HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 31ST WEEK IN THE ORDINARY TIME YEAR II

Homily for Thursday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time

Philippians 3:3-8; Luke 15:1-10

Theme: *DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF KNOWING CHRIST JESUS? 

*HOW DO YOU TREAT SINNERS?

In the first reading, St. Paul writes: "I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Phil 3:8). Obviously,  all that St. Paul initially regarded as glory before his conversion, he now counts as nothing because he had come to know Christ Jesus. St. Paul used to find glory in many priveleges before his conversion: He was proud of being circumcised on the 8th day, proud of belonging to Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, proud to be born of a Hebrew origin and became a Pharisee. However,  when he encountered Christ Jesus, he submitted completely to the faith of the church and mission of preaching the Gospel. Hence, for St. Paul, if anyone must boast of anything, let him boast of Christ Jesus, the Lord ( 1Cor 1:31).

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, as a Christian, what exactly are you proud of? Do you often boast of your caste, language, colour, race, wealth etc? How proud are you of your faith and do you glory in Christ Jesus, the Lord? Is there something you still consider of great value when compared to your faith in Christ Jesus? Friends in Christ, we must glory in Christ Jesus. We must count everything as loss beacuse of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. To know Christ means to be intimate with Christ. To know Christ is to know God (Jn 14:9). To know God is to have eternal life (Jn 17:3).

In the Gospel reading of today, we are told that the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  Luke 15:1-2. 

Beloved in Christ, How do you treat sinners? Do you shun them, talk about them, ridicule them, pity them, or ignore them? Jesus was attentive to sinners and allowed them to draw near to him. He was so merciful and kind to sinners that he was harshly criticized by the Pharisees and scribes. Are you willing to associate with the sinner to the point that you open yourself up to criticism? It is quite easy to be harsh and critical toward others. When we see people clearly going astray, we condemn and feel justified in pointing accusing the finger at them. We put them down as if we are better than they. Oh! What an easy thing to do and what a mistake! If we want to be like Jesus we must have a very different attitude and approach toward them and love them. Yes, sin is ugly and dirty quite alright. But if we are easily quick to criticize and condemn those we caught in a cycle of sin, we are no different than the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus’ time. We will most likely receive the same harsh treatment right back from Jesus for our lack of mercy. 

This is why Jesus presented two parables of God's mercy to those around him: the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost drachma. Humanly speaking, we can say if Jesus had taken a mathematical examination, he would have failed. But for Jesus, one is equal to ninety-nine and perhaps more.

Friends in Christ, Jesus is indeed full of mercy and compassion. His undying love for the salvation of humanity is like no other. Hence, for Jesus, Mankind is like the one sheep that strayed farway from the Father's love, of which He, the Son was sent to bring them back. We know how that salvation was won.

Beloved in Christ, Jesus consistently rebukes the sin of self-righteousness, prejudice criticism and judgmental attitude. These sins, however, shut the door on God’s mercy in our lives. Judgment is for God to give, not you. Rather you are called to mercy and compassion. May God help us to turn our eye of compassion toward sinners, seeing the goodness you put in their souls before seeing their sinful actions.  May we leave judgment for God and embrace mercy instead through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Have a fruitful day

Fr Remi Osj