(Please read this Scripture passage first, before the homily.)
Perhaps they will listen! I wonder if we all live in a perhaps times. The prophet Jeremiah had to deliver a message in the very temple of the Lord. Perhaps they would listen and the disaster threatened not befall them. Perhaps and if only are words often spoken after a disaster. If only the people of Jesus’ hometown had recognized the Spirit at work in Jesus, they would have listened and witnessed healing and other mighty deeds, but they did not.
Perhaps or if only we would have used masks, we would long ago have conquered the coronavirus. Perhaps if we had eaten much less ice cream we would not have gained so much weight. If only we had spoken different words or words in a different way, the relationships that we have or had might have been different.
Shiloh was once a religious center for the Israelites. It was the place where the prophet Samuel grew up. It eventually was destroyed, when, how and why we do not know. In our reading Shiloh had become as example of what could happen to Jerusalem. If only the people had listened, Jerusalem would not have been destroyed.
To threaten the destruction of Jerusalem was considered an attack on the priests who ministered to the Lord in the Temple of Jerusalem. To prophesy the destruction of Jerusalem in the name of the Lord was to call all the other prophets liars. It also seems that the people were not very happy with Jeremiah. A trial did take place, but Jeremiah was not sentenced to death.
While God does have the power to destroy and condemn, God much prefers to forgive and repair. God calls us to repentance and offers us forgiveness. Our God is a God of compassion and kindness. If only we would cultivate the same compassion and kindness God has shown us with others. If only we would use the strength Jesus used, we would all be in better shape, physically, mentally and spiritually.
Perhaps and if only are words that can express judgment against others, but they can also expect hope. Perhaps, or if only, we would pay heed to the voice of the Lord, we would have less anxiety or worry about the future, do less sinning, open more doors to others, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Perhaps, if only Father Vincent would not be so wordy, we could get started listening and doing better sooner. So I end and so you go out and do what you have heard.