YEAR A: HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (1)

YEAR A: HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: POWERS EMERGE AND WEAR OUT

BY: Rev. Fr. Jacob Aondover ATSU

HOMILY: READING: MACCABEES 6:1-13, PSALM 9, LUKE 20:27-40

√•Kingdoms RISE and FALL
√•Same with people, we rise and fall
√•Some fall to eternal damnation
√•POWER CHANGES HANDS
√•Nyam e Tor bam kpa e been (Hebrew)

How true is this statement; ‘No dynasty lasts forever’? ‘So very true’ I guess. Indeed no power is forever, no empire lasts forever; powers rise and fall, dominions come in place today and tomorrow they are gone. Experience have overtime shown that thrones (no matter how strong) when set in place now, they tend to crumble tomorrow. More so, kings, no matter how strong, influential, powerful and mighty; don’t reign forever; recent events which I wouldn’t delve into attest to this. Antiochus Epiphanes, the evil breed, rose to the heights of power, it corrupted him as it does many; he was wicked, cruel, heinous and simply evil. His God-forsaken fame and might is today turned to grief, distress, depression, worry and anxiety. His crimes against the chosen of God came hunting.

Beloved friends in the Lord, how difficult is it for man to keep himself in check; always conscious of the fact that ‘he is not his own’? just when are we going to realize that everything about us is a given? Our life, wealth, power, fame et al, all are gifted us by God. Paul asks us in his first letter to the Corinthians 4:7, “What do we possess that we haven’t received”? Why do we forget that everything that is given can also be taken? Today, Antiochus wallows in misery because he misused his power; listen to his confession: “But now, I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem; I seized all their vessels of gold and silver and sent to have Judah’s inhabitants destroyed for no good reason” (1Macc. 6:12). Sleep eluded him and distress became his companion; indeed restlessness is the lot of the wicked. When we fail to use our power rightly, when we unleash evil instead of good on our fellow men, when we are inconsiderate and wicked to God’s ultimate creature, man, God allows ruin, pain and distress to befall us. We may do well to avoid that.

Besides, to the marginalized and oppressed, those whose rights are trampled and their privileges denied them, those persecuted for no just cause I say, wait on the Lord. The Maccabean Jews waited on God through pain, torture, persecution and misery, God came after all, he helped them conquer their land, destroyed the abominations erected by Antiochus and rededicated their temple and city. God was their avenger; he fought for them and with him by their side and at the right time, they came out victors. It pays to stand with God in patience and trust. It pays to let his will and timing prevail over ours. Is anyone among us nurturing vengeance? A rethink may help because scripture does not support vengeance. Romans 12:19 and Deuteronomy 32:35 exhorts us to shun vengeance: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God…Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord”

Ours is a living God, having control over the living in this present life and those who are reunited with him in eternity. He is powerful and mighty; bestowing life and power on man as well as taking same back. He fights for his chosen, defends his own and punishes the wicked in his own time. We may learn to wait for him in patience. To those in power, to the wicked and corrupt, to the despotic, callously oriented, wicked and inhuman, I say, nothing lasts forever, there is actually something called a ‘FALL’. Careful!

Dedicated to all the oppressed and marginalized of society…

FEED AND EDUCATE ONE