Homily
for September 30, 2017
As this
week comes to an end and this month comes to an end as well, the words of the
Prophet Zechariah are worth holding on to. They are words of hope and encouragement
spoken at a time of fear and despair. These words are a promise worth holding
to even for our country Nigeria today. Zechariah says:
“Sing and
rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of
you, says the LORD. And many nations
shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people; and I
will dwell in the midst of you.”
And to add
to this, our Psalmist says: “The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his
flock.”
In the
midst of life’s challenges, it is easy for us to be overcome by fear. What is
fear? Expecting the worst to happen based on one’s reasoning about the current
situation. Fear is the opposite of faith. What is Faith? Expecting the best
outcome despite one’s current situation.
At times,
it is important for us to take our eyes off our national dailies and turn off
the television news broadcasts and just deliberately focus on the greatness of
the God that we serve. It is important to remind ourselves that we are flocks
under the protection of God who is our shepherd.
Even in
our Gospel passage, Jesus is telling the disciples about his imminent death and
how he would be delivered into the hands of men but they were overcome by fear.
Even though death is something no one likes to hear, the death of Jesus was
actually good news for mankind in the long run. If Jesus had not died, we would
have all perished.
It takes
faith to see the brighter side! It takes faith to take a news as gloomy as
death and understand it as God’s means of bringing salvation to mankind. Dear
friends, let us be ruled by Faith not be fear because we are under the shepherd’s
hands.
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, my shepherd, as this month ends, may my fears also end with
it. Amen.
St. Jerome
was born in Dalmatia about the year 340, he studied in Rome and was later
baptized. Then he began to live a life of asceticism, went to the East and was
there ordained a priest. Returning to Tome, he was secretary to the Pope Saint
Damascus and began the task of translating the Bible into Latin as well as
promoting the monastic life. He then settled in Bethlehem where he gave great
help in the needs of the Church. He wrote many works, especially commentaries
on the scriptures. He died in Bethlehem in year 420.
St.
Jerome, pray for us and deepen our understanding of Scriptures. Amen.
*Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday
of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Bible Study:
Zechariah 2:5-9,10-11 and Luke 9:43-45).*
Fr. Abu.
No comments:
Post a Comment