Homilies (Page 17)

Journey to Christmas Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Mt 24:37-44 “Coming” and “waiting” are two dominant verbs to take seriously during the season of Advent. Notice that both verbs are in the progressive form or present continuous tense, as we often say. In themselves, theses verbs are suggestive of what is expected of a Christian during the period of Advent, the liturgical season when we await the arrival of God as human being – Christmas or Incarnation. We receive encouragement to assume the position or attitude of expectant parents at the news of an imminent arrival of a child into the family or to be likeRead More →

Thy Kingdom Come Sunday 2 Samuel 5:1-3; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43 Christians are builders of God’s Kingdom, if they choose to. The choice to participate in building God’s Kingdom requires right modeling or the need to imitate God, whose Kingdom we want to build. Our first reading discourages wrong modeling because it leads to bad outcome or failed project. A concrete example is found in Israel. Israel moved away from a theocracy (God’s leadership) which teaches about WHO they are—builders of God’s Kingdom, to a monarchy (human kingdom) copying from human rules because Israel wanted to be like other nations, and repudiated its aspiration toRead More →

Decision Sunday not Doom’s Day Malachi 3:19-20a; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19 Nigerians are very daring and creative people. Not only on earth, but in Heaven above and in Hell below. Listen to this story about Nigerian bravery. I’ve been laughing since I got this joke…..but are we really this bad? ANGELS: Father! We are tired of these Nigerians in heaven. GOD: What have they done this time? ANGEL: Everything!They don’t listen to instructions. They don’t obey traffic rules. They don’t wait for their turn in anything. They are completely reckless! GOD: Then we better send them to hell! (Calls the Devil). Hello.. SATAN: HelloRead More →

S-O-S SUNDAY 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Luke  20:27-38 Many traitors have gone out or should we say that Judas is on  recruitment campaign for followers? At any rate, Save-our-Souls (S-O-S) Sunday, this Sunday, calls for self-examination or introspection of every Christian, citizen and family member. Our first reading sets out death sentence as the consequence of betrayal from fellow religionists. Division among the Jews – conservatives against progressives – is at the heart of our first reading. Progressives abandon the customs of their ancestors and campaign for new ways to replace old ways. The Greek imperial culture recruits Jews, converts them viaRead More →

Salvific Curiosity: Finding Yourself on the Tree of Life With Zacchaeus Wisdom 11:22-12:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10 There was a beggar, who heard that a king was passing by his village. Early that morning, he got out of bed and readied himself and went out to sit by the roadside, waiting to beg for alms from the king. Sure enough, the king stopped his entourage by the siting beggar. Instead of giving something to the beggar, the king begged some beans of the beggar, since the beggar was picking his beans in a tray while waiting. In response, the beggar said to the kingRead More →

Equal Right to Salvation Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14 Today, the book of Sirach addresses the question of favoritism: does God love some people to the exclusion of other people? Why are some people rich and others poor? How come some persons keep God’s commandments and others do not: that is, some are virtuous and others immoral? Or, why did God fight on the side of Moses and Israel against the Amalekites last Sunday? These questions have plagued generations of believers, and have divided Christendom and Christians on how to appropriately respond to them.  We now present a Jewish response, toRead More →

Soldier of Salvation Exodus 17:8-13; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2; Luke 18:1-8 There was a village in Cameroon, in years gone by, where anyone caught stealing received the mark of what he/she stole on the forehead. There were two men who stole a sheep, and they were caught. ST= “Sheep Thief” was written on their foreheads. One of the two men was too ashamed to remain in the village, so he migrated from the village. The other man stayed on and tried to change his ways. He became a very charitable and humble man. Many years down the road, children who were born after the incident andRead More →

The Forgotten Battle: The Salvation of the Soul 2 Kings 5:14-17; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19 Samaria, the capital of Israel, came into international prominence with the Assyrian invasion and the exile of Israelites to Nineveh in 721 B.C. In those days, when a capital city and its king are captured, the battle is over with. So, like most capitals of many nations, to conquer Israel, its capital Samaria had to fall. The difference, however, was that the destruction of Samaria, by the Assyrians, was more than a material destruction, the destruction was aimed at her soul and mind, the transplantation of a new mindsetRead More →

A Call to Fidelity: Be Part of the Solution, Not the Problem! Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10 There was a poor couple whose house was made of thatch and situated by the road side. They did not have bathroom and toilet inside the house, but a latrine and a bathroom behind the house. As good Christians, they were very hospitable to all strangers. As a matter of fact, many people had warned them against their hospitality to strangers because of the possible danger of taking in robbers and brigands. One day, a stranger arrived at their door at midnight seeking shelterRead More →