Homily for Friday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Cycle II
Theme: BEWARE OF THE ANTICHRISTS!
By: Fr. Benedict Agbo
Homily for Friday November 13 2020
* 2 Jn 4 – 9, Lk 17 : 26 – 37.
Jesus Christ came down from heaven to earth to clarify the ways of divinity ; the hidden truths about God and his kingdom, Col 1 : 15 and the secrets of living the life of blessedness, Matt 5 : 1 – 11. The Anti – Christ ( a biblical nomenclature for the highest opponent of Christ) has a mission towards the opposite direction ; to confuse humanity with heresies and make salvation as difficult as possible. He has peddled a number of heresies against the incarnation, 1 Jn 4 : 1 – 3, teaching people for example that Jesus Christ is son of God and so cannot be God ( Arianism, their offsprings are all over the place through Churches like the Jehovah’s Witness) or that Mary is a creature and cannot be called in any sense the Mother of God ( Macedonists, their offsprings are all over the place through many Pentecostal Churches).
He has also peddled a number of heresies against love and practical Christian living for example through extreme ascetism ( masochists, preach a lot of hatred for normal living, their offsprings are manifesting in such fanatical groups like the Precious Blood) or an inordinate divide between the human body and the soul ( gnostics, propagate extreme life of prayer and fasting in order to suppress the flesh, perceived as ontologically evil, their offsprings are found among fanatical charismatics, members of the Deeper life Church, etc). There are also those who propagate some form of abnormalities in human sexuality ( example homosexuals and lesbians or transgender advocates). The scriptures warned seriously against this development in the later days, Rom 1 : 24 – 25.
There are also heresies about the end time. Eschatological heresies have a way of affecting human behaviour negatively. Many Churches have continued to predict the rapture giving dates like the year 2000, 2010, etc. Some even from Marian Confraternities have predicted the coming of the 3 days darkness that brought a lot fear and trepidation among Christians in the recent past. These are of course heresies because the unpredictability of the end time is part of scriptural revelation, Matt 24 : 26 – 36.
Take note that the real devil is the one that looks like Christ – the one that operates in Churches and disguises in the form of ministers and pious people. Charismatics call it the ‘religious spirit’ – a terrible spirit of evil that operates among many Christians today, ‘uselessing’ their faith and rendering it ineffectual and unproductive, 2 Pet 1 : 9. That is why a lot of heretics, materialists, criminals,abortionists, population controllers and homosexuals have made their inroads into the corridors of power in many Countries of the world (especially USA) and in many Churches at this hour and the mission of the Antichrist is to rock havock heavily on the Church, Matt 16 : 18.
St John warns in today’s 1st reading that many deceivers have gone out into the world ; men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus in the flesh ( the theology of incarnation). The incarnation theory has a number of theological implications ; the reality of salvation made easy through Christ’s gift of HIS FLESH ; the flesh that was given is the Eucharist, Matt 26 : 26 and the flesh that was taken is that of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jn 19 : 27. And so, are you surprised that these two theological truths are what the Antichrists have fought most doggedly against? We must therefore beware of the Antichrists. They are taking over our Churches and world governments. May God bless you today!
-Fr. Ben Agbo