Homily for Thursday Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 10th June, 2021.

 Homily for Thursday Tenth Week in Ordinary Time  Year B, 10th June, 2021.

Reading: 2 Cor3:15-4:1.3-6.; Ps. 84; Matt.5:20-26

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

A CALL FOR DEEPER VIRTUE

Most of the time, we often find it difficult to understand the way God operates, especially as regards to his relationship with humanity. This is because humanity have failed to understand how God’s mercy and justice are applicable in our relationship with him and with one another. Hence, Jesus in our Gospel passage today, calls us to a deeper virtue, when he said to his disciples, If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

This because the Scribes and the Pharisees always enforced a strict interpretation and obedience to the Law, its rules and regulations, and yet, failed to truly practice nor understand and appreciate that the Law of God is meant to lead God’s people to him and to teach them to practice love in their lives. Thus, we ought to be faithful and to follow the Lord more faithfully than the Scribes and Pharisees for their religious piety are mainly superficial, because their practicing of the laws does not truly come from their heart. Their actions and obedience to the Law is motivated by what they want to gain in order to sustain their pride and desire for worldly glory and praise. 

So, we should not be like them, we should rather get rid of our pride and excess desires for honorific positions. We should strive to deepen our virtue towards righteous deeds. We must become agent of peace and reconciliation. We must be symbol of God’s mercy and justice in a world full of corruption and greed. Hence, St Paul in our first reading today said: If our gospel does not penetrate the veil, then the veil is on those who are not on the way to salvation; the unbelievers whose minds the god of this world has blinded, to stop them seeing the light shed by the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For it is not ourselves that we are preaching, but Christ Jesus as the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 

Dear friends, we are call today to embrace the virtue of humility and readiness to reconcile with those who have offered us, knowing that the mercy and justice of God regulates all things. We have to be vigilant always and strive to be righteous before God and man. Today, we must be ready to make a fundamental choice to live a holy life and never to return to our sinful ways of life. We must struggle everyday to grow in righteousness and never give up no matter the situation we are passing through now. We should strive everyday to remain faithful to God’s commandment of love and peace.  

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we struggle everyday towards holiness and perfection, may we be guided by the Holy Spirit and strive to remain towards the path of righteousness and ever to go back to our sinful and ugly ways of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.