REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 20TH OCTOBER 2023

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 20TH OCTOBER 2023

Rom.4:1-8; Ps.32; Luke 12:1-7

Gossip!

During apprenticeship, a master exposes the apprentice to the challenges he/she will encounter when he/she becomes independent because the effectiveness of the apprentice when he/she becomes a master, will be dependent on his/her problem-solving capacity. This is actually what transpired in the gospel reading of today. The increasing number of the multitude may have elicited joy in the hearts of Jesus’ disciples. It is surprising not so for Jesus who ordinarily should rejoice more.

Jesus saw a cankerworm that was capable to eating up any form of relationship and destroying any height of human effort into any adventure, if not properly handled. It is the cankerworm of gossip. The people who flocked round Jesus were not motivated by love. The good things they said to him became condemnations behind him. The Pharisees never liked him, yet they did not want him to perceive their hatred. In their closets, they planned on how to bring him down; but in the open, they cheered Jesus up.

The very reason why gossip demoralizes is because it often times comes from unsuspecting persons/sources. Persons who all the while they were with you, seemed to care when in reality they never did; people whom you trusted and drew close to yourself, only for them to make a fortune out of your weakness; people who claimed to have forgiven you but never stopped destroying your image out there.

When we chose to serve the Lord faithfully, we become prone to gossip. Your good efforts will be overlooked while your mistakes will be amplified. A veritable attribute of gossipers is that they never express their reservations to their victims; in fact, they avoid opening up to them. They prefer to speak in secrets because they do not want to be confronted since their claims cannot be substantiated.

Beloved, fled from gossip! It kills. It is human to make mistakes. Speak to the person in question. It is him/her who is to correct the mistake he/she has made. Gossip tarnishes the victim’s image for it seeks to turn a mistake into a life sentence or to cook-up what never existed or happened. It is devilish to do such; that is why the devil is referred to as “the accuser of our brethren”.

However, Jesus was not addressing gossipers but his disciples who will be gossiped about. He assured them of His Father’s love at those moments when they will be weighted down by the calumny of men. One thing is certain, the truth will eventually surface. Do not waste your time trying to respond to gossip talks. Jesus promises that the damage they will cause you will never be irreparable, that is why He said that they can kill body but not the soul. Never let yourself be distracted by gossip. With God by your side, time will vindicate you.