YEAR B: HOMILY FOR THE 22ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (9)

YEAR B: HOMILY FOR THE 22ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: THE LAW NOT YOUR LAW

BY: Rev Fr Joseph Nyarko Asare

 

HOMILY:

(Deut 4:1-2, 6-8/Ps 15:2-5/Jam 1:17-18, 21-22, 27/Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

God loves us and cares so much about our life and our situations. He does not restrict us or causes us pain. As a loving Father (parent), he denies us only what does not benefit us for good. He gives us direction, guidance and instructions purely for our good and our benefits. His laws, therefore, are the maps for our journey, the manual for our spiritual machines, the grease for our machines and the antidote to our struggles. Yes, the laws of the Lord are that positive.

It is unfortunate that we preach other laws and not the laws of the Lord. We preach what will make Church leadership comfortable, what will create an environment of tolerance for the views and desires of lawmakers and what will advance personal interests. Once the lawgivers benefit or feel good, it does not matter what others suffer or forfeit. Again, we get more interested in trivialities than in necessities. We ignore the spirit of the law in order to protect the letter. We have some preachers who think the laws of the Lord are no more important. These forget that Jesus came to fulfil the law and the prophets. The law is love but we correct others without love; could that be right? We insult and force people to do things with strict legalities as if God has imprisoned us with laws and precepts. Let us learn to accept and love, obey and live by the law of the Lord. Let us not trivialise it and let us not apply it without love. Love is the law and the one applying, enforcing and defending the law disobeys the law when he does these without love.

PRAYER POINTS

~That I can embrace God’s law with a positive mindset

~For the grace to help others discover laws as God’s expression of love

~That I will not be a hindrance to the joy of others

(Rev Fr Joseph Nyarko Asare of the Catholic Diocese of Obuasi)

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