HOMILY FOR MONDAY (19/08/2024) 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME B
{EZE 24:15-24; MATT 19:16-22}
When we pray for something like riches or wealth or anything, and when we feel that God has not given us answer to our prayers, we feel sad and sometimes we even say God has abandon us. What we do not know perhaps, is that God may be preventing us from having what we make us lose our faith or focus or make us perish. Today, the first reading tells us how God showed the Israelites how He can deal with them using Prophet Ezekiel as an example. God told the prophet I am going to withdraw everything that delights you. It is not for you to be sad but rather see it as the will of God for us to save us from damnation. Many of us will always feel same way, praying countless time and we begin to feel God is not on our side. Many a time, God withdraws these things from us so that we can serve him in spirit and in truth.
Today’s Gospel reminds us that we do not possess anything in our life. What we possess is to use it for those in need. When we fail to do these and amassing wealth upon ourselves, then we become the prisoner of our possessions, violating the First Commandment, which demands that we give unconditional priority to God. Jesus reminds the rich young man of the Commandments that deal with his relationships with other people and challenges him to sell what he has and give it to the poor. Jesus’ challenge exposed what was missing in the young man’s life: a sense of compassion for the poor and the willingness to share his blessings with the needy.
Dear friends in Christ, Jesus challenges us to have an absolutely unconditional detachment. Our “attachment” may not be to money or to material goods, but to another person, a job, one’s health, position, or reputation. We must be ready to cut off any such attachment in order to become true Christian disciples, sharing our blessings with others.
Another lesson that we must gain from the readings of today is that to follow Jesus, we must have generous hearts and the willingness to share our blessings with others to show our generosity. St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) puts it in her own style: “Do SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL for God. Do it with your life. Do it every day. Do it in your own way. But do it!
PAX VOBIS
Catholic Diocese of Ilorin, Kwara State,
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