Fresh Dew Media

10^TH SUNDAY, YEAR B: HOMILY BY REV. FR. JUSTIN ADIELE

THEME: “BROTHERS/PARTNERS IN DOING GOD’S WILL”

INTRODUCTION:

Today, Jesus extended the boundaries of his brothers, sisters and mother to all those who do the will of God, granting them equal rights, time, attention and affection. Even mere hunger for the word of God is enough to make Jesus give you his whole time, attention, healing and compassion. In a similar way, all who do God’s will deserves our time, attention, charity and brotherhood/partnership. Brothers or partners in crime shouldn’t be more united, cooperative and supportive to one another than brothers or partners in Christ. We must see our fellow Christians and even non-Christians who do good (God’s will) as brothers and partners worthy of our love and support.

THE FIRST READING (GEN. 3: 9 – 15)

The first reading revealed to us one factor that distinguishes those who do God’s will from those who do not; and that is, obedience or disobedience to God’s commands. After creation, God partnered with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. But after disobeying God’s express command, they were sent out of the garden planted by God, to till their own soil and do their own planting. Their disobedience cost them their close brotherhood or partnership with God. They also incurred some curse, suffering and hardship on account of not doing the will of God. Before you take anyone as your brother or partner, first ascertain if the person really obeys God’s commandments.

THE SECOND READING (2 COR. 4: 13 – 5: 1)

In the second reading, St. Paul sees and calls all those who share the same spirit of faith with him, “Brethren”. He believes and teaches that they will all be raised together with Jesus; and grace and eternal glory would equally be extended to them. For this reason, St. Paul was never tired or ashamed of suffering, ministering and teaching his brethren in faith, whether Jew or Gentile.

THE GOSPEL READING (MK. 3: 20 – 35)

In the gospel reading, Jesus made the famous statement; “Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister and mother.” From the context of the passage, we saw Jesus attending to the crowds who were ready to listen to the word of God. He even forgot to eat or to go home; for home is wherever Jesus finds people or souls longing to hear or know the word and will of God. Jesus’ ‘actual’ brothers and sisters out of jealousy even began to see him as having a mental issue.

Two factors in the gospel destroy our brotherhood with Christ or with one another; first is jealousy, and the second is denial of the good, wonderful and loving works of God and others. This is where the Scribes and Pharisees fit in. For our brotherhood in Christ to flourish, we must remove every jealousy amongst us and learn to appreciate and acknowledge the good done by others, lest our brotherhood will not stand and crashes along the line.

CONCLUSION

Oscar Wilde told a story about the devil once crossing the Libyan Desert and found a group of people trying to tempt a holy Hermit to sin but they failed time and again. The devil came and told them that they are using a wrong method and wasting their time. So, he asked them to observe while he plays his evil trick on the monk. The devil whispered to the hermit, “Your brother has just been made a bishop”. A scowl of evil jealousy at once clouded the face of the hermit, which later set in motion other evil thoughts. If we can handle our jealousy, we can preserve our brotherhood/partnership in Christ or in doing God’s will.

Happy Sunday!

Fr. Justin