*HOMILY OF FRIDAY OF THE 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A*
Revelations 10:8-11, Luke 19:45-48
We put a price on our head anytime we speak the truth.
We put our lives in our hands whenever we seek to correct the ills in our society.
It takes courage to be an agent of justice. It takes courage to play a prophetic role.
We see Jesus in today’s gospel driving out those who were selling in the temple. He couldn’t stand how they were exploiting the people in their dirty game of buying and selling. He said,
” _it is written, my house shall be a house of prayer, but have made it a den of robbers_ .”
However, it was shocking realizing that those seeking to destroy him were still the respected people in the temple; chief priests, the scribes and the principal men of the people. A man remains a brute as long as he does not allow God’s word to have a place in his heart. It is not about his position in the respected places.
As a matter of fact, it is an obvious fact that it is more rewarding to be an embodiment of the truth which we speak.
Moreover, in the first reading taking from the book of revelation, John was not given the scroll to eat. He was asked to take it. Likewise, we must take the words of God and insert it into our lives before we are licensed to speak it to others.
” _So I went to the angel and told him to give me the scroll, and he said to me, Take it and eat it, and it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth_ .”
The truth is very sweet on our lips, but bitter in our stomach. It is not easy to live it out. To live out the word, we must first do a kind of violence to ourselves. This gives us the courage to speak to others without counting the cost.M
May we be embodiment of truth and justice, and may our courage be unbeatable in the face evil. Amen.
Leave a comment