HOMILY FOR THE 4TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.

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Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13; Psalm 145:6-10; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 1:1-12.

“THE GLORY OF WEAKNESS!”

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·      Today the church celebrates the fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A. We are gathered yet again to thank God, worship him, and drink from the inexhaustible fountain of God’s word.

·      Like every other time we listen to the word of God, the Lord is speaking to us in the gentle voices of our hearts about the glory of weakness.

·      We live in a world where weakness is seen as a sign of defeat. Those who appear weak are thought to be a fool or their rights are trampled upon. This is a world where the survival of the fittest is the order of the day.

·      The readings of today teach us that not every weakness is a sign of defeat. In fact, there is glory in weakness exhibited in the name of the Lord.

·      In the second reading (1 Corinthians 1:26-31), St. Paul enunciates that God chooses the weak to make them strong. He calls the foolish to make them wise. In these choices of God, God is glorified because while the world looks at outward appearance, God looks at the heart.

·      Dearly beloved, a careful reflection on our lives, will demonstrate to us how much God has done for us and how far God has brought us. For many who feel abandoned by God or think that they are not making any meaningful progress, pick up your old pictures and see how much God has done for them.

·      What we call “throwback” should be our act of thanksgiving for how much God has done for us. Many of us were nobodies until the grace of God found us and made us somebodies. This must not call for pride but for gratitude to the God who is glorified in our weakness.

·      To let God be glorified through our weakness, we must come to know him, love him, and try to be like him in all things. In the first reading (Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13), we are called to seek the Lord first. To seek the Lord is to seek integrity and humility.

·      In the gospel reading (Matthew 1:1-12), Jesus demonstrates once again the beauty of the glory of weakness through the teaching of the beatitudes. The beatitudes move us from the realm of happiness to blessedness.

·      In the beatitude what we see is the exaltation of weakness to gain a higher grace or glorious strength. The beatitude begins with “Blessed or happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” One may wonder what is there to be happy about in poverty. To be poor in spirit may seem to be a human weakness but it will ultimately lead us to greater things in the kingdom of God.

·      Dearly beloved in Christ, other beatitudes follow the same pattern of happiness leading to blessedness. When we glorify God through our lowly state, he eventually takes us to the altitude where no man can take himself which is eternity.

·      Weakness talked about in the readings of today means that we must be ready to renounce our ego, and the accumulation of wealth, and put ourselves at the service of others. So that through our humility and service to others, God is glorified.

·      We pray therefore, that God will give us the grace to realise that despite our nothingness in the world if we glorify him through our lives, he will make us something in his heavenly kingdom.

·      May the good Lord bless his word in our hearts, through Christ our Lord, Amen!

·      Happy Sunday!!!

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