32^ND SUNDAY, YEAR B: HOMILY BY FR JUSTIN ADIELE

THEME: “THE LITTLE CHARITIES THAT PLEASES GOD”

INTRODUCTION

The readings of today presented us with the little charities that meant/worth a great value before God. This consequently shows us how simple, cheap or little it could take to please God. We can actually make or win heaven by doing just little things, little charities, little kindness and favours towards one another especially the needy. Peter Obi in one of his NEDU WAZOBIA talk show narrated why he flies economy and not business class; and how he uses the saved money to share to market women. He also narrated how he visits one or two hospitals and schools as a monthly routine, to help improve on their facilities. The presenter remarked; ‘heaven is certain for you then!’ Peter Obi retorted; nothing is certain; he strives and works hard every day to do the right thing; you have to work for everything! There is no faster way to work for heaven than through doing little charities for humanity; and you do not have to be so rich like Peter Obi to do little charities.

THE FIRST READING (1 KG. 17: 10 – 16)

In the first reading, the widow of Zarephath was not as rich or established as Peter Obi, yet she has the heart to do a little charity to Elijah. Though she was on the brink of starvation; on the brink of emptiness; and on the threshold of a needy herself, she still had the mind to do one last charity, one last favour, and one last good for Elijah. From her little morsel of bread, she shared with Elijah and was saved by a morsel of bread or a morsel of charity. That’s exactly how little things or charity saves us before God.

THE SECOND READING (HEB. 9: 24 – 28)

The second reading continued to describe and demonstrate the priestly office and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for the sins/burdens/problems of the peoples. Every little attempt we make to sacrifice for others, to suffer for others, to bear the burden of others, to intercede for others, is a priestly/holy act before God, and therefore pleases Him as well like the sacrifice of Christ.

THE GOSPEL READING (MK. 12: 38 – 44)

The gospel reading talked about the widow’s mite which was perhaps not noticed by the people, but was definitely noticed and praised by Jesus as greatest among others. Jesus taught his disciples that you don’t have to be supper rich before you can do little charity or make little sacrifices for others or for the common good. Charity done from your surplus is welcomed by God, but charity done from your poverty is adored and cherished by God the master of all charity great and small. Little wonder Peter Obi accepted that the charities he has done with his wealth is not a guarantee for heaven; he has to work hard every day to do the right thing, in order to make heaven.

CONCLUSION

Today, instead of considering what big thing you could do for God or for others, just try considering what little you can do, contribute, or give up for the wellbeing of others. It will surprise you how that little charity means so much before God. What may appear inconsequential before the eyes of men appears great in the eyes of God. Do not hold back on little charities when the opportunities call. Your widow’s mite might as well be your greatest mite, and your greatest/holiest act worthy of exaltation before God.

Happy Sunday!

Fr. Justin

 32^nd Sunday, Year B: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

Theme: Don’t be scared of giving your all to God and humanity

Readings: 1 Kings 17:10-16; Heb. 9:24-28; Mk 12:38-44

Dear friends in Christ, the readings of this Sunday highlight generosity, trust in God, and self-sacrifice or self-giving, and they encourage us to always prioritize these virtues in our relationships with God and man.

Today’s first reading has a beautiful illustration of generosity and trust in God. There was famine in the land, and the widow of Zarephath and her son had just one meal left in their house, after which they would wait for death. But when the prophet Elijah came to her and asked her to share that her last meal with him, giving her divine assurance that her nearly spent supply of bread and oil would never run out, she generously shared her meal with the prophet, trusting in God’s providence. The reading concluded by telling us that God fulfilled His words from the mouth of His prophet, and the widow and her son never ran out of food until the famine was over.

The widow clearly had no idea that God sent prophet Elijah to her to save her and her family from death. So, if she had not been generous to prophet Elijah, she would have lost the opportunity to save herself and her son from death. It was her generosity and absolute trust in God’s word from the mouth of the prophet that brought God’s blessing upon her and her son.

Dear friends, we have no idea how many blessings, favours, and opportunities we miss anytime we close our arms to those who come to us for help. If we really recognize the face of God in every person, we will never miss any opportunity to share our meal with anyone who asks for it. The Bible is filled with stories of people who received blessings they had waited for many years simply by serving complete strangers who turned out to be angels.

Thus, the first reading urges us never to turn our backs on those who knock on our doors for help, even if what they ask for is the last of what we have. Like the widow of Zarephath, we should put our trust in God, believing that the God whose face we see in the poor and the helpless, the God who said, “blessed is the hand that gives,” will never allow our hands of charity to run dry. We will never lack if we put our trust in God and share what we have with the needy.

Today’s gospel presented another story of true generosity. It tells us that true generosity is not about giving away what we don’t need but about giving our all to God and man; our presence must be felt in what we give as an offering to God and as alms to the needy. We saw the imprint of the widow in the two copper coins that she offered. She gave her all, everything that she had to live on, just like the widow of Zarephath did; she poured out her life to God. On the other hand, the other people gave from the abundance of their wealth; let us say they gave out what they didn’t need. This widow challenges us to allow our presence to be felt in what we offer to God and to humanity. This would entail giving out not only what we don’t need, but also what we seriously need.

The second reading showed us that Christ’s death on the Cross is the perfect example of self-giving to God and man. By pouring out His entire self on the cross, Christ liberated us once and for all from the devil and saved us from sin. He has left for us an example on how to give to God and man.

These days, pride is one of the enemies of generosity. Like the scribes that were criticized by Christ for their pride and hypocrisy in today’s gospel, many people simply give to others out of pride and desire to receive compliments. That is why it is difficult for such people to help the needy where there are no cameras to capture them and post them on social media and on the pages of the newspaper. Jesus invites us to shun pride and the craving for compliments when we give to the needy and when we perform other actions for God and humanity.

May God bless your hands as you lift them to help the needy today.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Fr. Isaac Chima

 32^nd SUNDAY, YEAR B: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: WHOM TO BEWARE OF ANDWHOM TO LEARN FROM

(Mark 12:38-44)

Our Lord is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He sees all we do. He sees us all both great and small, good and bad alike.

God is interested in what we are doing, the impact our behaviours make on people. He cares about our actions and inactions.

He enters into the sanctuary of our being, that sanctuary not made by human hands, that place that cannot be covered by human pretense and deceit.

He comes to address the sinner to flee from sinning and to encourage and save those who eagerly wait and look up to him.

In the Gospel of today, we saw these two groups; those Christ warned us to guard against and those He appreciated their efforts.

 

BEWARE OF...

Jesus warned against the scribes, the bad scribes. Let us recall that last Sunday we heard about the good scribe, He came to know the greatest of God's commandments, and he was fulfilled after his encounter with Christ. Our Lord remarked about Him: "You are not far from the kingdom of God." You see, Jesus did not endorse the scribes in their plural form. He endorsed a singular scribe whose effort came to light.

Today, He would not allow the gullible people to begin seeing the scribes as models. He therefore addressed the group of scribes who are far from the kingdom of God, whose bad behaviours have kept far away from God.

Dear child of God, are you close or far from God?

Let us consider some of the things that can push you away from God, some of the evils that made Christ warn the crowd following Him to beware of the scribes.

These are the dangerous things Jesus saw in them: (1) Going about in long robes (2) having salutations in the market places (3) taking the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at feast (4) Devouring the houses of widows (5) Use prayers and religion to cover their evils.

The above are the dangerous arrows that these persons used to injure and wished to continue using to destroy the innocent people of God.

Are you in any way involved in any of these sins? Are you arrogant?  Are you pretentious? Are you immoral? Are you Pharisaic? Are you unreal? If yes, Jesus is seeing you as a danger. Stop being dangerous to God and His people.

Be wise and know the people with these evil traits in your environment, in your workplace, in your office, in your worshipping community, and beware of the influence they carry with them. They lack true love, and they are deceptive. They go with parading and populist spirituality. They are unsympathetic and selfish. They are everywhere, beware of them. Are you one? Retrace today to avoid receiving condemnation.

 

LEARN FROM...

Jesus sat down and immediately redirected the attention of the crowd on the poor widow. Dearest in Christ, do you think all your efforts all along are not being recognized? Do you feel you have been wasting your time doing those secret acts of kindness? Are you thinking that your sacrifices and worships are in vain? Jesus is telling you today to know that many look up to you as inspiration.

The woman was real. Her gift looked small in the eyes of men but great in the sight of God. Her poverty, which was a genuine excuse to withhold her gift, was not a hindrance to her. She remained generous. She was positive. She was hopeful and faithful. She gave herself to God and appeared as she was before men. She didn't wear big robes to cover herself from being recognized as the widow she was.

Are you poor in any area? Let God know it. Learn from this widow. Are you lagging behind in holiness, learn from the widow to give your hand to God for Him to fill you.

Have you lost anything? For the woman, it was husband, riches, etc. For you, what is it? Come before God with it. Hear what God has to say concerning your situation. In every situation, may you attract favourable words from the Lord upon your life. May you be a man or woman of honour and not a popular, well-to-do man or woman without integrity

Be an authentic Christian. Be a Christian who worships God in spirit and in truth. Be a generous Christian indeed, loving and sympathetic, ready and willing to share what you have with one another.

God will bless your little effort and crown it with success. May God bless His word in our hearts.

 

LET US PRAY

Dear Lord, You are rich in mercy and abounding in love. Come and save us. Deliver us from the evils in our world. Help us to learn from You and from honest and sincere people inspired by Christian virtues. As we give You our all, be our All in all. We make these prayers through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Happy Sunday to you. (32nd Sunday, Ordinary Time, Yr B)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh