Homily for Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 26th September, 2021. The World Day Remembrance of Migrants and Refugees.

 Homily for Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 26th September, 2021.  The World Day Remembrance of Migrants and Refugees.

Readings:  Num. 11:25-29; Ps. 19; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43.47-48

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

OUR CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY MANDATE REQUIRES DISCIPLINE AND COLLABORATING WITH OTHERS

There is no doubt that the Christian faith can be very demanding and ambiguous for those who do not understand the sacrificial nature of our missionary life. To deal with these challenges, we must learn to discipline ourselves and collaborate with one another. So discipline and collaboration must be central to the Christian mission, since the Christian faith comes across different categories of people which requires that there should be room to accommodate one another in that single language of sacrificial love towards Christ missionary mandate. 

This very discipline and collaborative nature of our faith is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today when he said: Anyone who is not against us is for us. But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out.

Here Jesus is speaking to his disciples and to the people about doing the works for the glory of God, saying that we should not stop people from doing the good works of God even if the people did not belong to the same group with us. This is because, the disciples of Jesus saw some people who were doing works in the name of Jesus, casting out demons and healing in his name, and they tried to stop them from doing so. Why? Because the disciples having received from Jesus the authority and power to perform miracle they wanted to keep these gift and authority exclusive to themselves. But Jesus rebuked such selfish attitude showed by the disciples, because Jesus desires that everyone who wishes to do the work of God should be accommodated regardless of their background and affiliations.

This was also the situation in our first reading today where we heard how Eldad and Medad also received the Spirit of God and began prophesying amongst the people, just like the seventy elders appointed to be the leaders of the people of Israel during their Exodus to the promise land. But some people complained and tried to stop them because they are not among the seventy elders. However, Moses rebuked them from complaining and wished that all God’s people should be able to prophecy. This desire of Moses no doubt was prophetic. For this in fact came true during the  Pentecost day, when God sent down His Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus in the upper room, about seventy of them a symbolic of the seventy elders of the Israelites.

Dear friends, by the virtue of our baptism and confirmation we have received the same Spirit of God, that gives us the authority to prophecy and do great works for God. Therefore,  we too have been entrusted with the missionary mandate of Christ. So, is our responsibility to make good use of the various gifts and opportunities God has given us by ensuring that we discipline ourselves for excess desires for the pleasurable things of this passing world which are distracting us from God and our mission. Little wonder St. James in our second reading today, point ways in which we have been distracted by the excess desires for riches of this passing world and as a result have misused and abused the various gifts and talents that God had been given us out  of our pride, envy, corruption, selfishness and immoral ways of life.

Therefore, we are called today to know that our Christian missionary mandate requires discipline and detachment from all the sinful actions that have corrupted some parts of our life as human  person, this ugly attitude we must cut off in our lives. We are also called to learn how to collaborate and accommodate other people who speak the one true language of Christ which is sacrificial love for one another especially as we celebrate the World Day for Migrants and Refugees all over the world.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit who has always being our guide, help us to learn how to be more disciplined by doing away with those things that lead us to sin. Help us to be more accommodating and collaborating with one another as we carryout your missionary mandate of love for each another. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday and God bless.