SERMON/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTER 18TH APRIL 2024

SERMON/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTER 18TH APRIL 2024

Acts 8:26-40; Ps.66; John 6:44-51

Just for the sake of God

Even after the disciples had been dispersed to different parts of the world due to the fierce persecution of Christians in Jerusalem, the Spirit of God continued to work in and through them wherever they found themselves. The Spirit of God is not limited to particular places but can work only through available hearts irrespective of their location.

In the first reading, the Spirit of God directed Philip to an Ethiopian Eunuch. The encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch led to the baptism of the Eunuch. Thereafter, the Spirit of God took Philip away to Azotus where he continued preaching the gospel. The message here is that as soon as we declare our availability to God and his work, God can use any means to direct us to where and how he wants us to minister. To be available means to allow God take the lead.

Any Christian who wants to do the will of God but is not open and docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, will not be able to do much. The Lord owns the mission; we are only his instruments. He knows where there is a need and he knows how well he has equipped us to meet such needs. Our experience today may not be exactly like that of Philip, but we can never be without divine inspiration. Often times, Divine inspiration comes to us as ideas or promptings in our hearts or a need/lack that we are capable of filling up or attending to.

Like Philip, the more we give prompt and positive response to the promptings of our hearts, the more effective we become in spreading God’s kingdom here on earth. Try to overcome the temptation of providing reasons why you should not do the good you can do. It could be that you have suffered in the past for being good, or you have been taken for granted or not appreciated. No matter how ugly our past experiences may be, so long as we still have the capability, we should keep being good.

Do not rest your motivation on the worthiness of the beneficiary of your noble deeds; you will always find them unworthy. Instead, base your motivation on the joy and peace you will derive from doing the will of God; that is the joy with which the psalmist today cried out to the Lord. Know this: It is only those things that we do because of God that attract the reward of God.