HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME OF YEAR B

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME OF YEAR B

THEME: The leprosy left the man at once, and he was cured.

BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA

READINGS OF THE DAY
1 Samuel 4:1-11
Psalm 43:10-11,14-15,24-25
Mark 1:40-45

LITURGICAL COLOUR
GREEN

INTRODUCTION
Good morning my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time of Year B.

FROM OUR FIRST READING
In our first reading today, we heard the story of the struggles between the Israelites and the Philistines. At that time, the Philistines were ravaging through the lands of the Israelites, raiding and attacking through the towns and villages of Israel, and putting the Israelites under their dominion. But under the Judge Samson, the Israelites had struggled and thrown the yoke of the Philistines, although as shown here, the Israelites and the Philistines are still struggling for dominance, which led to this account on what happened at the Battle of Aphek. At that great battle between the Israelites and the Philistines, the Israelites were beaten after a fierce fighting, and the elders of the Israelites argued that if they were to bring the Ark of the Covenant with them into the battle, then God would fight by their side, and win the battle for them.

FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
It may strike us as strange that having healed the leper in today’s gospel reading, Jesus sternly orders him, ‘Mind you say nothing to anyone’. Apart from going to the priest in the Temple in Jerusalem, the healed man was not to tell anyone what Jesus had done for him. Why wouldn’t Jesus want everyone to know that he had performed this powerful work? Perhaps he was aware that if people came to hear of his reputation as a healer, they would start to follow him for the wrong reasons. They would follow him not for who he was in himself but for what he could do for them. Jesus was happy for whatever good he might do for someone to remain below the radar. He knew that his healing and life-giving ministry would bear its own good fruit, without it having to be trumpeted abroad.

CONCLUSION
Dear brethrens, this is often how the Lord continues to work today. He works through someone in the service of others and the good that is done often remains below the radar. So much of the good that is done in the world is like that. It doesn’t become widely known. Sometimes it is only after someone dies that people become aware of all the good the person did. Yet, every act of service done out of love for someone bears its own good fruit, in the life of the one serving and the one being served, and, very often, in the lives of many other people who are impacted indirectly by this act of service. We can learn from Jesus in the gospels to be faithful to the good work the Lord may be asking us to do, without using it to promote ourselves in any way.
The Lord be with You!

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