The Heavens Declare the Glory of God.

Homily for November 17, 2017.


“And if men were amazed at their power and working, let them perceive from them how much more powerful is he who formed them. For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator.” Wisdom 13:4-5. 

NB. Today’s homily is going to be quite long because I am going to take us to theology class. Please do not give up until you finish.

Two years ago, I encountered an atheist for the first time who told me he does not believe in God simply because he is waiting for God to come and show himself to him. I looked at him and laughed and asked him if he is blind. He said: “No.” Then I told him that if he could see the wonder of the world, then he should realize that God has already shown himself to him.

According to our First reading this morning, ignorance of God is FOOLISHNESS of the highest order. This is because as long as we have eyes to see and minds to reflect, what can be known about God is self-evident.

St. Paul also takes a clue from this very verse when he noted: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has SHOWN it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honour him as God…” Romans 1:19-21 

After reflecting on the above, the great intellectual colossus, St. Thomas Aquinas, came up with five solid proofs to show that beyond every reasonable doubt, God actually exists. These five proofs are also called five ways or five arguments of proving God’s existence. They are:

1,. The Proof from MOTION. We observe motion all around us. Nothing moves on its own without something first making it to move. Whatever is in motion now was at rest until moved by something else, and that by something else, and so on. But if there were an infinite series of movers, all waiting to be moved by something else, then actual motion could never have got started, and there would be no motion now. But there is motion now. So there must be a First Mover which is itself unmoved. This First Mover we call God.

2., The Proof from EFFICIENT CAUSE. Everything in the world has its efficient cause--its maker--and that maker has its maker, and so on. The coffee table was made by the carpenter, the carpenter born by his or her parents, and on and on. But if there were just an infinite series of such makers, the series could never have got started, and therefore be nothing now. So there must have been a First Maker, that was not itself made, and that First Maker we call God.

3., The Proof from NECESSARY VS. POSSIBLE BEING. Everything we see around us depends on something else for survival hence they are called contingent beings as against necessary beings that do not depend on anything else. For instance, cars and trees and you and I are not necessary because there is a time before they come to be when they are not yet, and a time after they cease to be when they are no more. If everything were merely possible, there would have been a time, long ago, when nothing had yet come to be. Nothing comes from nothing, so in that case there would be nothing now! But there is something now-the world and everything in it-so there must be at least one necessary being. This Necessary Being we call God.

4., The Proof from DEGREES OF PERFECTION or BEAUTY. We all evaluate things and people in terms of their being more or less perfectly true, good, noble, beautiful, and so on. We have certain standards of how things and people should be. But we would have no such standards unless there were some being that is perfect in every way, something that is the truest, noblest, and best. That Most Perfect Being we call God. In other words, what Thomas Aquinas says here is that when you see something very beautiful, you think you have seen the most beautiful thing on earth only to be amazed with something even more striking and you just open your mouth and wonder. If we continue to go up the ladder of beautiful and more beautiful, we would reach a final point which nothing else can be found to be more beautiful and that final point is God.

5., The Proof from DESIGN. As we look at the world around us, and ourselves, we see ample evidence of design--the bird's wing, designed for the purpose of flight; the human ear, designed for the purpose of hearing; the natural environment, designed to support life; and on and on. If there is design, there must be a designer. That Designer we call God. The human body can be described as a machine with every single organ working in perfect collaboration with another, someone must have arranged them and given them their functions and that great designer is God.

Truly, anyone who tries to say God does not exist or acts as if he is not sure, is very foolish. And this foolishness is seen in the idolatry that we find around us; rather than worship God who made these beautiful things, people turn to worship the things themselves. As the book of Wisdom asserts: “If through delight in the beauty of these things men assumed them to be gods, let them know how much better than these is their Lord, for the author of beauty created them.” Wisdom 13, 3. When you see a very beautiful girl or handsome boy for instance, what should first come to your mind is to sing praise to God because this beauty is a reflection of God’s beauty. Rather than lust after a person or try to use that person for personal gratification, we should turn our focus to God and begin to imagine how beautiful he must be.

In our Gospel passage, Jesus makes us understand that we do not know the day or the hour when we would be called to give an account of our lives. So every minute we have right now, we should use it well to serve God and prepare for heaven. Whether or not God exists should no longer be an issue or an excuse as some people claim, they say since God has not come down to show himself to them, they would not pattern their lives according to his commandments. How foolish they are! Heaven is real. God truly exists so get ready!

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, make me wiser each day. Amen.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary: Pray for us.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study:  Wisdom 13:1-9 and Luke 17:26-37).

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