HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY 15TH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: BE HUMBLE AND SIMPLE
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul
Isaiah 10:5-7,13-16, Ps. 94:5-10,14-15, Matthew 11:25-27
‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to infants.’
What God desires of us is to give Him a submissive and simple heart. In the Gospel of today (Matthew 11:25-27), Jesus thanked the Father in heaven for revealing the things of the kingdom to mere infants. Remarkably, Jesus referred to His disciples as infants. Biologically, they were adults. But in spiritual matters, they were submissive and lived under the authority of Christ. They depended on His teachings as their guides and guards. This prayer contains a warning that pride can keep us from the love and knowledge of God. What makes us ignorant and blind to the things of God? Certainly, intellectual pride, coldness of heart, and stubbornness of heart that shuts out God and His kingdom.
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Pride destroys the heart, making it cold and indifferent towards God. Pride of mind can’t be touched by the light of divine wisdom. A proud heart is already a blocked channel. Pride closes the mind to God’s truth and wisdom for our lives. What is pride? It is the selfish love of oneself at the expense of others and the exaggerated estimation of one’s own learning and importance.
Jesus put human wisdom as against child-like simplicity and humility. The simple of heart are like “infants” in the sense that they see purely without pretence and acknowledge their dependence and trust in the one who is greater, wiser, and more trustworthy. They seek one thing; the “summum bonum” or “greatest good” who is God Himself.
Simplicity of heart is wedded with humility, the queen of virtues, because humility moves the heart towards grace and truth. Just as pride is the root of sin and evil, so humility is the only soil in which the grace of God can take root. It alone takes the right attitude before God and allows Him as God to do all. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6). Only the humble in heart can receive true wisdom and understanding of God and His ways. Do you submit to God’s word with simple trust and humility? Jesus made a claim that no one would have dared to make: He is the perfect revelation of God. One of the greatest truths of the Christian faith is that we can know the living God.
“Lord, give me the child-like simplicity and purity of faith to gaze upon your face with joy and confidence in your all-merciful love. Remove every doubt, fear, and proud thought, which would hinder me from receiving your word with trust and humble submission.” 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. Please, stay safe. Good morning.
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