Homily For Monday Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 28th August, 2023. The Memorial of St. Augustine

Readings: 1Thess.1:1-5.8-10, Ps. 149, Matt.23:13-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

ARE YOU A GOOD LEADER OR A HYPOCRITIC THAT SWEARS FALSELY?  

 

Leadership is one of the characteristics of a human person, it is that which makes us unique from every other thing. It is a gift from God by which we serve Him and our neighbour responsibly. However, the Scribes and the Pharisees in the Gospel today who had the responsibility to lead people to the Kingdom of Heaven, have become an obstacle for they neither enter nor allow those who want to enter to go in.

 

Thus, Jesus called them hypocrites, and blind guides because they misuse the gift of leadership entrusted to them. For they say, “If a man swears by the Temple, it has no force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound.” But Jesus said to them you fools and blind! Which is of greater worth, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? Therefore, when a man swears by the altar he is swearing by that and by everything on it. And when a man swears by the Temple he is swearing by the One who dwells in it. And when a man swears by heaven he is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there.’

 

Here, Jesus is referring to the ceremonious way in which the Pharisees took oaths. It was one of the things in the culture of their time. That is, people swearing oaths with impressive sounding words before the congregations without fulfilling them like our politicians today. But what were the words of these oaths anyway?

 

They were forms of words designed to impress people. There were no indications that the person swearing the oath had any power over the things that the oath mentioned. It was just using words to impress and so produce acceptance of things about the oath, when in fact this is completely fraudulent because the persons taking the oath, do not intend to keep the promises or commitments that they were confirming by taking that oath. They were just fooling the people. And Jesus is saying in essence, that we should not let this foolery ever be part of us because it is hypocrisy and Jesus is against hypocrisy in all its forms, especially when it has to do with taking the name of God in vain.

 

To take the name of God in vain means to invoke His name unnecessarily or profanely, to use it without humbly acknowledging the holy character of the One whose name we are invoking. To invoke the name of God in an oath or vow when our statement is false, inconsequential or when we do not intend to honour our words is a direct violation of the third commandment of God. Therefore, the issue Jesus is addressing here goes to the very core of our character as Christians, to the heart of what it means to live as a child of God, especially in a society like ours, where deception and falsehood are the order of the day.

 

Dear friends, Jesus calls us today to be sincere in everything we do or say. That is why he commanded us not to swear an oath, rather we should say yes when you mean yes, and no when you mean no, so as not to become hypocrites and liars. So, today we are called not to be hypocrites or blind guides but good leaders who are committed and responsible with whatever we are entrusted with.

 

Little wonder St. Paul in our first reading tells us to observe the sort of life that they lived when they were with us, which was for our instruction, since it was from them that the word of the Lord started to spread. Also, like St Augustine whose memorial we celebrate today, who lived a very ugly life. But later embraced God and became a great instrument in preparing humanity towards the kingdom of God.

 

He devoted all his life to writing about God, telling us that true happiness is found in interior living and not in material things we possess, Therefore, we are reminded that we are going to give an account before God and the real tragedy of life is not in occupying leadership positions but in failure to use those positions properly.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, oftentimes we have been hypocrites, blind guides of the things you entrusted to us. May we never take your name in vain or tired of doing what is good. As we struggle it out the remaining days of August and the rest of the year, may the sole fount of true wisdom and knowledge guide us in all our decisions in life. Amen. Have a fruitful week ahead.