💖 HOMILY - NOVEMBER 22 💖

First Reading - 1 Maccabees 6:1-13 

Gospel - Luke 20:27-40

There are times when life forces us to face the limits of our own power—times when we realize that strength, success, and control cannot shield us from the consequences of our choices. Today’s readings place before us two scenes that invite us to reflect on what truly lasts and what truly matters.

In the first reading, King Antiochus, once powerful and feared, finds himself broken, defeated, and near death. All his victories, conquests, and ambitions can no longer help him. In his suffering he begins to see clearly what he could not see before: that his arrogance, cruelty, and disregard for God have led him to ruin. It is a tragic moment of awakening, a reminder that a life built on pride and injustice eventually collapses. Nothing he clung to—power, wealth, reputation—could save him. In the end, only humility remains.

Then in the Gospel, a group of Sadducees approaches Jesus with a question meant to trick Him. They did not believe in the resurrection, and they tried to use a complicated scenario to challenge Jesus. But Jesus takes their trap and transforms it into a moment of revelation. He reminds them that human logic cannot limit God’s power. The God who created life is also the God who restores life. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Jesus points them—and us—toward a hope that goes beyond this world.

Dear friends, earthly power fades, but God’s promise endures. Human pride crumbles, but God’s love remains. The kingdoms built by force fall apart, but the life God gives is eternal.

We sometimes chase things that cannot last—status, possessions, approval, control—thinking they will secure our future or define our worth. But in the end, none of these can give life. None of these can give peace. And none of these can carry us beyond this world.

What lasts is something deeper: a relationship with God, a life rooted in truth, humility, and trust. This is the life Jesus speaks about—a life that begins here but continues beyond death.

So today, we might ask ourselves:

What am I relying on that cannot last?

Where is God inviting me to let go of pride, fear, or false security?

How is He calling me to place my hope in what truly endures?

Antiochus shows us that earthly strength is fragile. Jesus shows us that divine life is eternal. Between these two truths lies our invitation—to live in a way that prepares us not just for this world, but for the life to come.

May we have the wisdom to let go of what fades, the courage to embrace what is true, and the trust to place our hope in the God of the living.