MONDAY HOMILY, 31ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR A

MONDAY HOMILY, 31ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A

THEME: DO NOT INVITE ONLY YOUR FRIENDS!

By Benedict Agbo (Rev Fr)

‘The greatest problem of modern day Christianity is that love of God has been reduced to mere prayer and religious activities while love of neighbour has been reduced to utilitarian friendship’. You can say that again and again – that there are more humanists in Nigeria than humanitarians. The former show love to men for the sake of man but the latter show love to men for the sake of God. Christ warns us in today’s gospel that our motive of love must be ‘agape’ – for the sake of God. He says: When you give a dinner /banquet, do not invite your friends, your brothers, kinsmen or rich neighbours; When you rise to a position of power, do not favour only your friends or brothers or rich neighbours; When you become an employer of labour, do not employ only your friends or brothers or kinsmen; When you are opportuned to give admissions in Universities, do not favour only your friends, your brothers, kinsmen or rich neighbours. In Christian theology, charity may begin at home but doesn’t remain there.

There are visible signs that we are no longer suffering mere economic recession in Nigeria, but godliness has also gone on recession. People are no longer conscious that there is God when they do things. The Nigerian government is gradually turning into a government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich /the connected. If Nigeria continues this way, before long, the poor and the unconnected can no longer be employed anywhere in this country; their children can no longer gain admission into any serious courses in our Universities because the cut off mark will always go for less than 20% of merit and the rest goes by favoritism in the name of VC’s quota, staff quota, catchment area, educationally underprivileged area and other such jargons of injustice. But the truth remains clear. O my God! How did we get here? – that the poor has been completely marginalized in this country yet Christianity and Islam are making all the noise everywhere in all our Churches and Mosques. Where are our law makers when some of these ungodly administrative policies are being rolled out? Since when did employment in our Universities go into the hand of one man who gives it to the highest bidder? The Word of God says it radically and clearly in today’s gospel : When you have favours and privileges to dispatch to humanity, please ‘Do not invite your friends alone’. Favoritism is a great killer of national progress. May God bless you today!

FOR SIMILAR HOMILY, CLICK HERE >>>>