(Homily for February 2, 2017).
Yesterday,
I listened to a sermon by a member of the Charismatic in my parish. It really
felt good to listen to him because his message was filled with a lot of
prophetic declarations and selected bible quotations. You could almost say “Amen”
to every line of the message. It didn’t sound like this sermon was being
preached in a Catholic Church because there was no difference whatsoever with
what you expect from a typical Pentecostal Church. At the end, there was an air
of excitement in the Church, you could see people’s faces brimming with smiles,
filled with hope and assured of having conquered their personal battles. However,
one question I asked myself was: “Did he really preach God’s word or didn’t he
just succeed in telling the people what they like to hear?”
Today we
recall how Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus to the temple to do for him
what the law prescribed. Simeon received the child, blessed them and part of
what he said to Mary was that “a sword will pierce through your own soul also.”
Honestly, if I was in the shoes of Mary at this point, that is the last thing I
would like to hear. Yet, Simon simply spoke as the Spirit directed and his
words came to pass when Mary had to undergo seven sorrows. Simeon could have
told her what she liked to hear, she would have gone home with excitement but
in the end, events would have proved that Simeon told lies in the name of God.
It is easy
to tell people what they want to hear. It is easy to psyche people up. The bible
is filled with countless feel-good verses and promises. It is easy to say God
told me to tell you so and so or that this year, so and so must happen. But we
should remember that the Bible not only mentions promises, it also mentions
crosses. As much as there are things to gain, there are also things to lose or
to give away. Even our first reading talks about the promised messenger whose coming
will be like a refiner’s fire purifying our hearts like gold and silver which
are made to pass through fire in other to remove impurities. The sword that
Simeon is talking about is the fire we must go through in other to become
presentable to God in the end.
In our
second reading, the book of Hebrews talks about how Jesus was made like us in
every respect such that he completely understands what it means to be a human
being. Jesus suffered and experienced temptation in the flesh. His suffering
was for good – that he might be able to help us in our suffering and teach us
how to overcome temptation. Dear friends, no suffering is wasted. If God allows
us to suffer, it is always for good. I will be a false prophet if I tell you
that you will never suffer this year. And shouting “Amen” as loud as possible
will not prevent suffering. At times, in moments of temptation, Satan makes us
choose between suffering and sin. If we try to evade suffering, it means we are
giving in to sin. Jesus chose to suffer – to be hungry instead of turning
stones to bread.
The presentation
of Jesus in the temple is a moment of revelation, a moment of truth, a moment
of prophecy. Simeon was told he would not see death until he sets his eyes on
the Messiah. At that very moment, the Holy Spirit enabled him to identify the
child. Also there was Anna, she had virtually spent all her life in the temple
seeing babies being presented in the temple but it was only when Jesus was
presented that her mouth opened and she spoke well of him to all.
Every hour
we spend in prayer is a presentation. We must learn to enter into prayer fully
and attentively because we do not simply talk to God, we also listen to his voice;
that same voice that made Simeon and Anna identify the child Jesus.
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, may your truth fill my heart. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Bible Study: Malachi
3:1-4. Hebrews 2:14-18 and Luke 2:22-40).
Fr. Abu.
No comments:
Post a Comment