Homily For The 4th Sunday In Ordinary Time Year B.

 

Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 95:1-2.6-9; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28.

“LISTENING COMES BEFORE HEALING!”

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·      Today the church celebrates the 4^th Sunday in Ordinary time year B. On a day like this, we have gathered as God’s children to worship him, to acknowledge his power and authority over us, and to draw strength to serve him better.

·      Today through our readings, the Lord teaches us the essence of his mission. His mission is first to make us candidates for heaven. His life and Mission is to inspire us to desire heaven.

·      In a world where the craving for miracles, signs, and wonders has led many astray, Jesus changes the narrative by showing us that faith is the foundation of every healing testimony. And faith comes by hearing (Rom. 10:17).

·      In the gospel reading (Mark 1:21-28), notice that Jesus first taught the people. He taught them with authority and power not to show off his intelligence but through it to build up the faith of his listeners which is a requirement for his healing and answered prayers.

·      Friends in Christ, Jesus first taught the people with authority before he went on ahead to heal the man with unclean spirit to the amazement of all. Unfortunately, in our time many of us are no longer willing or interested in listening to the voice of God. We want quick miracles and ‘sharp-sharp’ testimonies.

·      All we want in our time is to enjoy the blessings of God, but we are not willing to listen to his teaching lest we repent of our evil ways, hence we are more interested in the place where we think it is “happening”. We are prepared to patronize “prayer houses” where they will tell us what we want to hear and give us “quick fix” healing, only for us to go home without any challenge towards the holiness of life.

·      Dear friends in Christ, the Lord challenges us to crave to hear his word, to let it transform our lives because that is the beginning of our healing and restoration. From listening to God, we build our faith, from listening, we are challenged to holiness of life. Having listened to God, we now have the confidence to tell him our needs and he will listen to us.

·      The Lord God places a high premium on his word which brings healing and strength, he wants us to listen to that word daily, so he sends us his messengers to be his mouthpiece in the world. Speaking for God and not for ourselves. However, we must strive to distinguish those who speak for God and those who speak for themselves. 

·      In the first reading (Deuteronomy 18:15-20), the Lord promised to send us authentic prophets who will speak for him. Prophets who challenge us to the holiness of life through their lifestyle and spoken word. How many of us are willing and ready to listen to these Prophets?

·      It is rather unfortunate now that a lot of us Christians and Catholics now have personal prophets and prophetesses who are on our payroll only for them to tell us what we want to hear. They speak to us in their name and our name and not in the name of God and we are prepared to do all that they tell us to do.

·      Dearly beloved in Christ, today the Lord challenges us to come out of that ignorance and realise that the authority to speak in the name of God comes from God himself and it is only gifted to a few. Hence, when we patronize these fortune-tellers who claim to speak in the name of God, we must realise that “what God does not give you, the devil does not have it”.

·      Yes! We live in a noisy world with a lot of financial burdens and targets to meet and in fear or panic we derail from the part of God and begin to listen to other voices that are not of God, the voice of wealth without hard work, the voice of fornication and adultery, the voice of gossip and envy, the voice of anger and bitterness against our neighbours.

·      The second reading (1 Corinthians 7:32-35) challenges us to detach and dissociate from these voices to focus on God. Whatever we call important we allow to preoccupy our minds, even the scripture says that where one’s treasures are there his heart lies. (Matt. 6:21). We must ensure that we give an undivided attention to the Lord.

·      If your preoccupation is in your array of friends, if it is in your family, wealth, or business that you hardly have time to listen or even meditate on God’s word, then it is time to retrace your steps and come listen to the one who speaks with authority and his word changes situations and brings solutions.

·      Friends in Christ, one thing is sure if we begin to hunger for God’s word and try to listen to it and apply it to our lives, God will take charge of our lives and we shall rarely lack anything. No matter the miracle we seek, we must first know that listening to God’s word comes before healing, testimonies, and answered prayers.

·      Dearly beloved in Christ, if the word of God must make any meaningful impact in our lives, then we must decide for ourselves today. We must open our hearts to the transforming power of God which changes stories and situations. But we must always remember that the best time to repent and believe in the gospel is today because “O that today you would listen to his voice, harden not your heart” (Ps. 95:7.8).

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

·      Happy Sunday!!!