HOMILY OF SUNDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK IN LENT [LAETARE SUNDAY]
1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41
THEME: KNOWING GOD’S PURPOSE IN OUR LIVES.
QUOTES: “Although man’s gift makes way for him, God’s timing is what really announces us. Being available does not necessarily mean that we are needed.”
God knows how he made us. So, there is nothing about us that can surprise or shock him. He does not discriminate, nor does he choose us based on our talents. He prospers according to his purpose for us. Although man’s gift makes way for him, God’s timing is what really announces us. Being available does not necessarily mean that we are needed. When our time has not come, it may seem that our effort is in vain but what matters is that we put our God given gifts to good use. David was in the field, but when God needed him in the palace, he went for him. His brothers were at home, but he chose to be in the field tending his father’s sheep.
And again, God’s is not partial; everybody is His preference. To say that a particular person is God’s choice only makes other people feel inferior. God has equal love for everyone. We key into his love and his choice for us when we tailor our life in His direction and align with his choice and divine will for us.
In the second reading Paul said to the Ephesians, “Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the futile works of darkness but exposing them by contrast.” It makes sense if what God sees in us is what he has put in us, that which aligns with his will. Seeing what he sees in us helps us to give all that He asks of us. All we need do is to remove every covering on our lives that does not allow the light of God to shine on us. We must work and pray against every evil veil covering our glory, be it the evil veil of sin or the distractions in the world.
Furthermore, Jesus has come to set us free from every darkness of sin. His presence in our lives is the beginning of a period of enlightenment and self-consciousness meant to bring us closer to God’s purpose. In the gospel, he restores the sight of the man who was born blind and inserted him into the society. This man had started teaching the Jews even before he accepted Jesus as his Lord. This is a clear sign that there are some dispositions or attributes in us that point us to the direction of life’s purpose or the source of our blessings. All we need is God’s light so that we can know the right way. If left to human judgement or assessment, we will end up grouping people in the wrong categories, but God does not judge by appearance. He told Samuel when he thought that Eliab was the choice for the kingship, “Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him: God does not see things the way man does; man looks at appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Beloved, let us pray for divine light on this special day, that God may open our sight so that we can find out our unique function in life and be useful in whatever we do. May he remove every veil that prevents us from achieving our purpose in life, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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