HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR I.
THEME: My child, where are you?
BY: Fr Francis Onwunali
As a child of God and offspring of our first parents, the voice of God is sounding in the garden of your life asking: “Where are you?”
The first reading (Gen 3: 9-24) of today recalls the inability of Adam and Eve to take responsibility for their actions and the beginning of “blame game” which is still evident in our lives today – “it is the devil that made me do it”. Even though humanity lost that intimate union with God, God’s love and mercy still abound as He reaches out to offer hope of restoration through the painful work of one of their offspring.
RELATED: HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR I
In the gospel (Mark 8: 1-10), Jesus, the Eternal Word of God, spoke to the hearts of the people gathered around Him. Instead of them hiding on hearing Him, were able to remain present with Him for three days. As the restorer of our souls and dignity, Jesus nourished them with food in abundance as in the days of Adam and Eve before the fall. “They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over, seven baskets full. ”
Dear friends, we still hear God today asking: “My child, where are you?” The same fear that gripped our first parents is still gripping us as we are confronted for the wrong we have done, which has pushed us into hiding. If we allow the fear to dominate our lives so that we do not come out to face our God, then the “master of deception” has won another victory.
I pray that as we journey in life today, we will be willing to respond to God’s loving call, accepting responsibility for our wrongdoings so that the restoration brought by Christ will flow in us abundantly. May God who has written our names on the palms of His hands (Is. 49: 16) guide us with His Word and nourish us with the Bread of Life – His Body and Blood (Eucharist). As I hear the Word today, may I not harden my heart. Have a Mercy-full day!
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