YEAR A: HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (1)

YEAR A: HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: BE STABLE AND STEADFAST IN FAITH

BY: Rev. Fr. Jacob Aondover ATSU

 

HOMILY: READINGS: COLOSSIANS 1:21-23, PSALM 54, LUKE 6:1-5

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. I welcome you all to the last day of this week whilst charging you to work consciously against ‘WORRY’. I pray we don’t worry about yesterday, for there’s nothing we can do to bring it back – it’s gone forever. May I exhort us neither to worry about tomorrow and what it brings, it will come to pass; come what may. We may do well never to worry about today either, just LIVE! Hearken to God’s word, and in utmost docility abide by it. And borrowing the words of Paul addressed to the Colossians, may I task each and everyone of us to “continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you have heard…” (Col. 1:23). Then say in the words of the Psalmist: “See, I have God for my help” (Ps. 54:6) and let God take charge, I bet you he’d take it from there. May God attend to our needs and grace our efforts now and always. Amen.

Today is a call for us to be true to God’s word which is preached to us daily. It is an invitation that we hold fast to the deposit of faith transmitted to us by our Fathers. Of course today is an exhortation that we don’t allow the trends of the day with their accompanying torrents sweep us off our feet thereby making us derail from the path traced for us by God. When we do the aforementioned, God saves us as he’s been doing by his name, he defends us by his power. Then, he’s quick to hear our prayers and give ear to the words of our mouths. That is not all; he sustains us leading us through the thick and thin of life until our voyage on earth is ended. Today therefore, is an invitation that cannot be turned down, a call that must be answered and an exhortation that beckons us to adhere.

Friends in the Lord, we see the growing opposition advanced by the religious but not spiritual and inhuman Pharisees towards Christ. We see them taking advantage of the action of Jesus’ disciples to revile him and make him seem irresponsible. Deuteronomy 23:25 permitted plucking of corn even on a Sabbath so long as no sickle was used. However, that the disciples rubbed the corn in their hands (threshing), and blew off the husks (winnowing) made them guilty of working on the Sabbath and liable to punishment. Jesus had to quote 1 Samuel 21:1-6 (David, his comrades and the temple loaves) in defense of himself and his apostles.

Jesus simply desires that we hold human need in highest esteem. The Rabbis themselves were fond of saying, ‘The Sabbath was made for you and not you for the Sabbath’. The claims of mercy my beloved brethren supersede any demand of the law. The yearnings of love, the saving of a life and so on are not to be taken as being on par with the letters of the law. Jesus makes a demand of us today; that we obey and answer the call of love and of mercy. He demands that we treat the needs of those around us by FEEDING and EDUCATING them. God bless…

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