HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME. (2)

HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME.

THEME: GOD IS WITH US.

BY: Fr. Paul Karabari.

“And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour.”

Sometimes we need God to show up and remind us of our identity. When in the First Reading of today (Judges 6:11 – 24a), the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and called him to save Israel from the Midianites, Gideon was in a negative state of mind. The Midianites had been oppressing Israel, and Gideon found himself having to sort out the wheat in the winepress to stay safe. He wondered whether God had deserted them. But the angel reminded him of two things:

1) His identity. Before Gideon had even said a word, the angel spoke words of identity over Gideon. He said: “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour.” This is prophetic, as Gideon did go on to become a mighty warrior who, with God’s help, won battles. But it’s also worth remembering that our identity in Christ doesn’t change just because we’re going through tough circumstances. Gideon might have been having to hide away from the Midianites, but God still called him a ‘mighty man valour’.

2) God was with him. When the angel told him that he was going to save Israel, he responded with excuses about why he wasn’t qualified for the job. He said: ‘How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’ God replied: ‘I will be with you.’ God reminded him that it was not the power of the one being sent that would win the battle, but of the One sending him. Wherever God takes us, He promises to be with us, strengthening us and helping us to win our spiritual battles.

When we are facing something tough, we need to rely on God’s strength, not ours. On our own we might feel weak, but with God we are strong. There is a popular saying that God won’t give us more than we can handle. But sometimes it is more than we can handle, because God’s trying to show us that we need to rely on His strength. In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul talks about the troubles they experienced in Asia. He writes: ‘We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead’ (8-9). We will all go through situations that make us cling to God, because without Him we wouldn’t get through them. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. God bless you and your household always through Christ Our Lord Amen. Good morning.

FOR MORE HOMILIES CLICK >>>>>