MONDAY 30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A - HOMILY

MONDAY 30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A – HOMILY

THEME OF THE HOMILY: Was it not right to untie this woman’s bonds on the sabbath day?

By: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA

READINGS OF THE DAY
Romans 8:12-17
Psalm 67:2,4,6-7,20-21
Luke 13:10-17

LITURGICAL COLOUR
GREEN

INTRODUCTION
Good morning dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate Monday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A.

FROM OUR FIRST READING
In our first reading today, Paul the apostle highlights how the people have been liberated from the tyranny and dominion of sin, by the power and grace of God. Hence, since the people of God had been adopted by Him to be His own beloved sons and daughters, they are no longer subjected to sin and its power and dominion, and consequently, they all should live their lives henceforth according to the path which the Lord Himself has shown to them, in obeying His Law and commandments, and in doing what is right, virtuous and just in the sight of God and mankind alike. All of us, as God’s beloved people, should have true and genuine faith in Him, and show proper understanding and appreciation of what God’s Law and commandments are, and how we should live our lives faithfully according to them.

FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus heals a woman who had been disabled for eighteen years. Her immediate response to Jesus’ healing touch was to praise God. ‘At once she straightened up, and she glorified God’. The response of the synagogue official to the woman’s being freed from her infirmity stands in very sharp contrast to the response of the woman herself. The gospel reading says that he was indignant at Jesus because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. The woman’s praise of God, recognizing that it was God who had worked through Jesus, stands over against the synagogue leader’s indignation at Jesus. It is clear from Jesus’ very critical address to the synagogue official which of the two responses he considered the more appropriate. The official should have joined with the woman in praising God for what Jesus had done rather than give vent to his indignation at Jesus.

CONCLUSION
The gospel reading is reminding us that God’s life giving work in the world can be perceived very differently by different people. God’s working in our midst through his Son can bring some people to praise God and others to indignation and great annoyance. The woman recognized God’s presence because her need was great; the official was blind to it because he was too certain about what he considered to be God’s will. We are more likely to recognize the ways that God is at work in our midst when we too are aware of our need of God and our relative ignorance before the mystery of God’s ways.

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