HOMILY FOR THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY YEAR B (30TH JUNE, 2024)
If God is all-knowing, why then does He allow evil to happen to good people?
It is a common belief that many people hold that since God is the maker of heaven and earth and everything beneath, then, God creates death, sin, evil, darkness, setbacks, sickness etc. First and foremost, it is true that God created the heavens and earth and everything beneath, but it is very wrong to put God at the hem of saying God created death, sin, and everything evil or darkness. This is indeed a very wrong assertion. Yes, God permits evil but that does not mean that God is in support of evil.
From our first reading, it was clearly stated that God did not make death. The initial plan of God was that when man was created, man had to undergo further perfection to become like God hence, man was created from the dust to undergo perfection to be like God whose nature is divine and immortal like God. The question therefore is who then created death since death wasn’t in the plan of God during creation? The answer to this is SIN. Sin brought everything that has to do with darkness, evil, death, setbacks, sickness, etc (Rom 6:23, the wages of sin is death). When sin entered the world from the time of creation, we are told according to scripture scholars that from that moment, God started the plan of man’s redemption. It is no longer going to be an easy road because we are dealing with sorts of evil acts most especially from its creation Lucifer. I know many will say since it is God who created Lucifer, God should have destroyed Lucifer. The question I will ask us is when you use your hand to create something beautiful, will you use that same hand to destroy what you have created? (We all know the story of how Lucifer was thrown down to earth) Lucifer was a masterpiece of God. The most beautiful angel, powerful, and everything that you can tag with Lucifer but pride entered and we are told God had to send Archangel Michael, the battle warrior to kick Lucifer out and his supporters. That beauty and the power were transferred to the person of our Mother Mary in Gen 3 and we are told that Lucifer vowed to make sure that he sees the downfall of man and indeed he succeeded.
The gospel tells us how Jesus cured the hemorrhaged woman and raised the young girl. It also tells us of so many setbacks or darkness or sickness experienced by people. The belief is that at that time most persons who experienced or had this sickness or illness were as a result of their sins in other words, God was punishing them for their sins. Well, not all is true. Most times, it is for the glory of God to manifest in the lives of the people. A typical example is what we have in the gospel.
The second reading tells us what we should do amidst these situations. This period of darkness or sickness or poverty or negativity is a time to truly put our trust in God, to have faith in God.
Dear friends in Christ, there is something that everyone must know. Just like I have told us at the beginning of this reflection, that yes, God does not support evil but permits it. This is to tell us that whatever we are facing, sickness, setbacks, poverty, or whatever thing that we think comes from the devil, should not deter us from loving and serving God. The second reading tells us that God himself experienced these things. Many of us will say how? Talking about setbacks, when you are trying to teach someone something and the person is not yielding (the story of the Gethsemane – the apostles sleeping and not praying); poverty (someone who created heaven and earth now decided that he wants to be poor like a man); sickness (of course, he must have had some body pains and sickness during his time on earth). Amidst all these setbacks or negativities, we must never conclude that God is a partial God or that God does not love us. We must continue to serve God using our faith, and words, channeled in good works. Many say because God did not heal me, therefore, God is not God again or he is no longer my God. Many who chose this path fall into atheism. (Remember the movie: God’s not dead). For the atheist, since God did not heal their mother or friend or daughter or son or father, then, God is not what he is. Thus they concluded that God does not exist.
The question I therefore ask is, amidst all these experiences of poverty, sickness, evil, negativity, etc, does it mean that there is no God? God is ever present with us. Poverty, sickness, acts of evil, or darkness should not deter us from performing our duties to God. (Remember the three men in Daniel 3. The Second book of Tim says Jesus Christ has come to abolish death and shed his light. Jesus will soon abolish all those evil things we are passing through and He will shed his light in our path. Amen.
Pax Vobis
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