THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE FAITH - 24th Sunday (Yr B)

REFLECTION ON THE 24TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

Homily Theme: THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE FAITH

In secondary school, we were taught to draw animals like cockroaches, grasshoppers and birds in either biology or Agricultural science. Same with plants. Oh, lest I forget, in Introductory Technology we learnt to draw “work bench and other carpentry tools. We graduated knowing how to name and draw those things.

In real life, however, I don’t know how many of us could catch a real cockroach or grasshopper and dissect it, or construct a real work bench. In fact, how many of us could even identify a “dovetail saw”????. We were simply taught theories and no practicals, or we passed the theories but suck at the practicals????

“You, who do you say I am?” Peter answered:” you are the Christ”. Gbam, Peter got the theory.
Then when Jesus Christ began to spell out the practical implications of being the “Christ”( messiah), Peter began to protest. In fact he failed, that’s why Jesus said to him; ” get behind me Satan”.????

Like Peter, we excell at the theories of our faith. We know who Christ is, we know the commandments, we can say the prayers, sing the songs and recite the creeds of our christian faith with intimidating accuracy. Yet we falter and suck scandalously at the practical.????????

“If you want to be a follower of mine, you must renounce yourself, take up your cross and follow me”. This is the practical we fail but must face and embrace. The cross????, it scared the hell out of Peter, it still seems to scare many of us, but it remains the practical of our faith. The letter of James, in the 2nd reading, resounds it further with “faith without good works is dead”. Theory without practicals is dead. “Not all those who say to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom, but those who do the will of my father”.????????????

The cross is everything we do for the good of others and the glory of God. It is most often difficult, costly, sacrificial, painful, materially unrewarding and painful. It’s that moment you return a blessing for curse, you pray for the good of an enemy even with tears in your eyes, you help the child of an aunt or uncle who killed your dad or mum, you speak softly to your wife despite provocation, you take care of your house helps like they were your own kids, etc, these are the practicals of the faith, this is the cross.????????????. May God help us all.

Second point I want to make about this sunday’s readings. Like Peter, we can also switch from divine influence to satanic influence. I have always maintained that a true child of God cannot be possessed. Jn 6, 1Cor 6:19, Col 3:3 among others are the scriptures backing my conviction. However a Christian can come under the influence of the devil. This is exactly what happened with Peter, and that’s why Jesus said to him: “get behind me Satan”????

Our minds are like radio. It can tune in to any frequency and receives signal from any frequency it tunes into. There are many radio stations in a particular environment, but a Radio receives and transmits the sound of the particular one it tunes to.

Divine waves and satanic waves are all over the place, your mind receives and transmits the sound of the one it connects with. We must deliberately avoid tuning into the devil’s frequency. Extreme negative emotions and thoughts are the devil’s eaves and frequencies. Avoid them. Avoid fear, anger, envy, jealousy, doubt, spite, resentment, unforgiving spirit and vengefulness, these are sure means of getting influenced and infiltrated by the devil.

May God give us the the grace to grow and be consistently under divine influence, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Happy Sunday friends.????????

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