Homily for February 6, 2018.
“And the
Lord said: this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me….” Isaiah 29:13.
Today’s
readings pick off from those of yesterday. Solomon had just built a magnificent
temple for the worship of God and offers the prayers of dedication. Solomon prays
to God that whenever God’s people are gathered in the temple to pray, God
should please listen to their petitions. The words of this ancient prayer are
still being used even today in the dedication of Churches. (Confer, The Rites)
As at the
time of Solomon, there was no such thing as the Holy Eucharist kept in the
tabernacle. Now we can walk into the Blessed Sacrament and behold, there we are
face to face with God. What a privilege! “For what great nation is there that
has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon
him?” Deuteronomy 4:7.
When Jesus
cleansed the temple and drove out the money changers, he was asked for a sign
to prove the validity of his action and he said: “Destroy this temple, and in
three days, I will raise it up.” John 2, 19. From this statement of Jesus, we
get to see that even our very bodies are temples where God also dwells. This is
why St. Paul would say in 1st Corinthians 6, verse 19: “Do you not know that
your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?”
In our
Gospel passage this morning, Jesus is speaking of how we can make the temples
of our bodies clean. He says we should bother more about the inside than the
outside. Our religion should not be only about external observances that people
can see but the internal acts known to God alone.
It is
right there, deep inside the heart that we worship God. And so, keeping the
temples of our bodies clean requires that we keep away from those things that
defile us from within. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil
thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come
from within, and they defile a man.” Mark 7:21-23.
As a rule
of thumb, to clean the temple, you must begin from the inside! To have a clean
personality, you must first clean your thoughts!
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, make me pure and holy inside. Amen. St. Paul Miki and
Companions, pray for us.
Be happy,
live positive, it is well with you. Tuesday of the 5th week in
Ordinary time. Bible
Study: 1st Kings 10:1-10 and Mark 7:14-23.
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