Homily
for December 22, 2017.
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
Luke 1:46.
Giving thanks is not just an act, it is an attitude; it demands humility
on our part to acknowledge all that we are and all that we have are gifts not
rights. Today we encounter two women who were able to give thanks because they acknowledged
their nothingness.
It takes a really humble person to be grateful or to return thanks. Even
as Christians, most of us find it really difficult to give thanks to God because
we always feel that God has not done enough. We forget that before God we are
mere dust; we assume we have a right to demand certain things from God; we even
issue commands and shout at God when we pray. This is sad!
When we look at the song of Hannah in our responsorial psalm and that of
Mary in our Gospel passage, we cannot but see a theology of how God works; a
theology Paul summarizes in 1 Corinthians 1, 27: “God chose what is foolish in
the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the
strong.”
According to Hannah: “The well-fed hire themselves out for bread, while
the hungry batten on spoil. The barren wife bears seven sons, while the mother
of many languishes.” And for Mary: “He has cast down the mighty from their
thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.”
In other for us to really give thanks, we must first come to terms with
our nothingness. Only then are we able to see that we don’t even deserve a tiny
fraction of the things we have, only then are able to see that our cup is half
full and not half empty.
Hannah prayed fervently for a child, she prayed so hard one day that Eli
mistook her for one who was high on alcohol. When she told him her problem, Eli
assured her that God would answer her prayer. In today’s first reading, we read
about how Hannah brought the boy Samuel back to Eli saying:
“As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your
presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord has
granted me my petition which I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the
Lord.”
What a lesson for us! It is one thing to ask, but do I remember to thank
God for the ones he has answered in the past? Do I keep my promises to God?
As Christmas approaches and the year itself comes to an end, let us
pause for a while today to count our blessings. Enough of complaining. You may
not like your life as it is now, perhaps you did not achieve your targets this
year, or maybe you don’t have enough money as you hoped for but then, take your
mind back five, ten years ago; recall when you didn’t even have anything at
all, remember when you used to go around your neighborhood wearing only pants,
playing on the sand or running with a bicycle tire. Did you ever know you would
be where you are today?
My brothers and sisters, there is so much in our lives that is worth
giving thanks for. Let us join our voices with Hannah and Mary to sing praises to
God from the depths of our hearts.
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to Give Thanks. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the 3rd
Week of Advent. Bible Study: 1 Samuel 1:24-28 and Luke 1:46-56).
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