CYCLE I: HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 32ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
HOMILY THEME: BETTER WAY OF LIVING
BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon
HOMILY:
(Lk. 17:26-37) Friday of the Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel Jesus reveals the essence of His mission in another way. Make life here on earth as everything and you will lose it. But be willing to lose it for Jesus’ sake and you will find it. This is paradox at its height and best. By using two contrasting words, He was able to communicate His vital message which is to be worthy of the Kingdom at all cost, life included. No doubt, many will think twice of thrice before embracing this faith. But many saw through Jesus and stayed.
This is not a question of Jesus hating life which His Father had gifted us with. Life is very precious. It is God sharing part of Himself. But life, that is, life on earth, is not our ultimate destiny. Death, the end of earthly life, is part of life. It is said to be the door to the next life. Jesus instructed us to love this life on earth. It must be lived fully. In fact, it is in living this life that we fulfil the need for the next life. At a certain point, life on earth will end. At times, it will be required of us in order to profess our faith. The martyrs had that decision to make. They did and gained eternal life. If we also do, the same fate awaits us.
This teaching challenges our belief in the resurrection. It is the capacity to see life as a whole, life on earth, death, and life eternal WITH God. The way we live our lives lies on these. If we do not believe in life after death and in justice after death, most probably, we will live as free as we can be. Our lives will be governed by principles the world can offer. At most, it is a principle within limits for the world is limited.
But we see life differently as Jesus taught. While life on earth carries a big premium in life as a whole, its fullness cannot be achieved here. The mystery of life attests to this. Life is so precious that its potentials should be beyond this world. In the first place, God created us in His image and likeness. To have a part of God’s life is already a clear testimony of life’s value as a whole. Jesus did not want us to miss it. Thus, the Gospel today is a good reminder to keep our focus on the Kingdom and not be derailed and captured by the world.
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