HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT, LITURGICAL CALENDAR / YEAR B
THEME: I was naked and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me.
BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA
READINGS OF THE DAY
Leviticus 19:1-2,11-18.
Psalm 18:8-10,15.
Matthew 25:31-46.
LITURGICAL COLOUR
PURPLE/VIOLET
INTRODUCTION
Good morning my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate Monday of the First Week of Lent, Liturgical Calendar Year B.
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FROM OUR FIRST READING
In our first reading today, we hear how God spoke to His people, whom He had brought out of the land of Egypt through Moses. God told all of His people that they must be holy just as He is Holy, loving just as He is always full of Love, devoted to Him just as He has always been devoted to the Covenant that He had made with each and every one of them and with their ancestors. That was why Moses told the people what they all ought to do, in doing what is right and just, in loving and caring for one another, and in not oppressing or causing hardships and sufferings to others.
FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
Today’s Gospel gives us a casual picture of what will happen on the Day of Judgment. But we may wonder why this gospel passage is placed at the beginning of Lenten season. This is maybe because the Church wants to offer us a positive stimulus to personal conversion and amendment. The Church reminds us too that the Lord Himself will certainly return as a Supreme Judge and this is not a remote possibility. We will be judged individually based fundamentally on the standard of real love in the form of works of mercy. That is, the “sheep” will inherit eternal life because they respond to real needs before them while the “goats” will inherit damnation because they fail to respond to those same needs.
On the Day of Judgment separation is inevitable. The Day of Judgment will reveal those who have shown true compassion and mercy toward their neighbor. God will judge us not only for the wrong we have done but also for what we have failed to do. That is why Jesus teaches us a very important lesson about loving our neighbor and taking responsibility for them.
CONCLUSION
Jesus declares that not only are we to see our neighbour as an extension of ourselves but we are to see our neighbour as an extension of himself. It is almost as if the first commandment and the second commandment have become one. In loving our neighbour, Jesus declares that we are loving him, and we know from elsewhere in Matthew’s gospel that in loving Jesus we are loving God, because Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. Whenever we render loving service to our fellow human beings, especially those in greatest need, we are rendering loving service to Jesus and to God. The opposite is also true. Whenever we neglect to love our neighbour in need, we are neglecting to love the Lord. This is the case whether or not we are aware of it. It is striking that, in the gospel reading, both groups were unaware that they were serving the Lord in love or neglecting to do so. Jesus suggests that there is a great deal more going on in our dealings with each other than we often realize, especially in our dealings with the most vulnerable.
Have a Blessed New Week.
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