HOMILY FOR THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A (4)

HOMILY FOR THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

HOMILY THEME: THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

BY: Fr. Cyril Unachukwu CCE

HOMILY:
We thank God for everything that we have received from Him, especially for the gift of a new month, for the gift of life and for the gift of our friends and neighbours. In all those around us, we encounter God in a most special way. May this daily encounter with God in those around us keep us always safe for eternal life; Amen.

The Christian Life is a life of love, a life that flows from the love of God for us which He concretely demonstrated with the death of His Son Jesus Christ on the Cross. In the Second Reading of today (Romans 6:3-4, 8-11), Saint Paul drew our attention to this love expressed even up to the death on the Cross. From this death, we receive a new life. We enter into this life through the doors which the Sacrament of Baptism opens wide to us. In the Sacrament of Baptism, every one of us responds appropriately to the voice of God which never ceases to invite us. This new life makes us to assume a new attitude and comportment towards others. From this new life, we receive a new vision of life, a new vision of the world and a new vision and understanding of our neighbours. A vision that leads us to look up always to God and strengthened by that look, also look to all those around us with the same eyes with which we contemplate God. It is this unique experience that changes our attitude towards others, which makes us to visualize everything with the eyes that looks through the cross.

We see this change of attitude in the attitude of the woman in the First Reading of today (2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16). Because of this attitude, this woman received an extraordinary and inexplicable blessing from God. She became blessed in a most special way through the prayer of the Prophet Elisha. Also in the Gospel (Mt 10:37-42), our Lord Jesus Christ confirmed this good attitude we must develop towards others borne out of the experience of the love of God.

To be good to others involves the ability to accept their weaknesses and talents. Being good to others involves the capacity to help those that are in need of our help. Our goodness towards others involves how just our actions and decisions are. We must always remember that we cannot be good to others if we do accept in joy, hope and trust our own crosses after the example of our Master. Without the Cross, we are not Christians. Without the Cross, we cannot be there for others, because the Cross is the perfect example from God on how to become good to others, hence, “anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me.” The Cross is the sign of the will of God. Also, in our lives, the cross is a sign that we are doing the will of God. The Cross is a sign that we have chosen God. This sign that we have chosen God must be demonstrated in our attitude towards others.

May we always make this unique experience of God’s love and through it become reflections of God’s presence in the world and in the lives of our brothers and sisters; Amen.

Happy Sunday;
Fr Cyril CCE

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