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Homily of Saturday after Epiphany
Theme: John, the Humble.
By: Fr Gerald M. Musa
Homily for Saturday January 8 2022
“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels,” says St. Augustine. We see an exemplary life of humility in John the Baptist. He was consistently humble and intentionally refused to fall into the sin of envy, unhealthy competition, deadly rivalry, and inordinate ambition. His disciples noticed that Jesus had taken the centre stage and they reported to their master (John) that all people were going to Jesus. John responded gracefully saying, “No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven.” This simply means that we should appreciate what is given to us and we should also be happy and praise God for what is given to others. Furthermore, John responded, “He (Jesus) must increase, I (John) must decrease.” What a marvelous sense of humility. John the Baptist teaches us how to avoid the deadly sin of pride. Generally, all sins disrupt our relationship with God, but John the Evangelist says, “All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not deadly” (1 John 5:17). The Youth Catechism (YouCat) elaborates on the difference between deadly and venial sins: A serious sin (mortal sin) that is committed with full knowledge and full consent cuts a person off from God. For example, murder, blasphemy, and adultery. Venial sins are opposed to secondary values (honor, truth, property, and so on) or are committed without full knowledge of their seriousness or without full consent of the will (YouCat, 316). Can we resist the mortal sins of pride and envy and imitate the humility and charity of John the Baptist?
1 John 5:14-21: John 3:22-30;