YEAR C: HOMILY FOR THE 23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (3)

YEAR C: HOMILY FOR THE 23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: COUNT THE COST

BY: Rev Fr Livinus Igbodekwe

HOMILY: Have you ever gone to a big supermarket like “Everyday”, “Shoprite”, “Klimanjero”, etc, and you see so many goodies but without enough cash? The sad part is that you could spot a nice article you had want to buy but you go closer and see the price tag and look around and draw back. One day, on my friend’s birthday we went to “Everyday” after shopping, i realised that I haven’t bought wrist watch. We went to the jewel department. I saw a watch and pointed at it, the seller brought it to me and I looked at the price and saw ‘N79,000’. I shouted and moved away. I know what i wanted but i didn’t have what it takes to own it. Just as Jesus says in Matt13:44. No one here would say that he doesn’t want to go to heaven. But how many of us can afford the cost. Heaven is available but entering it is costly.

Jesus compares it to building a tower, that means it is not a cheap bungalow but tall building. The builder must check his account before embarking on building it. If the money u have could pass for a cabin or a bungalow or a storey building. There are certain buildings we see incomplete for years, some one story another two or three. These buildings could have been completed had the builders considered their purses. No one is praised for starting a project without finishing it.

He compares it to a war plan. No one wants to start a war he knows he’s no prepared to fight. As at now the Igbos are not ready for war because we can’t even compare to the amunitions of the hausa-fulani. You don’t dare fight a police man or an army, they can fire the gun at you. So it calls for wisdom. Learn when to go for war and when to sue for peace. So heaven is a battle, you better get armed. Arm yourself with discipline, faith, silence, kindness, etc.
It will cost a cross. The audience of Jesus understand what a cross means. Crosses are linked with crimes from whether fair or false accusations. In our case, it is with falls accusations. In the second reading it was the cross of fair sentence and the cross of forgiveness. To forgive is our continuous cross as Christians.

So yes, we must count the cost in order to be a disciple. The cost is total in principle and may be total in actual experience. In the end, having Jesus means gain, like Paul says: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

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