HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 25TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II
THEME: A ‘Timed’ Response
BY: Deacon Bill Frere
HOMILY FOR MONDAY SEPTEMBER 19 2022
Gospel – Luke 8:16-18
We took advantage of a brief lull in our activities last weekend and did a quick get-away up to Wisconsin to charge our mental batteries. Of course, nothing is ever that simple and, as with any vacation, there is always a bit of packing and planning in order to make it all actually happen. Part of my job is to set the lights in the house with timers so that, to the outside world, the house remains inhabited. Not a big deal; I am sure most of you do the same. Imagine that! We all have the ability to turn our lights on and off. We can even preset times in the future to turn them on and off. How convenient is that!
However, with Jesus, it is not that simple! Jesus teaches us, in today’s Gospel, that our faith cannot be hidden away under a basket. We have to let it shine for all to see. Faith should not have an on/off switch, where we can choose when to show our faith and when not. Faith also doesn’t come with a timer. We can’t just preset our faith to just click on for an hour or so and then switch off. Think Sunday Mass for example! We can’t just decide I will let my light of faith shine for a couple of hours and then ignore it and hide it away.
Our faith is a light that must stay lit no matter what! There are no on/off switches and no timers! We are not called to be part-time Christians! Throughout our entire life, our faith lights the way!
