HOMILY FOR THE 24TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME (YR C) SEPTEMBER 11, 2022
Sunday Readings
Your accumulated offenses do not surpass the multitude of God’s Mercies: your wounds do not surpass the great Physician’s skill.”
—Cyril of Jerusalem
My Dearest Friends in Christ,
The readings of today remind us that repentance is never too late for any sinner because God is never tired of forgiving but actively searching for the lost to give them a chance for a new beginning. The door of God’s Mercy is never closed. His Patience endures and His Compassion is inexhaustible.
In a world of social media and the internet of things (IoT) where almost everyone is connected to the internet and social media and ensured regular connectivity with some smart device(s) our spiritual connectivity with God is continuously wavering due to a weak or lost spiritual signal. The more we are disconnected, the more we lose sight of God and the sense of what offends Him (sin). I am disturbed because our 21st-century world is becoming consumed in the darkness of unbelief and negligence of the spiritual life. Have you ever wondered why more and more people are getting depressed and suicide rates increase? People resort to drugs rather than give their lives to Christ to rediscover the true meaning of their existence. Partly, the reason behind these social anomalies is the emptiness and lack of fulfillment in life which only God can truly satisfy. You cannot find fulfillment in the material things of this world. If your fulfillment does not spring from within your soul, you will forever not find any reason to be happy with anything, even if you have everything you need in this life. The true meaning of life can only be found in a deeper connection with God.
In the first reading of the Book of Exodus, the Israelites disowned God. And God said to Moses “Go down at once to your people.” implying they are no longer His because they bowed down and worshipped a molten calf. This was the definition of idolatry and apostasy. In their time. The Jews worshipped an idol, but in our age, we become attached to things that give us no room to worship God and those have become our idols. Think about how much time we spend on social. media and TV and the little time for prayers and good works. That generation would have been swept away by God’s anger, if not for Moses who interceded on their behalf, despite the insistence from God to destroy them and make Moses a great nation. Moses reminded God of His promises and appealed to His mercy and God relented of his anger and allowed them to live. If you do not believe in the power of intercession, that is a piece of evidence for you. If you doubt that God cannot be moved to compassion by our prayerful plea for forgiveness keep in mind Moses pleading for his people. So, to this day, God continues to relent from His anger because “The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (cf. Psalm 145:8) Let us give our lives to God and resist the idolatry of our age. Let us continue to intercede for ourselves, our families and friends and for the whole world because we all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. ( cf. Rom 3:23)
In the second reading from Paul’s letter to Timothy, Paul repeats the story of his own conversion, intending to offer to everyone who will listen, a conversion challenge. Paul always contrasts his life before Christ with his life after his Damascus experience. In today’s passage (1:12-17) Paul tells Timothy that, although he, Paul, had been the greatest of sinners, as a blasphemer and arrogant persecutor, God showed great mercy towards him. God has never stopped being merciful no matter the gravity of our sin. Paul might have been a worse sinner than us before his conversion, but God’s mercy located him and transformed him into a saint. This assures us that we too can become saints if we actively and willingly seek God’s forgiveness and mercy.
The Gospel deepens the theme of God’s forgiveness. In the three parables, we see God forgiving and receiving sinners. As a group, the parables tell us about God’s generosity in seeking and receiving the sinner and the joy of the sinner in being received by a forgiving and loving God. All three parables of Luke 15 ends with a party or a celebration of the transformation. The self-righteous Pharisees who accused Jesus of befriending publicans and sinners, could not believe that God would be delighted at the conversion of a sinner. We are so precious to God. He is always waiting to forgive and embrace us again.
At the core of God’s forgiving love is His desire to save us. We still have the choice today to turn to God or get lost in sinfulness. May we acknowledge our sins and seek the mercy and forgiveness of God who is preparing a banquet of blessings to celebrate our repentance and conversion.
Prayer: Dearest Saviour, You are so merciful and forgiving, yet I distance myself from you by my sins. Please grant me the grace of repentance and never allow me to separate myself from you again. Amen
I keep you and your family always in my prayers. ©Clem C. Aladi (2024)
