DAILY HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II.
THEME: In God all men are alive.
BY: Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA.
*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Apocalypse 11:4-12
Psalm 143:1-2,9-10
Luke 20:27-40
*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
GREEN
*FROM OUR FIRST READING*
In our first reading of today, heard of the tale of the two witnesses of the Lord, who will be sent by God into this world so that He may let all the whole world to know the truth and love of God, and that all who still want to repent from their sins and turn from their evils may still be able to do so, before it is too late for them. Yet, there are many who are opposed to the Lord, and they refused to listen to those two witnesses and servants of God. The vision of St. John then tells us how the great enemy will rise against those servants of God and will persecute, kill and destroy them. And yet, at the appointed time, much like the Lord Himself, the two witnesses rise again into glory and life, resurrected from the dead by the power of God, and are raised into Heaven.
*FROM THE GOSPEL READING*
In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus’ opponents, the Sadducees, who did not believe in life after death, present a scenario to Jesus which seeks to make belief in life after death look ridiculous. It is obvious they understand that Jesus himself teaches the reality of life after death. Their challenge to Jesus is based on the false assumption that if there is life after death it will simply be a kind of continuation of this earthly life. In his reply Jesus challenges this false assumption. He declares that those who belong to the ‘other world’ beyond this earthly life ‘no longer die’. They live with a life that is eternal. Therefore, there is no need for procreation or for marriage that is the basis of procreation. In other words, because the life that we enter after death is eternal life, the way we will relate to each other in this life to come will be fundamentally different to how we relate to each other now.
RELATED: DAILY HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 32ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II .
*CONCLUSION*
Jesus implies that God’s love for us, God’s faithfulness to us, also endures beyond this life. God continues to hold us in the embrace of his faithful love beyond death. Jesus believes in a God who keeps his promises to his faithful ones, even beyond this earthly life. All true human love is life-giving and God’s love is supremely life-giving. God’s love always works to bring new life out of our death. Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus uses the image of the banquet for life in God’s kingdom. It is an image which suggests that this life is one where all our deepest hungers and thirsts will be fully satisfied, especially our hunger and thirst for a love that is stronger than sin and death.
The Lord Be With You!