The Obedient shall be Fruitful-HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 28TH JULY 2023

The Obedient shall be Fruitful-HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 28TH JULY 2023

Exodus 20:1-17; Ps.19; Matthew 13:18-23

We have all had experiences of Divine intervention in our lives and in the lives of those we know. But we may need to ponder if those experiences should simply die in the past and be overtaken by events. From the first reading of today, we realize that every experience of Divine intervention is God’s invitation to us to share in his life. Whatever God does for us is geared towards enabling us become more like Him. And so, in the first reading of today, the Lord first introduced himself as the Lord who miraculously brought the Israelites out of Egypt. This introduction was so necessary so that the Israelites will learn that their miraculous exit from Egypt was not an event to be forgotten with time.

The miracle first speaks of God assuring love for them and it also indicates that they have some responsibilities towards this love. God therefore gave the Ten Commandments to the people as a veritable guide to living the Divine life here on earth. The Ten Commandments are not restrictions or infringement on our freedom but a clear cut out principle of the mind of God and on how to practically live out Christianity.

The commandments ought to be our “vademecum”. They are like sample questions with which the students will be tested on the examination day. The student who abandons such sample questions will not do well no matter how hard he reads other areas of the course. In the same vein, no matter how well we may think we are practicing our Christianity, if we are not living out the commandments, we can be very sure that we are not doing God’s will.

Today is another opportunity to consider the commandments one after the other and evaluate our level of obedience to them all. Even though they are like sample examination questions, there are no options in answering them; it is a case of “Answer all”. And so, we will not applaud ourselves until we are doing excellently well in keeping all the commandments. This ought to be the primary project of every Christian at every point in time.

The extent to which we keep the commandments is the extent to which our hearts will be fertile soils for the seed of God’s Word to germinate and bear fruits. Our nutrition comes from adherence to God’s Word. So the psalmist says: Lord, you have the words of eternal life. Those who bear no fruit will not go to heaven because the Word is lacking in them. But, he who listens to this Word will share in the eternal life. Beloved, obedience to God’s commandments is first judged from the interiority of the heart. It is not just about what people see in the external. So, in all your actions and inactions, seek first to please God. It is God who saves you, commands you and can bring you to eternal life. Be careful not to forget this God.