HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF LENT.
THEME: Jesus and Beelzebul the prince of darkness.
BY: Fr. Deotatious Chikontwe, SMA.
*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Jeremiah 7:23-28
Psalm 94:1-2,6-9
Luke 11:14-23
*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
PURPLE
*FROM OUR FIRST READING*
In today’s first reading, God, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, complains that his people have not been listening to him; they have not been paying attention to what he has been saying to them. Listening to the Lord is always at the core of our relationship with him. In the words of today’s responsorial psalm, ‘O that, today, you would listen to his voice’.
*FROM OUR GOSPEL READING*
In the gospel reading, Jesus encounters the same resistance that God complains of in the first reading. On this occasion, the resistance takes the form of a refusal to see more than a refusal to listen. Jesus had been healing the sick. Some of the people were amazed at what Jesus was doing, seeing it for what it was, a sign of God’s presence. However, there were others who saw what Jesus was doing as the work of Satan rather than the work of God. ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils’. They looked at what Jesus was doing but they did not see it for what it really was. Instead, what they saw was the polar opposite of what it actually was.
*CONCLUSION*
When it comes to our relationship with the Lord, seeing is as important as listening. The Lord is always engaging with us, communicating with us, in different ways. He speaks to us and he shows himself to us in a whole variety of ways. We constantly need a listening ear and a seeing eye in the Lord’s regard. We need ears and eyes that is open to the many ways the Lord communicates with us. We might pray for such open eyes and ears this Lent.
RELATED: HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF LENT
*LET US PRAY*
Lord, help me to accept your miracles in my life so that my life will give you glory in my actions, words, and thoughts. Do not let me be blind to the force of your love in the world. I know you are stronger than Satan. I want to be in your camp. I want to be rescued from the clutches of sin by the omnipotence of your love.
FOR MORE HOMILIES CLICK >>>>>
