HOMILY FOR 25TH FRIDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME: YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: Building God’s House and Carrying Our Cross
BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA
Haggai 2:1-9, Psalm 43, Luke 9:18-22
Good morning My friends, today’s liturgical readings give us a clear message: God wants us to be serious about our faith, and he promises to be with us when we are.
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Rebuilding What Matters
The prophet Haggai spoke to people who had a big job to do: rebuild God’s Temple, which was destroyed. They were tired and had given up. Instead of working on the Temple, they were busy making their own homes look nice.
God’s message to them is simple and direct: “I am with you.”
God wasn’t criticizing them for wanting a nice home, but for making their own comfort the number one priority while His work lay undone. He told them to get back to the job, promising that the new Temple would have a greater glory and bring peace.
This message is for us today. What is the “Temple” in your life that you’ve neglected? Is it your time for prayer? Your family? Helping those in need? Let’s take God’s assurance—”I am with you”—and start rebuilding what really matters.
Who is Jesus, and What is Our Job?
In the Gospel, Jesus asks his friends two very important questions. First, “Who do people say I am?” They answer with names of old prophets.
Then, Jesus asks the most important question of all: “Who do you say I am?”
Peter gives the perfect answer: “The Christ of God.” He is the chosen one, the Messiah.
Right after this, Jesus tells them something shocking: he must suffer, be rejected, and be killed. And then, he turns to his friends and says that if they want to follow him, they must also follow this difficult path: “If anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
What does this mean for us?
1. Deny yourself: It means putting God’s will and the needs of others before our own easy feelings or selfish desires. It’s saying “no” to things that are bad for us or keep us from God.
2. Take up your cross daily: It means accepting the small and large difficulties that come our way each day—the irritations, the unfairness, the need to forgive—and offering them to God with patience.
Conclusion
Haggai reminds us that peace and glory come after we commit to hard work for God. Jesus reminds us that his glory came through the Cross.
There is no easy path to true faith. We must choose every day to prioritize God’s work and to accept the crosses that come with following Jesus. If we do this, we have His promise: He is with us, and He will give us peace.
Have a blessed Friday with a wonderful weekend everyone!
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