HOMILY OF 5TH WEDNESDAY OF EASTER YEAR B
HOMILY OF 5TH WEDNESDAY OF EASTER YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: LET YOUR HEART BE CIRCUMCISED
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul
“Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you can not be saved.”
The First Reading (Acts 15:1-6) presents the issue of circumcision among the early Christians. Many of the early Christians, especially those in Jerusalem, were converts from Judaism, and among these were Pharisees. They believed that Christianity was simply a development of their Jewish faith and not a renunciation of it. And, they believed that they should continue observing their Jewish traditions.
ALSO RECOMMENDED: HOMILY OF 5TH WEDNESDAY OF EASTER YEAR B
Circumcision, like many of the other practices of the Jews, was, at least for men, a crucial identifying mark of God’s people, even though the original reason for the practice may well have been hygienic and preventive. It was not by any circumstances a custom confined only to the Jews of ancient times.
With the acceptance of Gentiles into the Christian community, the issue of circumcision became a delicate one. Should the new non-Jewish converts be forced to undergo such a painful (and perhaps in their view a disfiguring) procedure? Was it really central to the Christian identity?
It seems that the Christians in Antioch were not enforcing it on their new gentile converts, and this was causing some concern among Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. They sent delegates to Antioch with the strong message:
Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you can not be saved. Although they were given a hearing, they may not have represented all the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, but a more legalistic group within the church there.
Paul ‘spiritualises’ this rite. ‘True circumcision…is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit’ (Romans 2:29). Spiritually understood, circumcision means ‘cutting off’ anything that promotes and produces in us wrong impulses and actions. Jesus said, ‘Those whose hearts are pure…will see God’ (Matthew 5:8). When your heart is pure, you will be able to see God where others can’t and hear Him when others don’t. The word pure could be translated ‘without contamination’. It’s the difference between a clear stream and a polluted one. It means your self-centred thinking is abandoned. Our hearts need to be circumcised. And that is a job for the Holy Spirit. With a circumcised heart, love destroys boundaries. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God bless you and keep you always in His love through Christ. Our Lord Amen.
Happy Workers Day, Happy New Month, Happy May Devotions!
FOR A SIMILAR HOMILY, CLICK HERE >>>>>
