HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 10TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II
THEME: Be reconciled with your brother (sister)!
BY: Rev. Fr. Oselumhense Anetor (Uromi Diocese)
HOMILY FOR THURSDAY JUNE 9 2022
1 Kgs.18:41-46; Ps.65; Matt.5:20-26
No one likes lip service, least of all, God. Pleasing God means we may sometimes have to displease ourselves. Yes! It means making untold sacrifices. Today, Jesus continues his homily on the Mount. He makes himself the authority behind the reinterpretation of the Mosaic laws. “You have heard it said…” (old law). “…but I say…” (new law). Jesus being God knows what is best for us in every situation.
My cousin once told me about a colleague who offended her terribly. To make matters worse, this colleague of hers refused to make any ‘reconciliatory’ moves. She was just too ‘proud’. When she brought the matter to me, I asked if she was unhappy about it all. She answered in the affirmative. Then I told her to go and apologise to her colleague. ‘What!’ She screamed. ‘I wasn’t even the one at fault. Weren’t you listening? She was the one that offended me oh!’ I smiled and told her that I heard her well the first time. I was more concerned about her happiness than who was right or wrong.
Notice that Jesus does not say ‘if you notice that you have something against your brother’. Rather, He says, ‘if you notice that your brother has something against you’. The advice I gave my cousin wasn’t an easy one. And it certainly was against ‘normal’ procedure. But it was the right thing to do. So she eventually took my advice and regained her happiness. What about her colleague? Oh, she went about with shoulders raised, blabbing to everyone that my cousin had come to ‘beg’ her after all. See? This other young lady clearly missed the point.
Prayer : Heavenly Father, thank You so much for this new day. May Your love so envelope me and my household that all ill feelings, resentment, malice or hatred that I feel against any of my brethren may fade into insignificance, through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Good morning dear; God bless your day ahead.