HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 12TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II
THEME: PRAYING DIFFERENTLY.
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul
HOMILY FOR TUESDAY JUNE 21 2022
‘Hezekiah received the letter…and spread it out before the LORD.’
Hezekiah, King of Israel, received a letter of threat from a much more powerful king – the King of Assyria. The Assyrian potentate demanded unconditional surrender, and told Hezekiah not to trust in God. The letter was graphic, warning that resistance meant the Israelites would have to ‘eat their own excrement and drink their own urine’ before they died (2 Kings 18:27).
From the passage taken today, (2Kings 19:9-11.14-21.31-35.36), the assyrian king told Hezekiah that the God he (Hezekiah) put his trust in may be deceiving him. Has anyone told you before that not even God would save you? The highest level of folly is when man challenges his Creator. For “the fool has said in his heart there is no God”.
So Hezekiah went to the temple ‘and spread it out before the LORD’. Then he prayed: ‘God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see’ (Isaiah 37:16-17, 2Kings 19:14-21). Hezekiah literally said, ‘Lord, would you read this, then do something about it!’ And God did. Indeed, what He did was spectacular. ‘Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning – there were all the dead bodies!’ (Isaiah 37:36).
So, what piece of paper would you like to spread out before the Lord? A family harassment and distress? A financial statement that is overwhelming? Contract termination? A medical diagnosis? An court paper? Any piece of paper that causes you stress can be an invitation to prayer, and a candidate to be spread out before the Lord. If it is important to you, it is important to Him. You say, ‘I have never done anything like that before.’ Try it.
Give it to God, trust Him, and watch how He works things out for you. Again, we must learn to know where to put our trust when we face challenges. God shouldn’t be the last resort. No, He should be seen and talked to first before all else. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God have mercy on us, heal our world, bless and protect us all through Christ Our Lord Amen. Good morning.
Fr. Karabari Paul