FR. BEN’S HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II (1)




FR. BEN’S HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II

THEME: FREEDOM FROM THE YOKE OF SLAVERY!

BY: Benedict Agbo (Rev Fr)

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OCTOBER 10 2022

*Gal 4: 22 – 5:1, Lk 11: 29 – 32.

Slavery is a wide existential phenomenon; It could be ontological, spiritual, political, religious, social, etc. It is *ontological* when from birth our parents are slaves; It is *spiritual* when we are under the yoke of sin and lack the freedom to do good; It is *political* when other people oppress us and deny us the freedom to choose our leaders and be chosen; It is *religious* when our system of belief cripples our freedom of reasoning and the expression of our convictions; It is *social* when we are made to feel like 2nd class citizens. The 1st reading speaks of 2 sons of Abraham; Isaac was freeborn – born of promise and faith, while Ishmael was slaveborn – born of a slave woman Hagar according to the flesh. So many scholars link today the war between Christians and terrorist Muslims to the facticity of this biblical story and the historical consequences of this long standing enemity. St Paul also harps on this motif as the spiritual background of slavery and exalts the Galatians to live in spiritual freedom; “Christ set us free; Stand fast therefore and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery”.

Jesus’ death and resurrection remains the greatest spiritual sign that God has given for every generation. We shall not continue to look for miraculous signs or intellectual proofs greater than this. Jesus is something greater than Jonah and Solomon. Faith in Jesus supersedes all other beliefs / ideological systems.

Freedom implies responsibility – the responsibility of making personal choices inspired by love. This is the kind of spirituality Christ wants. *He does not want any form of legalism, hypocrisy, fanaticism, sycophancy and all the appurtenances of slavery we find in primitive and modern day religion.* Vima Dasan says that “Freedom is not the right to do as a person pleases but the liberty to do as he or she ought. Freedom standing by itself inevitably degenerates into license. Licence is unbridled freedom that quickly becomes the enemy of freedom”. St Paul is speaking of a kind of self determination to love God and neighbour. This freedom when it comes to a Christian emancipates him/her at all dimensions of life, especially in the political aspect where a country like Nigeria needs freedom from the dangers of Islamization and Fulanization. May God bless you today!

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