FR. BEN’S HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 19TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II
THEME: DIPLOMATIC WISDOM!
BY: Ben Agbo (Rev Fr)
HOMILY FOR MONDAY AUGUST 8 2022
*Ezek 1 : 2 – 28, Matt 17 : 22 – 27.
We are told in today’s gospel that ‘a great sadness came over the disciples’. Every moment with Jesus is not rosy. There are moments of glory and moments of passion. He told them at a point, inspite of divinity and spiritual radiance that ‘The Son of man is going to be handed over into the power of men’. The title ‘Son of man’ was 1st used by Ezekiel in today’s 1st reading. Can you imagine yourself as a bona fide child of God, a priest or even a bishop, being told one day that you will soon be handed over to the hands of your enemies, to the ravishing arms of a dangerous sickness or to the machinations of the occult world. Such is the facticity of the Divine – human relationship – that one day you will need to die and God may not have any negative instrument for taking you away than the one provided by your enemy.
There are so many kinds of miracles that Jesus performed; miracles of wonder, provision, healing, judgment, etc but today we have a different kind – miracle of politics. Jesus, being the Son of God is not supposed to pay temple tax but today he uses some diplomacy and asked Peter: ‘What is your opinion?’ Friends, there are certain things we do, not because we are absolutely bound to do them but for political reasons – to avoid trouble or ‘a needless offence’ as some Scripture commentators call it. Wisdom entails a lot of diplomacy (one of the qualities I have found in the incumbent Governor of Enugu State – Gburugburu as they call him). We must emulate Our Lord Jesus Christ in this virtue of political diplomacy.
May God bless you today!