YEAR II: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (1)

YEAR II: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: MAINTAINING THE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon

HOMILY: (Mk. 5:1-20) Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel, Jesus drove out some unclean spirits from a man. The incline spirits begged the Lord that He do them favour by allowing them to possess the swine herd nearby. When the people came to know about what Jesus had done, surprisingly, they wanted Jesus out of their village. Apparently, because of the loss of thousands of swines, the people were afraid of losing more swine and, God knows, what more! While the action of the people were understandable, it was not laudable. Had Jesus been in other places, He would have been sought.

A similar compromise was committed by Absalom when he tried to kill David. He was angry at King David for having done nothing when one of his sons raped the sister of Absalom. At the same time, Absalom was very interested in replacing David as king. He was blinded by revenge and ambition that he was willing to compromise the respect and plan of God for the anointed King David.

Economic gain. Rise to power. Attaining fame. These are not necessarily bad things. In this world, these are good things specially if used and lived in accordance with the will of God. But they are not enough reason to compromise our faith. It was unfortunate that the village people saw more their economic loss than their spiritual gain. Surely, Jesus knew their condition. Jesus would not also compromise their livelihood for His Good News. But the people had decided. And their decision was a mistake.

Much the same with Absalom. Revenge will not satisfy the pain inflicted by the rape of his sister. Much more, ambition defiles rather than improves. He was blinded by both. He became a victim of greed. In the process, he lost his opportunity to be merciful and rise worthily into power.
Management of our emotions in the face of challenging and critical situations is a necessity. We must be able to maintain our objectivity in order not to lose sight of our main goal and destiny. Our relationship with God must always be maintained. Nothing and nobody can go between us and God. We should never be separated from Him at any time, at any point in our lives.