YEAR B: HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (3)

YEAR B: HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: Be Ready for the Master’s Arrival.

BY: Fr. Evaristus Abu

HOMILY:

_“Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks.” *Luke 12:35-36.*_

Time is the most precious gift we have. Time is more precious than all the money in the world. Time is something we have that has been given to us free of charge but we are only able to know how much we have spent, we can ever know how much we have left. We calculate our age according to the amount of time we have spent already, never according to the time we have because we do not know the day or the hour our life will be over.

In other to emphasis the importance of time and why it ought to be spent wisely, some have come up with the popular saying: “time is money, use yours well because it doesn’t wait for anyone.” Nevertheless, if time was actually money, it means old people will be very rich and young people will be poor but that is not really the case. It is not how much time one has but what does with it that counts. No wonder they say, if you want something done quickly, assign it to a busy person.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus, using a parable illustrates the importance of being prepared for the day of final judgment; the day of reckoning; the day we shall breathe our last.

You know it can be very shocking when we hear someone has just died especially when we interacted with the person a few moments before that death occurred. The shock of such news grips us with a very cold fear. Everything else stops. Silence becomes loud. We look into the sky and it feels as though the whole world is disappearing before our eyes. What makes death really frightening is the fact that it comes when it is least expected, it takes whoever it wants and happens under any circumstance you can imagine.

Death can either lead us to despair or to wisdom and the choice is ours to make. Despair is when the fear of death overwhelms us so much that we become hopeless and begin to feel that life is a waste. On the other hand, wisdom is when we allow death teach us the meaning of life, how we ought to live and why we must put the lessons death teaches us to practice.

One of the greatest lessons death has taught me is to AVOID PROCRASTINATION. Never leave until tomorrow that which you can do today. Coming back to the words of Jesus, the fact that we shall die whether we like or not, (the fact that the master can arrive at any time without notice) should teach us never to postpone a good deed. The only way we can fight death is by preparing for it.

By being prepared (girding our loins and lighting our lamps), we actually disarm death. When we prepare for our own death, we not only weaken its power, we become fearless. When we prepare for death by girding our loins (that is to say, by living a morally upright life) and by lighting our lamps (being an example to others), we overcome death before our time. And that is when we actually start living; by overcoming death, we become saints on earth.

Jesus says: “How blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake.” Jesus did not say, ‘how lucky are those servants.’ Preparing for death is not a question of luck. It is a matter of choice. Chose to prepare for your own death today. Avoid procrastination. Live as if today is all you have so be the very best version of yourself right now. Never postpone a good deed.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may my death not take unawares. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ephesians 2:12-22, Psalm 85:9-14 and Luke 12:35-38).