HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.
HOMILY THEME: GOD HAS VISITED HIS PEOPLE
BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon
HOMILY:
(Lk. 7:11-17)
In the day’s Gospel Jesus brought back to life the son of the widow from Nain. Jesus empathized with the mother whose only son, her last source of recognition in the predominantly patriarchal Jewish society. The people who witnessed the event was in awe and saw in Jesus the loving God. He was seen as a great prophet bringing the Good News and healing grace of God.
God, indeed, visits us. His presence does not only consists in providing us all the graces we need but also our challenges and sufferings. Anything that strengthens us in our faith and moves us closer to God are God’s visitations. The presence of God is always a decision-event. When we are faced, specially, with temptations, He is there to enlighten and inspire us to reject them. At the same time reveal to us His glory. Do we choose Him or the devil? The choice should be easy. But let us admit it, we fail a lot of times.
Does God desert us? This is an important question. In fact, it is a claim of so many. The truth is, God does not desert us. We desert Him. A young man came to me to reconcile with God. He said that he started being away from God when he could not pass his board exams. After trying three times, he lost hope. He claimed to have done everything in terms of prayer, sacrifices, and reviewing. Still he failed. He could not understand why. He could not forgive God for his fate. He stopped going to mass, lived an immoral life, disrespected his parents, and cursed God. He was lonely. Lately, he realized it was wrong and he got terribly sick. He needed a friend. Then He remembered God. He realized He could not live without Him. He humbled himself and sought to reconcile with Him. He was in tears. He became at peace!
I told him God always want our good. There was a reason why he failed. It was the best opportunity to be more faithful. At a time when he was in need, the more he must depend on God. God visited him during those times. But he ignored God. Worse, he left Him. It was, however, not too late for him. God visited him again. This time he knew. God bless him.
