REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR I 31ST OCTOBER 2023

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR I 31ST OCTOBER 2023 

Rom.8:18-25; Ps.126; Luke 13:18-21

The syntax for building God’s Kingdom

The first petition contained in the Lord’s Prayer is “Thy Kingdom come”. Here we pray that God’s kingdom should be established on earth and in our midst. This prayer is important because we begin from this earth to experience heaven. The establishment of God’s kingdom on earth is possible by the grace of God and the cooperation of man. In the gospel reading of today, Jesus reveals how this kingdom of God is being established on earth: it grows from littleness to greatness – it is never magical or automatic.

The principles that guides heaven is love and constant connectivity with God. To establish these principles on earth, we must be ready to start little and be consistent. To love in this world, we may have to begin with loving our family members, then we grow to include our neighbours, school/work colleagues and business associates. We can then graduate to loving those we do not meet often, those we do not know at all, those who are poor and marginalized. When this stage has been mastered, then we can talk about loving our enemies.

If love must be perfect, we just have to systematically grow in it. Today, we see and hear of young boys and girls who claim to love themselves, doing for themselves some good deeds that they have not even done for their family members. When love does not grow but seems to be perfect at the top when the foundation is shaking, then you can be sure it has some selfish ulterior motive.

Also, real connectivity with God should grow systematically. Today it is very common to find people struggling to hear from God. They move from place to place in search of what God is saying concerning them or their situation. People want to know if God approves that they should marry a certain person, embark on a journey/project, establish a business, and so on. While it is not out of place for God to give such detailed direction, we need to first consider whether we have heeded to the very simple directions/commandments that God has been giving to us.

To be connected to God, we must first enter into the sacramental life of the Church and be fervent in it. We must also be conscious of keeping the commandments; that is, struggling daily to overcome temptations. Our prayer life too must be on top gear so that the voice of God becomes familiar to us. It is only when we are doing all these considerably well, that we may begin to seek greater level of intimacy. If we excuse ourselves to abide in sin, we cannot hear the voice of God. If we excuse ourselves from being prayerful, there is no way we can understand what God is saying.

Beloved, be faithful at whatever good you are capable of doing; for that is how you will cooperate with the grace of God in establishing His kingdom here on earth.