HOMILY OF SUNDAY IN THE 22ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A
Jeremiah 20:7-9, Romans 12:1-2, Matthew 16:21-27
THEME: THE THIN LINE BETWEEN TRUTH AND DECEPTION: A call for attention and Discernment:
The City of God and the City of Man are intricately intertwined. There is a deep relationship between the spiritual and secular aspects of human existence. The way up is the way down; and the line between the truth and falsehood is very tiny. It takes keen attention and a sharp sense of discernment to know the truth that leads to salvation.
Jeremiah lamented in the first reading because he felt caught up by God, who uses him to condemn a world that is bent on transgression. In such a world, he was not accepted but he had to speak. Speaking the mind of God was not soothing for him, retracting will equally be self-defeating.
In Such a world, Paul admonishes us, just the way he did to the Romans, “Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.”
He emphasized, what is good and perfect will of God.
There are some good things that can be enemies of the better things in our lives. With a clear and renewed mind, we can know the differences. There are some things that may be permissible but are not perfect for us.
Avoiding suffering can be beneficial, but there are moments when embracing it can lead to salvation.
“When Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.”
Jesus was very swift to recognize the voice of Satan through Peter. We need the Holy Spirit to help us discern foul spirits that may try to deceive us from following the path that leads to our eternal destiny. These range from Ungodly government policies and acceptable alternative lifestyles that do not give glory to God. The list is endless.
May we be more aware of God’s light in our lives, that we may discern is perfect will through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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