HOMILY FOR 3RD WEDNESDAY OF LENT — YEAR A
HOMILY FOR 3RD WEDNESDAY OF LENT — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: “PROSPERITY GOSPEL”
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
ALSO RECOMMENDED: HOMILY FOR 3RD WEDNESDAY OF LENT
The final words of Jesus before He ascended to heaven are imperative: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15). Every Christian, therefore, is duty-bound to proclaim the Gospel. Understandably, this is no easy task. One of the great challenges in proclaiming God’s Word is how to make sure it remains attractive and acceptable to people of today. We are aware of the various distractions in the world: the spread of the spirit of materialism and egoism, the rapid proliferation of erroneous teachings and worldly values and the extensive use of technological gadgets in every aspect of societal and personal life.
All these contribute to the weakening of moral and spiritual values among the people. As a result, many of them are losing interest in the spiritual and divine realities such as the sacraments and the Word of God.
Due to this situation, many pastors have fallen into the temptation of watering down the Gospel, making it less demanding to make it more attractive and acceptable to their listeners. Consequently, there is the emergence, among others, of the “Prosperity Gospel.” This is the reason why many preachers on TV, or the so called televangelists, are very successful in attracting followers. They preach only about what people want to hear, that is, the nice bits of the Gospel, taking away any reference to the Cross or the demands of true discipleship.
An English Christian evangelist, Leonard Ravenhill, rightly puts it: “The early Church was married to poverty, prisons and persecutions. Today, ‘the church’ is married to prosperity, personality and popularity.” Many people treat God’s Word and His commandments similar to how a student deals with his teacher or a patient his physician. When the professor is strict and demanding, the student just simply drops the subject and look for another mentor. When the doctor puts a patient on strict diet and change of lifestyle, he is likely to lose him to a more lenient physician.
This cannot, however, be the case with the Word of God. It is immutable, whether people like it or not: “Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.”
Clearly, then, it is a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ matter, with one’s eternal destiny at stake. Hence, no one has the right or the power to change or modify it, not even one letter of it: “Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.”
May the Lord grant us the grace to be truly faithful to God’s Word and His commands, no matter how demanding and difficult they may be, knowing that this is the only way to attain eternal happiness and glory in His Kingdom. Pope Benedict XVI urges us: “Become familiar with the Bible so that it can be your compass pointing out the road to follow.”
FOR A SIMILAR HOMILY, CLICK HERE >>>>>
Dear friends in Christ, Your support for the past 12years has kept us going. We ask you to support us with your donations to enable us to upset our “annual bills”. Our priests are willing to offer Holy Masses for your Private Intentions. May you Click on “Next”, or the “Donate” button to get started. God bless you!!!
