HOMILY, MONDAY, 10TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
1King 17:1-6. Gospel Matthew 5:1-12
It is a given that without the spirit of discernment, it is delicate to walk with God. One has to know the good, acceptable, and perfect. There are some good things we do, there are some of our heart desires that God may grant, but are not his perfect will. He never wanted the Israelites to have a king like the rest of the nations. They pestered him through Samuel and he granted their request with all its implications.
Ahab the king of Judah did a lot of abominable things before God. He even married Jezebel who lured him into serving Baal. 1Kings 16:29-34. His reign actually provoked the anger of God. And Elijah took up the fight and said, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”1Kings17:1
Here, there was no “Shema” Thus says the Lord” He said, “by my word.” The heaven would be sealed and some of the innocent citizens of Judah would suffer just because of the actions of the Ahab the king. Afterwards, God simply directed Elijah to a place of safety because he knew what awaits him. The Lord had to honour his words because he was his prophet. He had to protect him for the sake of his name.
In every aspect of our life, we must discern to know when to use our authority and how to use it. That we speak and something happens will not always mean that it is God’s perfect will. There are some battles that we leave to God or we wait for him to lead us to fight.
John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah with a kind of provocation in his word. “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?…Even now the axe lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown in to the fire.” Luke 3: 7-9
Jesus in turn, presents us with the blessedness of those who serve the Lord. Jesus is the one who has come to fulfil the law. To his perfect image we are called to be conformed. Thus, he says,
- We must be poor in Spirit. When we know our need of God, we enter into the bliss of his kingdom.
- When we mourn, we must not despair. The Lord is our comfort.
- We must be meek. It takes meekness to live calmly in a heated world.
- We must hunger for righteousness. It is only God who can satisfy of our spiritual hunger.
- We must be merciful. Mercy is shown to those who show mercy.
- We must be pure in heart. Nothing impure will enter God’s presence.
- We must be agents of peace. God does not support chaos.
- We must endure persecution for righteousness sake.
- We must not allow whatever evil stories people carry against us to get the better part of us. What God is telling us is what matter, and not what people are saying about us.
In conclusion, our consolation is that we are not the first to suffer for God. God knows how to take care of those that belong to him. Ours is to know where the beatitudes apply. We need the spirit of discernment to know when our actions are done in God’s name. We need to know when we are suffering in his name. This will help us to remove sentiment from whatever we do and allow God to take the lead.
PRAYER
O Lord! I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to your ways. This is my spiritual worship. Help that I may not conform myself to this age but be transformed by the inner renewal of my mind, that I may discern what is your will, to know what is good and acceptable and perfect. Amen.
