💖 HOMILY - JULY 20 💖

First Reading - Mica 2:1-5

Gospel - Matthew 12:14-21

God writes history sometimes through the crooked lines of our lives. This simply means God's ways are incomprehensible to our human minds, but it requires trust in God. Today's readings invite us to persevere in our lives, come what may, because God will intervene in our lives in His time.

The first reading from the book of Micah speaks about an oracle of woe against the rich and powerful who spend their nights planning to seize the land and houses from the poor. The LORD replies that the evil designed by the people against the poor and oppressed will never go unpunished; the evil will be repaid in the same manner to them. The reading sheds light on the fact that even if evil is permitted by the Lord, it is never condoned by the Lord. God responds to the misery of the poor and punishes the injustice of the evildoers in the appropriate time.

The gospel presents the withdrawal of Jesus to unknown places for the purpose of teaching, healing, and preaching. The gospel of the day is a sequel to the controversy that Jesus had faced about the Sabbath observance. This dispute had led Jesus to withdraw to unknown places so that he could carry out his mission and avoid his premature arrest. Hence, he warned or charged those whom he healed not to make him known, lest the opposing leaders would get an opportunity to accuse him of sedition and blasphemy. Jesus waited for his opportune time so that he could accomplish his mission. The opportune time was indeed the time of God's glorification or manifestation.

My dear friends, we face different situations (bad or good) in our lives. We try to comprehend the meaning and situation (why of the bad experiences) but without avail or without use. Consequently, we become frustrated and tense. The effort that we make to understand the situation is not bad, but there are some situations that will unfold themselves over the course of time; hence, we need to patiently wait for the opportune time. Jesus was faced with oppositions and accusations, but he didn't get stuck; he carried on with his mission. We are also invited not to get stuck with oppositions and difficulties in life but to carry on patiently till the end. As the first reading also teaches us, God responds to us in His time in His manner. Therefore, let's trust in God's fitting reply to our questions and challenges of life. Let's believe that God's time is always the fitting time for us.

May God strengthen us in our faith journey.