Desist from using others!-HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 24TH JULY 2023

Desist from using others!-HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 24TH JULY 2023

Exodus 14:5-18; Ex.15; Matthew 12:38-42

Desist from using others!

The readings of today call us to re-evaluate the basis of our relationship with others. The basis on which Christ instructed that we relate with one another is Love. If we are not loving one another, then whatever we are doing with the other person does not please God. In the first reading of today, Pharaoh and the Egyptians could not bear the thought of the absence of the Israelites. They couldn’t imagine themselves doing the dirty jobs they had enslaved the Israelites to do for them. Even though Pharaoh had asked the Israelites to go (after the tenth plague), he changed his mind and pursed them. They wanted the Israelites back, not to love them but to use them; not to feed them but to milk; not to cater for their welfare but to enslave them.

Likewise in the gospel reading, Jesus refer to the Scribes and the Pharisees as “an evil and adulterous generation” when they asked him for a sign. Jesus reacted such because their motive for asking for a sign was rather selfish. They weren’t asking because they believed in Jesus, but because they wanted to use Jesus to meet their earthly desires. Like Pharaoh and his men, the Scribes and the Pharisees did not love but only wanted to make a slave out of Jesus.

Do you think we are different from the Scribes, the Pharisees and Pharaoh with his men? Can we confidently say that we truly love? The friends we keep, the people we relate with, the persons we so much want to be around us, what is our motive? Is it not the case that often times we relate well with people for as long as they serve us some selfish purposes? When we perceive that they can no longer serve, we jettison them and have them replaced. Is it not also the case that because we are not loving but using others, we don’t ever consider what we should do for them; we only consider what they must do for us. Is it not also the case that “thank you”, “please” and “I am sorry” have missed from our dictionaries because we feel entitled to the services we get from those we have psychologically enslaved?

Indeed, many of us risk being an evil and adulterous generation. Jesus did not satisfy the selfish desire of the Scribes and Pharisees. Likewise in the first reading, God did not allow Pharaoh and his men get hold of the Israelites; infact, they died while trying. This goes to show how much God detests the attitude of enslaving others whether economically, psychologically, or otherwise. Learn to respect everyone, and then you will grow to love them. Lack of respect is foundational to every selfish relationship because you will not enslave someone you truly respect.

If God has placed you above/in-charge of anyone, it is because he wants you to contribute positively to the life of the person. If you rather choose to dehumanize the individual, the God of the poor will come to his/her rescue. From the fate of the Pharaoh and his men, let us learn that God always fight for the weak and oppressed. You may be mighty but you are not the Almighty; you may be great, but you are not the Greatest; so, be careful! If you will not raise a person up, at least, do not drag him down.