HOMILY OF MONDAY OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS — YEAR A

HOMILY OF MONDAY OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS — YEAR A

HOMILY THEME: THE DARKNESS OF LOVELESSNESS!

BY: Fr. Benedict Agbo 

1 John 2:3-11; Psalm 95(96):1-3, 5-6; Luke 2:22-35

‘He who says I know him but disobeys his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him… He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness still… and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes’.
The lie and the darkness are the two trademarks of the evil one, Jn 8: 44, Jn 9: 41. Jesus came as the real symbol of truth and light. He is the way, the truth and life, Jn 14: 1-3. He is also the light of the world, Jn 1: 4. Jesus came to deal with the darkness of ignorance and the darkness of sin /hatred /lovelessness. Today’s gospel calls him a sign of contradiction set up for the rising and falling of many in Israel. He is a light for revelation to the Gentiles. He is a sign of contraction against our pagan traditional culture – a culture that sometimes contradict the principles of ‘agape love’.

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Agape love is different from worldly love (erotic love, marked by the gains of sexual attractions; filial love marked by the gains of family care; political love marked by the gains of influence and reward). But agape love has no worldly gain but depends only on God’s own reward. St John insists that what makes a Christian different from others is knowledge of this truth and the presence of this light. He insists that knowing Jesus goes farther than knowing about him. Knowing Jesus as a lover commits both our mind and hearts. It is a knowledge permeated with love. This knowledge makes us obedient to his commandments. Keeping God’s commandments out – shows the knowledge otherwise we are liars. And that is the fate of many who claim to be Christians today but will obey neither God nor men of God (his priests).

Jesus remains a sign of contraction to both traditional and contemporary ideologies. His teachings on love stand out on its own merit as the highest and toughest. His standard of charity and forgiveness is second to none, Matt 5: 45 – 49. St John makes it clear in today’s readings that we can’t claim to be Christians without charity. It begins at home but does not end at home. Loving others means helping others. By helping others and making others happy we ourselves become happy. Happiness is like perfume; You cannot pour it on others without a few drops on yourself. May we stop claiming to be Christians in the midst of all the lovelessness we see in our families and villages. The darkness of lovelessness must go away before the light of Christianity shines. May God bless you today!

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