💖 HOMILY - JULY 12 💖

First Reading - Hosea 14:2-10

Gospel - Matthew 10:16-23

Matthew’s Judeo-Christian community had experienced much persecution. Jesus’ prophetic words, “You will be dragged before governors and kings” and “brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against their parents and have them put to death,” were beginning to be fulfilled. The Apostle James had been martyred by King Herod, and the lives of other apostles were also in danger. Hence, by repeating Jesus’ warning to the apostles, Matthew encouraged his Judeo-Christians to rely on Jesus’ promise of the protective power of a providing God as they persevered in faith and its practice.

Jesus gave his frank warning to the apostles that their lives and their future followers’ lives were not going to be beds of roses. Jesus foretold three types of persecution awaiting Christians: by the Roman government, by the local Jewish synagogues, and by their Jewish or pagan family members. The main accusations against the first-century Christians were that they were cannibals, atheists, and incendiaries, that they practiced immorality during worship services, that they caused their families to split, and that they considered slaves as equals – in an empire with 60 million slaves!

Dear friends, although in India we have freedom to practice the religion of our choice, the extreme interpretation of the “separation of Church and state” policy eliminates the religious instruction and moral training of children in public schools, allowing youngsters who are not given this training at home to grow up as pagans. The secular media, largely run by atheists and agnostics, ridicule all religious beliefs and practices, inflicting a type of “white martyrdom” on believers and brainwashing the unwary and children. Hence, the duty of parents to see that their children receive religious and moral instruction from their parishes and families becomes more important.

It is a great challenge for those who have dedicated their lives to follow Christ to witness to Christ. In a context where the world seems more glamorous and attractive and the life they have chosen seems more outdated and monotonous, the genuine life to the vocation is a real trial and test. It is difficult to stand strong and face the wolves of duplicity, compromise, and glamorous life with genuineness, simplicity, and honesty. Let's remember that this battle against falsehood is real threat today. We do need to fight this so that we could remain faithful to teachings of Jesus.