to be a happy story ends up also containing many sad elements. We would expect that if this generous man invited many people, we would be hearing a story about how many people came, how much of a good time they had, and how grateful they were for being invited.
Instead, we read about how those who were invited made excuses for why they could not come. The Gospel tells us: “The first said to him, ‘I have bought a farm, and I must go out and see it; I pray you hold me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am on my way to try them; I pray you hold me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come’ ” (Luke 14:16-20).
Since the supper was ready, the man who had sent the invitation ended up inviting and welcoming those who were not initially invited and whom he was not expecting.
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