Homily For The 10th Sunday In Ordinary Time Year B.

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Genesis 3:9-15; Psalm 130:1-8; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35.

“MAINTAINING A UNITED HOUSE!”

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·      The church celebrates today the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B. After a long break caused by the Lent and Easter celebrations, today the church finally returns to the ordinary season of the year. 

·      Today’s Sunday readings have a lot of spiritual lessons for us to take home. The parable of the householder in the gospel of today is a lesson for the unity that God desires for all his sons and daughters. He wants us to continually enjoy his loving presence and what alienates us from his presence is sin.

·      The gospel reading (Mark 3:20-35), records the passion with which Jesus is ever ready to teach us and guide us so that we can remain in his presence. He is so passionate that bodily food does not matter, what matters is giving us enough spiritual food that will fortify and insulate us from sin.

·      He was accused of being insane by friends for being passionate and zealous about the things of God. We must not allow our ties with friends and family to distract us from doing the right thing and living the life that is expected of us as Christians. Jesus was not deterred by their designation of him being insane but went about doing what he was sent to do.

·      He then went on to teach us of the all-important need to remain connected to the household of God because a house divided against itself cannot stand. What keeps a house united is maintaining the purpose for which the house was formed which is to model our lives after that of Christ.

·      Jesus in addressing the messengers, expands the scope of the household of God for everyone to come and belong to it. And the requirement is simple - doing the will of God. To do the will of God is to keep a united house and to obey the commandment of God.

·      In the first reading (Genesis 3:9-15), Adam and Eve lost the privilege of remaining in the house of God which is the presence of God because of their sin of disobedience. In their sin, they saw their nakedness and when they heard the voice of God they hid. 

·      Friends in Christ, just like Adam and Eve when we fall short of the expectations of God, we become naked and worthless. We are ashamed of ourselves and our actions, the guilt even drives us to suspicion and depression. Rather than accepting their shortcomings, Adam and Eve were trading blame and passing the buck hence, they were expelled from the presence of God.

·      Dearly beloved, because of the fall of Adam and Eve, we too have been weakened in our struggle with sin and temptation. When we fall to sin, we must be sorry and acknowledge it and run to God for mercy through Sacramental confessions because our God is gracious and rich in Mercy.

·      Despite the sins of our first parents, God did not leave us to be comfortable with Sin, he decreed that he “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). Which means that all hope is not lost, we must continue fighting the battle with sin and inclination to sin.

·      The second reading (2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1), renews our hope in the mercy of God, that we must be strengthened in our faith and we must confess it by a worthy way of life. We are assured that he who raised Jesus from the dead will surely raise us too. We must be conscious of the inner man which is the spirit of God in us. We must be forward-looking to heaven which is our final home.

·      Dearly beloved in Christ, oftentimes we have not contributed to the building of the house of God and kept to its unity by being honest, relating with one another with the fear of God, doing the will of God, even in these, God does not abandon us, his mercy ever abounds and that is why the Psalmist assures us “with the Lord there is mercy and plentiful of redemption” (Ps. 130:7).

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

·      Happy Sunday!!!

 

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