It is often pertinent to ask ourselves such questions like“who is a preacher of the word?” “What is the word of God?” The word of God must be preached in its purest form. It is absurd to coat it with human philosophies to make it sweet to people’s taste. However, it remains the good news in the sense that it leads us to salvation.
Today’s’ reflection is taking from Nehemiah 8:1-12, Luke 10:1-12
Ezra as a preacher of the word.
When Ezra read the word of the Lord to the people, their hearts were cut for sorrow. Observing their deep remorse, Ezra found it necessary to calm them. And he said, “Go, eat the fat, drink the sweet wine, and send a portion to the man who has nothing prepared ready. For this day is sacred to our Lord. Do not be sad: the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.’ And the Levites calmed all the people, saying, ‘Be at ease; this is a sacred day. Do not be sad”.
We see in this passage, that they allow the message to sink in them before Ezra and the Levites began to calm them.
We must not cast our own shadow on the word of God to draw people’s attention to ourselves.
We also see in the gospel, “The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit.”
We are heralds of Christ
We are heralds of Christ. He told his disciples, “Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road.” The Lord commands focus and no distraction as we preach the gospel. As preachers of the word, he does not us want to preoccupy ourselves with our own thoughts above the message we carry. Being a preacher of the word, one needs to be humble.
May the word we preach daily by our words and deeds yield the desired fruits in people’s lives. Amen.
Homily of the Thursday of the 26th week in ordinary time year a
By Fr Oluwafemi Victor Orilua CSSp
Leave a comment