WEDNESDAY 1ST WEEK IN LENT – HOMILY YEAR B
WEDNESDAY 1ST WEEK IN LENT – HOMILY YEAR B
THEME: REPENT.
BY: FR. KARABARI PAUL
“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it.”
ALSO RECOMMENDED: HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT.
We all get stubborn sometimes. We get fixed on our ideas or desires and refuse to make changes, even when we see that we are in the wrong. But stubbornness can damage our relationships with others. It can make it difficult for people to want to spend time around us or to share ideas with us. Stubbornness does not just affect our human relationships. It can also damage our relationship with God. We can be stubborn in our sins that we do not see the need for change. When we harden our hearts to Him and refuse to surrender to His ways, we end up drifting away from Him.
In the First Reading ( Jonah 3:1-10), the urgency for repentance is emphasized. In Scripture, the word ‘repentance’ means ‘to turn away from sin’. By confessing your sin, you acknowledge what you have done; by repenting, you turn away from it. The good news is that there is no limit to God’s forgiveness.
The story of Jonah shows the amazing love of God to His wayward people. God directed Jonah to the people of Nineveh. Jonah resisted initially but repented. We may really need a change of heart before we can change others. It is important to note that when Jonah refused the first call, God never picked another person. He could have done that, but He didn’t. God hardly gives up on us even when our hearts grow hostile against His will. And we must learn that resisting the will of God is both futile and counterproductive.
The message was simple and also heavy. “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”Overthrown” is the word used for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:25, Lamentation 4:6, Amos 4:11). The people of Nineveh did something. Repentance is about doing something. The pagan nation of Nineveh fasted in sackcloth and mourned as though for the dead, and they did it from the highest to the lowest, from the greatest to the least of them. When repentance comes, something has to change. Something has to be different.
Obedience to the word of God is the core message of repentance. God’s servants must go where He sends them, come when He calls them, and do what He bids them; we must do whatever the word of the Lord commands
When we allow sin into our lives, we violate our core of righteousness. When we permit sin into our lives, it violates the very core of who we are! And that will cause us godly sorrow, leading to repentance and turning away from sin. Don’t settle for saying, ‘This is a habit I can’t break. But it is okay because God will forgive me.’ Yes, He will forgive us, but He doesn’t want us to settle for a cycle of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and then repeating the same sin. He wants us to be strong and effective in His service. That is why He is calling us to a higher level of relationship with Him. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God bless you and your household always through Christ, our Lord Amen. I pledge to you the assurance of my prayers. Stay safe. Good morning.
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