HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR I.
THEME: DIVINE MADNESS.
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul.
‘He is beside himself.’
Jesus grew up in Galilee. Many people knew Him before His time of wide fame. Today in the Gospel Reading (Mark 3:20-21), the pressure on Him was so much that He had no time to eat. Perhaps, someone had gone to call His family members and friends to inform them about the situation. And as expected, they came. But oddly enough, they concluded that He was out of His mind; He was mad. Besides, traditional societies have placed a high priority on family honour. Jesus was threatening to bring dishonour to His family if He continued to act in such a foolish way. And what of these controversies He got embroiled in with the Jewish religious leaders? Jesus’ family would be tainted by His arrogance!
They might have also checked other actions of His: He showed incredible spiritual power He had never really shown earlier in His life (Mark 3:9-11), He gathered such an unlikely group of disciples that His judgement could fairly be questioned (Mark 3:13-19), the political and religious leaders threatened to kill Him but He would never drop His mission (Mark 3:6). So they were afraid for His sake.
In life, we have got to understand that everything about God must not make sense. We have to accept it anyway. God’s ways must always be not too clear to us and yet the best for us. Evidently, Jesus would never regret ‘being mad’ if His actions would bring healing, comfort, happiness and blessings for broken souls. Christianity is about doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways and times. It is about taking more extra miles for people who least deserve that act. It is about being conscious that we have a little time to do much good that finding time to eat become a luxury we can’t afford. Jesus wasn’t sleeping and refused to eat; He was working.
RELATED: HOMILY FOR THE 3RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A
People repeatedly misunderstood, criticised, and ridiculed Jesus. But He remained focused. Why? He knew His goals. When we are setting and working towards our goals, it is important to remember that not everyone will support us. They will misunderstand you. One of the toughest parts about reaching our goal is discovering that some of the people closest to us don’t share it or don’t want to be part of it. We can spend a lot of time and energy trying to convince them, but sometimes people just aren’t on board with what we are doing. They may not hate you. They just don’t understand why you are taking such path in life. Paul wrote, ‘All those in Asia have turned away from me’ (2 Timothy 1:15); ‘Demas has forsaken me..’ (2 Timothy 4:10).
It is profitable to work with only people who have a similar choice and mindset with you. If you are so preoccupied with explaining your goals to people who have misunderstood and criticized you, you may not have enough time to do what you even have to do. The only approval you should seek is God’s. He can bring the right people. Divine madness is what set saints on fire for the Kingdom. It is about allowing oneself to be used as a sacrifice for others; a total submission to God’s work. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God God bless you and your household always through Christ Our Lord Amen. You are always in my thoughts and prayers. Good morning.
FOR MORE HOMILIES CLICK >>>>>