16TH THURSDAY HOMILY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
16TH THURSDAY HOMILY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: ME-FIRST PEOPLE
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul
2 Corinthians 4:7-15, Ps. 126:1-6, Matthew 20:20-28
She said to him, “Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”
Good parents desire the best for their children. They want their happiness. They pray for their career success. So in today’s Gospel (Matthew 20:20-28), the mother of James and John approaches Jesus, who is making His journey to Jerusalem with the twelve, with the request that both sons be given the immediate positions on the right and left sides of Jesus’ throne. This request is coming at the time Jesus is talking about the suffering proximately coming up in Jerusalem.
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The mother of the sons of Zebedee does not show any consideration for the other ten and what should be their gains if her sons were to take the two highest positions. Perhaps her mind is fixed on family affiliation and thinks of family interest first. And this is always the case with negative ambition. It does not care about the plight of others. It is self-centered. Negative ambition rides on the pains of others.
The other ten get angry, and rightly so with this request. It shows no consideration for their plight and sacrifice. However, they do not yet understand that with Jesus, everyone has a place.
There are ‘Me-First People’ who predicate their ambition on certain selfish reasons. They are not concerned about who is offended or hurt. Sometimes, we walk through things in life that we wish we never have to. We have to face grief, illness, broken hearts, conflict, loneliness, etc. Sadly enough, the people we look up to for consolation could be more interested in other unrelated businesses; they just do not care about what we are going through.
Sometimes, brothers and sisters fight over family assets while their father is helpless in the hospital. Or do we talk about those who use the sorrowful conditions of others as means of conducting business? There are people who pretend to be helping deceased family while making serious money out of their sympathetic condition. Like Jesus, we must still bear with people who do not care about our pains. It is not abnormal to be left alone by friends and family members when in suffering. We only pray for the courage to face whatever we can’t change.
In a society where favour is granted, jobs given, contract awarded, etc, based on friendship, family bond, and connections, we need not get angry like the ten when we are neglected. God will give us what should be ours. If you are a ‘me first’ person, here are some verses of Scripture that are designed to keep you on your toes and your knees! ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but…to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 2:3-5). That is how Jesus treated people, and you have been called to do likewise. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. God bless you and your household always through Christ Our Lord Amen. You remain in my prayers.
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