HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT. (2)

HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT.

THEME: As Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be a sign.

BY: Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA

*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Jonah 3:1-10
Psalm 50:3-4,12-13,18-19
Luke 11:29-32

*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
PURPLE

*FROM OUR FIRST READING*
In our first reading today, we heard how God sent Jonah to the great city of Nineveh to proclaim to the people about their doom and upcoming destruction.
The people of Nineveh listened to the prophet Jonah’s words and believed in him. As we heard, from the king all the way to the humblest and least of the servants, all repented from their sinful ways and showed publicly their sign of repentance and regret from their many sins, with ashes and sackcloth. The Lord saw their show of repentance, their sincerity in turning their backs against their sinful ways, and showed them His mercy.

RELATED: HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT.

*FROM THE GOSPEL READING*
In the gospel reading Jesus addresses his contemporaries as people who fail to appreciate him; they do not recognize the significance of his person, his presence, someone greater than Jonah, greater even than Solomon. If the people of Nineveh responded to Jonah and if the Queen of the South responded to Solomon, how much more should Jesus’ contemporaries respond to him. The same Jesus who was present to his contemporaries is present to us as risen Lord. We too can fail to appreciate the Lord who stands among us. Like Jesus’ contemporaries, we can look for signs without recognizing the powerful signs of his presence that are all around us.

*CONCLUSION*
The greatest sign of the Lord’s presence, a sacred sign or sacrament, is the Eucharist. In the Eucharist the Lord is present to us under the form of bread and wine, saying to us, ‘This is my body… This is my blood’. In coming to the Lord in the Eucharist we are coming to someone greater than Jonah or Solomon. The Lord is present to us in other ways also. We take his presence seriously by responding to his call and following in his way, as the people of Nineveh responded to Jonah’s call. Having been graced by the Lord’s presence, we are to respond to his presence by living in a graced way.
May You All Have a Blessed Wednesday!

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