Homily For The 13th Sunday In Ordinary Time Year B.

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Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Psalm 30:2.4-6.11-13; 2 Corinthians 8:7.9.13-15:1; Mark 5:21-43.

“THE GOD THAT GIVES LIFE!”

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

• Today the church celebrates the 13th Sunday in ordinary time year B. The day the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. Against all pains, sorrows, and setbacks, there are still many more reasons to give thanks and praise to God and that is why we are here.

• Certain realities in life make us wonder whether God is indeed God especially when we are passing through one kind of difficulty or the other. Challenges like the death of a loved one, terminal illness, etc. leave us so broken and disappointed that we begin to wonder if our sin is the greatest.

• On a Sunday like this, Jesus comes to us as a God that gives life. He declared, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (Jn. 10:10). Our God is a God of the living and not of the dead. While we may pass through momentary difficulties and challenges, it is to keep our faith alive and active because it will surely end in praise (Jn. 4:11).

• The readings of today give us a series of instances where God does everything to preserve and sustain our life, he did not just create us and is withdrawn from us, but he who gave us life is ever ready to maintain, sustain, and prolong that life from conception to natural death.

• The first reading (Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24), tells us that God did not create us just to kill us, rather he gave us life to be his procreator (Gen. 1:28). And that is why at the end of each creation, he found it very good and humans were the crown of God’s creation. How then can God give us life and still limit the life he gave us through one calamity or the other?

• However, the Book of Wisdom cautions that the goal of life is not just for earthly existence. Still, it must lead to a life of righteousness which guarantees eternity because God created us for incorruption and made man the image of his eternity. We must not on the other hand downplay the influence of the evil one in torturing us and making life unbearable when we make ourselves available for their evil manipulation.

• The gospel reading (Mark 5:21-43), also buttresses this point that we serve a God that gives and sustains life by citing two examples - The healing of Jairus’ daughter and the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years. The two healing miracles shows that our God is a compassionate God who does not take pleasure in our suffering and pain.

• The woman with hemorrhage for twelve years whose name was not mentioned represents all who suffer different kinds of loss, whether financial, spiritual, physical, and the likes, whatever we gather, we lose until the woman touched the garment of Jesus with faith and that touch was a touch of transformation and restoration and she was made well.

• Another highlight of that miracle is that Jesus was in a crowd of people and yet only one person experienced something strange. Friends in Christ, this simply means that closeness to Jesus is not enough, what is our level of faith and conviction when coming to him? The woman told and assured herself that just touching the garment of Jesus was enough for her healing and she was healed.

• Dearly beloved in Christ, when we gather for Eucharistic celebration, we not only just touch Jesus, but we receive him sacramentally, does that mean anything to us? Do we approach him with requisite faith believing that he will make us whole and well again? Jairus’ daughter received her healing, and the woman with hemorrhage received hers too, why should yours be different after all we serve a God that gives life.

• Today Jesus is challenging us all “Do not fear only believe” for whatever difficulty we are going through will not end in death, it is for the glory of God. And if we remain committed till the end in no distant time, we will hear the resounding voice of Jesus in our various situations “Talitha cumi” which means “little girl (insert your name) get up and walk”. Remember when God comes late he comes big.

• The second reading (2 Corinthians 8:7.9.13-15:1), on the other hand, gives us a beautiful picture of why God created us, and he is ever willing to sustain our lives. God created us to excel in everything - in faith, utterance, knowledge, and all earnestness and gracious work also. He became so poor that we may be rich. If God is ever willing to go this extra mile for us to make life easy and beautiful, then all we owe him is faithfulness and praise.

• Friends in Christ, because God is a God of life and he has given us all that should make life beautiful, we cannot but like the Psalmist exclaims in thanksgiving “I will extol you Lord for you have raised me” (Ps. 30:2). 

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

• Happy Sunday!!!

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