Gospel-Homily for Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time (2025)

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At the peak of his career, when he was beating the competition, Tiger Woods decided to change his swing. He went against the rule that we all follow: If it is not broken, don’t fix it. But Mr. Woods learned a new swing and became a better golfer: if you want to do something really well, like play golf, then you will want to hang out with someone who does it better. That is why Tiger Woods’ son is such a great golfer. I am sure it is not easy for him to be tutored by the best, but then again, he gets all the secrets and the tricks of the master.

I had a similar experience. When I was in the seminary, I learned to read Hebrew.  I then took a course on reading the Hebrew Bible.

I was excited about the course and was the first one in the classroom on opening day. Shortly after I arrived, nine guys a bit older than I was came in. I asked them, “Are you learning Hebrew? One of then told me, not exactly. We are doctorate students from Jerusalem. Our first language is Hebrew.” “Oh no,” I thought. “This is not good.” After class, I went to the professor and told him that I was going to drop the class because I did not want to drag the class down. “I am over my head, and that it would be better if I dropped the class.” The professor said to me, “If you really want to learn Hebrew and you wish to deepen your knowledge of Scripture, you will want to stay.” I did, but it was not easy.

A year later, I enrolled in another Hebrew reading class. One of the students was having a hard time translating a passage from Isaiah. Isaiah’s Hebrew is notoriously difficult. I said to him, “The verb you are translating is an intransitive verb. It doesn’t have an object, and while you are at it, add the verb ‘to be’ because it is passive.” The guy asked me, “Where did you learn your Hebrew?”  I replied, “If you hung out with a class full of guys from Jerusalem who speak Hebrew as a first language for a whole semester, you would learn it pretty fast.” 

In the Letter to the Hebrews, Christ does not take away our cross. Instead, he teaches how to carry it with results. Because that is the way to greatness, it is not easy to listen to Christ, but if we listen to his teachings all the time, we will get all the secrets.