Homily for Thursday of the 19th week in ordinary time

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 19TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR I 

Joshua 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17; Ps.114; Matthew 18:21-19:1

Gratitude to God for Mercy received

It is possible to receive the gift of God and that gift will not bring us salvation. For God’s gift to bring us salvation, we need to have an attitude of gratitude. There are two sides to an attitude of ingratitude. In the story of the ten lepers, wherein only one came back to thank Jesus after they have all been healed, the ingratitude of the other nine lepers was displayed in their failure to give thanks to Christ who has healed them.

In the gospel reading of today, we find the other side of ingratitude, namely: the failure to replicate to ones neighbour the favour we have received from God. The servant whose master forgave him his debt when he only asked for more time to pay back, could not fully enjoy the forgiveness of his master because he failed to show mercy to another servant who owned him far less than he owned his master.

The fact is, none of us can outdo God in showing mercy. No one can offend us as much as we offend God. For every complaint we make of people’s action towards us, we have done worse to the Lord. Sometimes, we so much emphasize, anticipate and take for granted the mercy of God even when we are obstinate in sin. I once advised someone to stop praying for the death of his perceived enemies but he answered that those who continue to wish him evil and will not repent, deserve to die. But then, how often have we told God that we will not commit a particular sin again, yet we fail to keep the promise!

It is the duty of every Christian to create heaven here on earth. Often times we accuse some of our leaders of traveling abroad to enjoy basic amenities of life but refuse to bring such amenities to our locality. Such leaders truly fail us and are not deserving of the name. So also we will not deserve to be Christians, if after experiencing heaven through answered prayers, we fail to create it in this world for others to experience too. For every favour we receive from God, there are terms and conditions attached, namely: go and do/give the same to others.