💖 HOMILY - OCTOBER 21 💖

First Reading - Romans 4:13,16-18

Gospel - Luke 12:8-12

The quality of gold is best tested in fire, so is the depth of our faith tested in the face of tribulations and hardships of our lives. People, who learn to remain strong in faith through thick and thin of their lives, treasure strong and bold faith whereas people, who are shattered and broken when faced with hardships and tribulations, have weak faith that needs to be nurtured and matured. The readings of today invite us to mould our faith after the pattern of the faith of Abraham, formidable and tenacious.

In the first reading, Paul sets Abraham as an example of tenacious faith. The tenacity of his faith is seen in his belief, when things were impossible from human perspective, regarding the birth of a son to him as God had promised, he showed a great faith in the promise of God and this is called by Paul as righteous faith. As a result of his tenacious faith, Abraham becomes the father of a great nation. He places hope against hope which is the suited example of tenacious faith.

In the gospel, Jesus demands a confident faith from his disciples. He asks them to be confident to profess and acknowledge their faith before people. He reassures his disciples that their tenacious faith will sail them through all challenges, even the accusations charged against them by their opponents. Jesus also gives warning to those who knowingly become obstacles to the proclamation of the good news. The warning against them is harsh as it incurs unpardonable offence. 

My dear friends, the challenges and difficulties are unavoidable in our lives. We do face or do have to face them. When we are faced with difficulties or tragedies, we are broken and at times we lose our faith. Today the readings pose a challenge to us, can we withstand the tragedies of our lives? Tragedies and hardships make our lives bleak. Can we have, at this time of difficulty, hope against hope? Yes, we can have through our tenacious faith. It's our faith that can radiate a ray of hope in the face of tragic situations. 

How can we make our faith tenacious? It's by constantly reading the Word of God and meditating on it. It's by faithfully trying to discern the will of God in our lives. It's by faithfully receiving the Sacraments. It's by reading the wisdom of the saints or their faith journey. They are fruitful means to make us grow in our faith and make our faith strong.