Never forget where you truly belong-Homily for Tuesday of the 15th week in ordinary time 18thJuly 2023

Homily for Tuesday of the 15th week in ordinary time 

Exodus 2:1-15a; Ps.69; Matthew 11:20-24

Never forget where you truly belong

The will of God is that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. The ultimate definition of salvation is to enjoy eternal bliss with God in heaven after our sojourn here on earth. Therefore, God’s desire for all men is that we all live in this world with the consciousness that this world is not our permanent abode. This desire, constitutes the thrust of the mission of every servant of God. By virtue of our baptism, God calls us and entrusts us with the task of constantly reminding others that this world is not our permanent home. Therefore, for one to be an effective evangelizer, the person must first be heavenly conscious.

This consciousness, though in a crude form, was very much in Moses as we see in the first reading of today. In his upbringing, the words of the psalmist in Ps.23:5a was fulfilled: “You prepare a banquet for me in the presence of my foes”. Moses grew up in the palace of a Pharaoh who has ordered that every male child born of the Hebrew women should be killed. Moses grew up like a prince. He lived and was treated like a prince. But he was always conscious of his real identity.

Moses knew that Egypt was not his original abode; he was conscious of the fact that, though he grew up among the Egyptians, they were not his people. The glamour of royalty was not able to deter him from identifying with his people when the opportunity came his way. The figure of Moses here, stands for one who is never carried away by ephemeral things as to forget what the essential truth is.

This patriotism of Moses for a true home, became the blue print for him to work for God in leading his people out of bondage in Israel. Anyone who has forgotten heaven, cannot help others to get there. Like the Israelites in Egypt, many today are in bondage in this world: the bondage of sin, materialism, pride, falsehood, idolatry in different forms, envy and so on. The common denominator of every bondage is that it rips the victim of the thought of heaven and gives the impression that only this world exists.

Beloved, God continues to invite you and I to become another “Moses” in our time; a Moses that will not forget that our true place is with God, from whom we came into this world. However, unlike Moses, we will not seek to bring this heavenly consciousness into others by our power. While we make ourselves available, we will completely rely on the Grace of God. My dear, whatever and whoever makes you feel at home to the extent that you no longer consider your eternal home, is rather deceiving you. Only heaven in our true home.