WHEN WE RECOGNIZE GOD AS OUR FATHER

HOMILY OF TUESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT: 23RD FEBRUARY, 2021

R1:- Isaiah 55:10-11
PS:- 34:4-5.6-7.16-17.18-19
Accl:- Matthew 4:4
Gosp:- Matthew 6:7-15

THEME: WHEN WE RECOGNIZE GOD AS OUR FATHER.

When we limit our idea of God only to an absolute power who lives in the high places, we may run the risk of loosing our intimate relationship with him. Even, simply using the term ‘God’ to connote him must surely affect our relationship with him. The term is too vast that if we are not careful, our understanding of him may depict him as mere an impersonal force that holds the universe together. Some refer to him as the absolute mind. To some, he is the supreme power.

Interestingly, Jesus, in our today’s gospel gives us the best way to see who God is. He is our Father. As an almighty Father, he has all it takes to take care of all that he has made.

He art in heaven. He is worthy of our praise. His kingdom is the best, and his will is absolute. He is our provider. He is a merciful Father, who does not desire the destruction of his children. He is a protector.

However,teaching his disciples how to pray, Jesus showed them that God is not far. Those who live in him can never be lost. Dwelling with God is dwelling in a home. Since he has the whole universe in his palms, his children are meant to feel at home in every part of the world. Tribalism, ethnic rivalry and racism are traits found in those who lack the knowledge of God as the Father of all. They live in their pigeon holes, and are not ready to come out of their cocoons.

Comparative advantages is the product of the thinking of those who believe that God, the Father, has shared wealth to all his children, though in different measures. Each is meant to complement the other. Unity and love makes the world resources the endowment for all.

Moreover, selfishness is evil. Its not simply thinking about my own good alone, it is also about withholding the care of others which the Father has commissioned me for. Stingy people are the ungrateful souls who bent on depriving their siblings their share of the family resources.

More so, those who are jealous of others’ progress are those who do not believe in the Father who has blessed all. we can just think aloud in such words as these,  “If our Father has blessed him, I believe that he can bless me too. There is no cause for envy. It is either I have wronged my our Father,or I don’t understand his ways. At times, my own share of the property may be in the hands of the siblings who is meant to tend it for me. Because of jealousy or human sentiments, I may have some unresolved issues with the one holding the Father’s gift for me. And when it seems that my blessings are delayed, I may blame it on God, forgetting that I’m the one who is failing in my human relationship. Hence the Lord implores, ” if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” It is all about using healthy relationship to unlock God’s blessings.

If God is our Father, then we are all brothers and sisters.

May the divine light of God  shine upon us that we may understand him better so as enjoy all the benefits that belong to those who recognize his Fatherhood. Amen.