💖 HOMILY - JULY 18 💖

First Reading - Micah 6:1-4,6-8

Gospel - Matthew 12:38-42

When we find people being suspicious and doubtful about something, immediately we brand the person as 'doubting Thomas'. However, we sideline or miss the punch of the account of doubt of Thomas which resulted in acknowledgement of Jesus as Lord and God, unlike any other disciples of Jesus. Doubt is natural but remaining in doubt can be dangerous. The readings of the day invite us to strengthen our faith in Christ by removing any figment of doubt that can daunt and bangle our spiritual life.

The gospel recounts the doubt of Scribes and Pharisees about the identity of Jesus. They ask for a sign from heaven, so that they can believe in him. Jesus apparently refuses to give an immediate supernatural sign but backons to his resurrection as the sign of his true identity as the Son of God. He uses the figure of Jonah to ascertain his resurrection. However, Jesus also denounces their lack of faith sarcastically by using the examples of Nineveh and the Queen of South who came to witness to the wisdom of Solomon. Both the groups came to faith; people of Nineveh were converted by believing in the message of the prophet and the Queen of South acknowledged the wisdom of Solomon. They were pagans, yet they came to believe but the leaders, who are the most rigorous practitioners of the law, have refused to believe in Jesus who is far greater than the message of the prophet Jonah and Solomon himself.

The first reading is a beautiful account that invites us to pay attention to the message of God. The passage repeatedly invites the audience to 'listen'. It is an invitation to the people of Israel to pay close attention to the history where God worked for the welfare of the people through Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Even the mountains, hills and whole earth bear witness to what God done for His people. Therefore, they should pay attention to what God wants from them; to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly.

Dear friends, we, at some point of time in our lives, certainly doubt or have doubted in our faith and the belief, we have. It's natural because that makes our faith mature against superstition and superficiality. However, when we start to look at everything with suspicion and less from the perspective of faith, we may miss to see what God reveals to us in our lives. Just as in the gospel, Jesus predicts about his resurrection as the great sign of who he is, so also God gives us signs in our lives to look at the events of the day with the eyes of faith. From the moment we rise to see a new day to the moment we retire to bed, we encounter many moments of God-revealing Himself. The first reading reminds us that we have to be attentive to what God says to us through the events of our lives. It's important that we become attentive in humility to the message of God. Let's be emboldened in our faith rather than harbour doubts in our hearts.

May God help us see His signs performed in our lives with the eyes of faith.