HOMILY FOR THE TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: GET BEHIND ME, SATAN!
BY: Fr Benny Tuazon
HOMILY:
(Mt. 16:21-27)
In the day’s Gospel Jesus rebuked Peter for asserting what was human will against God’s will. It was clear that Peter did not fully understand the import of his profession of Jesus as the Son if God told in last Sunday’s Gospel. Then Jesus proceeded to teach them about the value of earthly life vis a vis eternal life. The former must be at the service of the latter. Jeremiah in the First Reading Reading realized it. He was assured by God ‘s His assistance if Jeremiah would obey God’s word. He had doubts about obeying yet God’s word yet he felt it like a burning fire in his heart and imprisoned in his bones. He could not endure holding it in. He had to proclaim them. He did but suffered so much, death threats included, and wondered where was God and was he duped?
St. Paul in the First Reading also had the same fate. Once converted, he offered his life as a living sacrifice pleasing to God. He counseled us to discern well and not live in accordance with the dictates of this world. It is God who ought to prevail in us. In doing so, we leave nothing to ourselves. Everything is offered to God. It is not a selfishness on God’s part but the way for us to salvation.
Thus, it boils down to what are our standards? Jesus pointed out Peter’s standards and quickly exposed it. While we live in this world, we are not of this world. We are pilgrims on our way to eternal life. We ought to be in this world proclaiming the Good News. We are expected to Christify this world as Jesus did. We proclaim His words through words and actions. In everything we say and do, we adopt God’s standards and not ours.
