SERMON/HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE II 10TH FEBRUARY 2024

SERMON/HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE II 10TH FEBRUARY 2024

1Kings 12:26-32; 13:33-34; Ps.106; Mark 8:1:10

Your Provider is your Protector

Yesterday, the monarchy of Israel was uttered. God gave ten of the twelve tribes of Israel to Jeroboam. This division was not to affect their faith in God. Collectively, the twelve tribes of Israel remained God’s people. Consequently, the culture of going up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices remained. The ten tribes under the reign of Jeroboam were still expected to go to Jerusalem where God meets with his people.

This practice did not go down well with Jeroboam. He wanted a total disconnection of his people from Jerusalem. He felt threatened that the continuous worship in Jerusalem will cost him his throne and life someday. Since he had no power to replicate Jerusalem, he went into idolatry and instituted it for his people. This is a clear case of one putting his pride over his God. Jeroboam forgot that he did not work to earn the ten tribes of Israel. He forgot that God chose him to be a king not another god to the people of Israel. He overestimated his authority and acted beyond boundaries. He wanted to protect a position he never provided.

Sometimes, we too are tempted to act like Jeroboam. In a bid to secure that which God has given us, we put God aside and turn elsewhere. It is a feeling that God cannot preserve that which he had given us. A business man want to go diabolic to keeping his business flourishing. A civil servant wants to go diabolic to grow in his career. Parents want to go diabolic to determine or preserve the destinies of their children. The business man has forgotten the God that gave him the business; the civil servant forgot that God provided him with the job; the parents are no longer aware that it is God that gives children.

Beloved, God’s provision is always holistic. When he provides, he provides in totality. This is the message of today’s gospel. After feeding the great crowd with the Word that they asked of him, Jesus proceeded to feeding them with physical food when he saw that they needed it, even without them asking. God is always interested in our complete wholeness. So, we must learn to trust that the one who provides can and will also protect.

If Jeroboam had expressed his insecurity to the Lord, the Lord would have guided him. Beloved, none of us have the capacity to preserve that which we never provided. The prayer of the psalmist assures us that the Lord will always remember us.