💖 HOMILY - NOVEMBER 29 💖

First Reading- Isaiah 11:1-10

Gospel - Luke 10:21-24

We always want a ruler who is just and fair. Our life will be suffocating in the presence of the unjust or partial ruler. Our readings of the day fill us with the feeling of joy and hope for we have our ruler as Christ who is just, fair and compassionate.

The first reading is the reflection of the expectation of the Israel for a king who is faithful to God and loyal to his subject. He is a man of integrity and religious virtues. The fusion of his godliness and integrity of life not only contribute to the prosperity of his kingdom but also harmonious living of everyone, even the reptiles and animals. Such a kind of peace and joy is the outcome of his rule. This expectation comes to the actualization with the coming of Christ. The rule of Christ is that of peace and harmony within and around us.

The gospel is the reflection of the communion of the trinity. Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, reveals the bonding that exists between the Father and him. This love-communion is evidently manifested in the words of Jesus: "no one knows the Father except the son." Jesus is the promised king about whom the prophet Isaiah wrote and many prophets and kings wanted to hear and see him. 

My dear friends, we hear every now-and-then about religious intolerance or persecutions. People are alinated from the society due to caste, creed, colour and various reasons. The leadership seems to be in the hands of tyrants who neither fear God nor care for anything. Such situations arouse in us the need to have a ruler or leader who is peace-loving and people-friendly. The readings give us hope that we have a king who is the king of peace. Although, he may not be apparantly ruling our nation but he rules our hearts. The kingdom of Jesus is our hearts. The more we live and practice the commandment of Jesus, the faster the kingdom of Jesus will spread. We may not be able to put an end to all the problems of the society but certainly we may lessen the problems of the society by living as our king Jesus wants. We are indeed fortunate that we have a king who so belittles himself to rule our hearts and makes us instruments to spread his kingdom here on earth nor by fight or fear but by the weapons of love, peace and joy. May God bring this purpose to its fruition.