HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 7TH WEEK OF EASTER
THEME: Ours, is to respond to the vocation of the Truth, we are called to always say the Truth.
BY: Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA
HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 1 2022
*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Acts 20:28-38
Psalm 67 :29-30,33-36
John 17:11-19
*FROM OUR FIRST READING*
The theme of ‘truth’ links both readings today. Paul, addressing the elders of the church of Ephesus, declares to them, ‘Even from your own ranks, there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them’. There is an acknowledgment there that not every interpretation of the gospel by the Lord’s followers is faithful to the gospel received from the Lord.
*FROM OUR GOSPEL READING*
In the gospel reading Jesus prays that God would protect his disciples from the evil one. More positively he prays that God would consecrate them in the truth, in other words, set them apart for the mission of bearing witness to the truth. Earlier in this gospel Jesus had said of himself, ‘I am the truth’ because he is the full revelation of God’s truth in human form. The calling of the disciples, of all of us, is to bear witness to the truth Jesus proclaimed, lived and embodied.
*CONCLUSION*
Both readings suggest that there will be pressure put upon us to deviate from this truth in some way. Elsewhere in the gospel Jesus promises to send us the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to lead us to the complete truth. What Jesus refers to in the gospel reading as ‘the evil one’ leads us away from the truth of Jesus, whereas the Holy Spirit leads us towards the truth Jesus revealed. We spend our lives trying to open ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit so that, in the words of Jesus in this gospel of John, ‘you will know the truth and the truth will make you free’.
*LET US PRAY*
Lord, grant me the grace to seek your truth and follow you. You have told me through your eternal word that you wish for me to cling to you and thus share in your joy—not just to some small degree set aside for each one of us, but completely. Let me take this to heart and refrain from the alternative of endlessly chasing the fleeting pleasures of this world. Bless me dear God and bless the New Month we begin today through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA