33rd Sunday, Year C: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Theme: Enduring in Faith and Perseverance as We Await the Day of the Lord.

Readings: Malachi 4:1‑2a; 2 Thessalonians 3:7‑12; Luke 21:5‑19

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the thirty‑third Sunday of the liturgical year. Next Sunday will be the last Sunday of the Church’s year, the Solemnity of Christ the King. As we approach this conclusion, the Church invites us to reflect on the end of time and the victory that awaits us in Christ if we remain faithful until the end.

Faithfulness requires endurance. However, endurance is not easy; it is one of the hardest disciplines of the Christian life, but it is also the path to final victory. Those who persevere will triumph over the forces of this world.

In the first reading, the prophet Malachi speaks to a people who were discouraged. They saw the wicked prosper while the righteous suffered, and they began to doubt God’s justice. To buttress their disappointment, some of them said, “It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.” (Malachi 3:13-15). Yet Malachi reassured them in today’s reading (in 4:1-3) that the names of those who fear the Lord are already written in His book of life. Evil will not have the last word in their lives. On the Day of Judgment, the arrogant and evildoers will be consumed by fire, while those who revere the Lord will rise with healing and joy.

This message is very relevant to us all today. We live in a world where corruption and injustice often seem to dominate, where those who disregard God’s ways appear to flourish. Some Christians are tempted to give up, to compromise, or even to abandon the faith. But Malachi reminds us that God is faithful. He will reward patience and goodness, and He will bring justice in His time.

The Gospel reading continues this theme. Jesus assures us that the day of God’s judgment will surely come, but He warns us not to be obsessed over when it will happen. We must not be deceived by false prophets who claim to know the exact hour or who spread fear about the end times. Instead, Jesus calls us to live each day faithfully, bearing witness to Him in the midst of trials, temptations, and persecutions.

St. Paul, in the second reading, gives us a practical lesson. In Thessalonica, some believers had stopped working, thinking that Christ’s return was imminent. Paul corrected them, telling them that waiting for the Lord does not mean idleness or fear. Rather, it means living responsibly, working diligently, and using every moment to testify to the Gospel.

So, dear friends, what should we do as we wait for the Day of the Lord? We should remain steadfast in faith, trusting that God’s justice will prevail. We should persevere in daily life, fulfilling our responsibilities, working honestly, and living with integrity. We should bear witness to Christ in words and deeds, showing the world the hope we carry. We should also reject fear and false teachings, refusing to be led astray by those who predict the end-time or spread panic.

Dear friends, the Day of the Lord will come, but if we live each day faithfully, it will not catch us unprepared. Let us endure with courage, persevere with hope, and remain close to Christ, so that when He comes, we may be found ready and rejoice in His victory.

Peace be with you. Happy Sunday.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

 33RD SUNDAY, YEAR C: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: IT IS TESTIMONY TIME

(Luke 21:5-19)

Testimony is a declaration or a formal statement presented to be the truth. The word testimony stems from the Latin 'testis' which means witness. In the religious domain it has to do with Divine truth. This divine truth is one that opposes human opinions. Before it every falsehood gives way.

We are faced today with the truth about our world and the reality of our existence here on earth. The various falsehoods we hold to be truth must pass away. The many things we testify to according to our human judgment without God will surely not stand the test of time. They will not endure. We have witnessed a lot and keep witnessing but are we witnessing to the real world or the ephemeral world that will be destroyed? When you live for the world, you're witnessing to it. The Church's Liturgical year is drawing to a close, how have you witnessed so far? We will like God to make a declaration concerning us, to testify for us, how are we witnessing to Him? Do we think of the words God will use to qualify our activities in this present world? Will He say: here is my beloved son in whom I am pleased? How have we carried out the resolutions we made at the beginning of this liturgical year that is ending?

 

THE UNKNOWN ABOUT THE KNOWN

The people in the Gospel today spoke eloquently about the adornment of the temple, the precious stones and offerings. These are the seen, the known, that which appears and appeals to the senses. Jesus tells them how all these will be destroyed. This they have never fathomed. They do not want to give it a thought; they find it difficult to understand. 

Jesus proceeded to deepen their knowledge and widen their horizon with regard to the necessary precautions they needed to take into consideration with respect to their worldviews.

What are the 'truths' you hold dear? What are the things you value so much in this life? Are they worth it? Are you looking with the eyes of faith or the eyes of the flesh? Are you admiring the eternal or just the ephemeral?

 

TAKE HEED

This is a call for carefulness as we bear testimony. If we do not take proper caution, we may be ascribing glory to things that do not matter. We may be admiring the precious stones whereas the cornerstone Jesus is rejected. We may be interested in the temple edifice and structures allowing the spiritual temple that is our souls to dilapidate.

 

BE MINDFUL OF PEOPLE

People can claim what they are not. May you not be deceived. The present world will present a lot to us that would seem to limit all our aspirations and hope, all our witnessing. Jesus offers new, better and lasting solution to all world's problems. Bad government will give way, wickedness will give way, near success syndrome will give way. All persons whose source of power, wealth, greatness and honour does not come from God will be destroyed by God. Bear testimony to God by being the type of person God wants you to be and you will live to testify to the manifestation of the new world promised by Jesus Christ.

 

FEAR NOT THE EVENTS

A lot will take place and is already taking place. Atula egwu! Is the command (do not be afraid). One who testifies does not fear. Even though the earth should rock, the Lord of host is with us the God of Jacob is our stronghold. When things turn upside down, do not speak against God, do not despair. Hope in the Lord. Even if all desert you, the Lord will not, even if your parents abandon you the Lord will receive you. Do not be insecure, your security in the Lord is assured.

 

BLESSED ASSURANCE

Jesus is mine, Jesus is yours, Jesus is ours. He came to your world to divinize it. He came to your life to raise it up. He has the following words for you in every situation you're facing: ... Not a hair of your head will perish.

With this assurance he challenges us to ride on in triumph, to race on towards our heavenly inheritance, not to lose sight of our goal, not to be conquered by the world and its glories. Jesus fills us with abundant grace as fuel to energize us to endure till the end of our journey. He gives us the heavenly spectacle with which to visualize the world, keeping the Lord and His will ever before our sight in order not lose out.

The time is here. It is the time when our eyes will look and see how the troubles that trouble the children of God will be troubled, it is time for us to be reassured that we are conquerors, it is a time when the mighty hand of God will be shown in our world.

May God bless His word in our hearts.

 

LET US PRAY

Lord God, visit our world as we hear Your word, may we never stop bearing witness to You and making effort at doing Your will as well as living above this passing world and its dictates. Even as we are in the world may we not be of the world, May we fulfill our destinies through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Happy Sunday to you (33rd Sunday, Ordinary Time, Yr. C)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh