💖 HOMILY - OCTOBER 27 💖

First Reading - Romans 7:18-25

Gospel - Luke 12:54-59

Many times, we think that evils lie outside us but the fact is evil lies in us or rather within our hearts. We are fighting a fight against evil everyday so that our goodness will rule us or we be filled with goodness. The readings of today invite us to check the evils within us and urge us to seek grace of God and prayers of our fellow brothers and sisters to overcome them.

In the first reading, Paul recounts about the inkling to sin. Paul underlines the tussle he undergoes between the inclination to sin and the goodness that he desires to do. He expresses the incongruity, he experiences between his will and his action. Paul lays stress on the fact that one is weak to overcome the weakness of the body, provided he/she is enabled by Christ. He feels imprisoned by the bodily desire or craving for sin, which is overcome by faith and grace in Christ. It's this bodily craving that forces one to sin and remain inconsistent in doing good that one in fact desires to do.

In the gospel, Jesus conveys to us two beautiful messages; firstly the message of recognizing God's signs in our lives; secondly, the settling of disputes with person concerned rather than taking the matter to the court or public discussion.

The first message is concerned about recognizing the God's signs which we understand with two greek words 'chronos' and 'kairos'. 'chronos' refers to linear passage of time whereas 'kairos' refers to appointed time designed by God for His intervention. Jesus reprimands the crowd to fail to recognize God's appointed time in him who has inaugurated the Kingdom of God. It's God's appointed time in person already begun in him.

The message of the settlement of the matter or dispute with the person concerned refers to the historical situation of the early Christians who tended to run to the gentile court to settle their disputes. Luke, by emphasizing to settle the disputes among themselves, stresses that they should avoid going to the gentile courts against their own fellow men. Let God enlighten them to settle their problems among themselves.

The common problem that is stressed in the gospel passage is the lack of openness of people to accept the message of the Kingdom in Jesus and lack of acceptance of people among themselves. Jesus invites in the gospel to keep the eyes of faith open to see and recognize the appointed time of God in him and open their hearts to accept one another with their failures and faults.

Dear friends, we oscillate everyday between the reality of goodness and evil in us. At times, we are able to overcome the evil in us but other times evils overcome us. At this juncture of everyday's struggle, we are invited by the gospel to keep our eyes of faith open to recognize the grace of Christ to strengthen us to overcome our inclinations to sin. The gospel also urges us to accept the role of our fellow brothers and sisters in helping us to overcome our shortcomings by their prayers and assistance, provided we keep our good relationship with them.

Let's believe that the struggle against evil in us may be vanquished by the grace of God.