FR. GERALD MUSA HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II (1)

FR. GERALD MUSA HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II

THEME: SPEAKING IN PARABLES

BY: FR GERALD M. MUSA

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY JULY 21 2022

A parable is a short story from everyday life, pointing to a deep moral lesson. It explains a religious principle and reveals the character of God or the nature of his kingdom. A parable uses familiar ideas or stories to explain unfamiliar complex realities. Simply put, parables are earthly stories with a heavenly meaning. For example, the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches about the love of neighbour and the Parable of the Prodigal Son points to God’s mercy. Jesus says, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:13).

Jesus spoke in parables to simplify the truths of the kingdom of God. He was speaking to people who showed apathy and nonchalance towards his teaching, yet he communicated the good news effectively. A preacher Brian Mclaren describes Jesus’ communication expertise succinctly. He says, “Jesus was short on sermons, long on conversations; short on answers, long on questions; short on abstraction and propositions, long on stories and parables; short on telling you what to think, long on challenging you to think for yourself.” Our intellectual pride, moral deafness, and spiritual blindness are obstacles to listening and understanding the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven which Jesus communicates through scriptures. What extra effort do we make in trying to have a profound understanding of the compelling truths contained in the parables?

MATTHEW 13:10-17