HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK IN THE ORDINARY TIME YEAR II

Homily for the Tuesday of the 22nd week in the ordinary time year II

Theme: Jesus, the restorer of the original innocence of Man 

1 Cor 2: 19-16; Luke 4:31-37

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, the Gospel of today's liturgy of the word narrates to us the healing of the demoniac by Jesus. A fundamental reaffirmation of the objective of the mission of Jesus Christ, which is to restore humanity to its original nature of being in communion with God; to restore humanity from the slavery of sin and corruption to the state of freedom and adopted children of God; to restore humanity from the dominion of darkness, demons and evils spirits back to the state of light and joy in the Holy Spirit; to restore humanity to the state of original innocence, to reconcile humanity to God. St. John, in his first letter, acknowledges this purpose: “The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Right from the history of humanity, the human person had been caught in this incessant struggle and conflict with the powers of darkness. Consequently, God through the person of our Lord Jesus intervenes in human history in a way that is both new and definitive. Through His Son, God snatched men from the power of darkness and of satan (Col 1:13).

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ while the teachings of Jesus made so much impression upon the people, it is doubtful that the man possessed by an unclean spirit had a significant impact on that teaching because while Jesus was teaching he shouted at the top of his voice with a negative projection: “what do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God. The objective of the evil spirit is to separate us from God, destroy our understanding of Jesus' identity and mission and barricaded us from listening to the word of God.

Friends in Christ, St Paul recommends that we must be men and women of the spirit, those who have the mind of Christ, for a spiritual person can judge the value of everything, and his value is not to be judged by other men (1 Cor 2:15-16). By the virtue of our Baptism, we have been reborn in the Spirit of Christ and thus we should seek the things above and not the things of this earth. Clothed in the Spirit of Christ, let's walk the path of righteousness.

May God bless his words in our hearts. Amen.

Have a blessed day!

Fr Remi osj