💖 HOMILY - JULY 15 💖

First Reading - Exodus 2:1-15 

Second Reading - Matthew 11:20-24

Today’s readings draw our attention to the human tendency to ignore God’s grace and resist His call to conversion. Both readings show us how people, despite being witnesses to God's works and mercy, can fail to respond with faith and transformation.

The first reading from Exodus narrates the early life of Moses. We see how God’s providence was already at work in saving Moses from Pharaoh’s decree to kill Hebrew boys. He is rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised in the Egyptian palace, but his heart remains with his oppressed people. When he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, he intervenes, leading to his exile. This event marks the beginning of God’s preparation of Moses for his future mission to liberate Israel. But notice something deeper here: God acts to save His people, and He begins by calling and forming a person from among them — Moses. This slow, quiet preparation is a sign of God’s patience and mercy.

In the Gospel, however, Jesus speaks words of lament and warning. He reproaches the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for their lack of repentance despite witnessing His mighty works. Unlike the people in Exodus who longed for liberation, these towns had the liberator Himself in their midst, yet they remained unmoved. Jesus compares them unfavorably with pagan cities like Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom, suggesting that even they would have repented had they seen such signs.

This contrast is striking: on one hand, God prepares a liberator in Moses to save an oppressed people; on the other, in the time of Jesus, the liberator Himself walks among the people — teaching, healing, and performing miracles — yet they remain indifferent.

Dear friends, we too are recipients of God’s grace and signs. In our own lives, God speaks to us — through the Word, the sacraments, the events of our lives, and the quiet stirrings of our conscience. The question is: how do we respond? Do we, like Moses, allow God's grace to shape our hearts, or do we, like the towns Jesus rebukes, become spiritually indifferent?

Let us reflect today: where have we seen the signs of God’s love in our lives? And have we allowed those signs to move us to deeper conversion? May we not wait for dramatic events to wake us up. Instead, let us be attentive to the quiet ways God calls us to repentance, renewal, and deeper trust in Him. And may our response be one of faith, gratitude, and action.