HOMILY FOR 23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.
Theme :Where is your brother and sister?
By: Fr A N. ABIAGOM, CM
Homily for Sunday September 6 2020
Ezekiel 33:1,7-9; Romans 13, 8-10 & Matthew 18:15-20.
Dear people of God, I reflect with us in this homily on a very important question we need to individually respond to. What is this important question? It is the question that God asked Cain in Genesis chapter four verse nine: Where is your brother? Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord is asking us the same question: Where is your brother and your sister?
In the first reading from the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord calls our attention to the role of a sentry in notifying the inhabitants of a city of an approaching danger. It is the responsibility of a prophet to warn the wicked to desist from evil. If the prophet fails to do so, the guilty of the wicked will be on his head, should the wicked perish at death. But on the contrary, the prophet will be free of guilt if he does warns the wicked and he or she fails to heed the call.
The second reading from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans tells us that love is the summary of the law. Without love, we shall not concern about each other. Thus when love is absent, If anyone is perishing among, it will bother no one.
The gospel reading calls us to unity and reconciliation through sincere forgiveness of one another. You can see that the readings are all connected. They invite us to watch the back of each other and to care for each other. Do we care for each other? Do we know the whereabouts of our brothers and sisters?
Cain responding to the question put before him by God, said: Am I my brothers keeper? Oftentimes, we give this same response of Cain by our indifference and selfish attitudes towards each other. How do we care for the sick, the aged, and the poor among us? When last did we remember to check on our brother and sisters? Since the Corona virus Pandemic, have bothered to call on our brothers and sisters, friends and relatives to knowing how they are doing?
We sometimes live in this world as if there is something we came to drag with each other. We are actually here to love God and ourselves. We must be the keeper of our brothers and sisters. The final judgement will be based on how well we kept our brothers and sisters. Let us love one another.