Homily For Monday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 25th September, 2023

Reading: Ezra 1:1-6; Ps. 126; Luke 8:16-18

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

BE THAT PURIFYING LIGHT THAT ILLUMINES THE DARKNESS OF THIS PASSING WORLD

 

Light is a very familiar word in the scriptures, light is a symbol that represents awareness, knowledge, and understanding. Light clarifies, Illuminates, Inspires, defeats darkness, shines fully and freely, it guides, stimulates and motivates, provokes action, irritates those who like darkness, confirms truth, purifies, exposes sin, warms and assures us of safety and also facilitates progress.

 

Little wonder, Jesus in our Gospel passage today said: No one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to put it under a bed. No, he puts it on a lamp-stand so that people may see the light when they come in. For nothing is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be known and brought to light.

 

So, as people who have been purified by the light of Christ through our baptism, we are entrusted with the mission of illuminating the darkness around us. For during our baptism, we were given a candle light which we are to keep brightly burning as a flame of faith in our hearts as we journey with others towards our heavenly kingdom. This, therefore, clearly defines our role in the mission of Christ, which is to illuminate the darkness and reflect the glory of God in the darkness of the passing world.

 

Hence, every Christian is called by God to influence the world positively through the light of our faith, just like Cyrus king of Persia in our first reading, who was the light that illuminated the darkness in the midst of the people of Israel who are in the darkness of exiles. For he ordered the people to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple of God and to free them from the darkness of exiles and slavery brought the light of hope to the people and illuminated the darkness of sin and wickedness.

 

Dear friends, the focus of today’s message is that all of us are called to positively influence the lives of humanity through our attitude and character which should be like that of purifying light. Where there is darkness we should let the light of Christ illuminate. Where pride, selfishness, corruption and greed have brought darkness, let the light of our good attitude and character illuminate it once again. Where sin and immorality have made humanity filthy and ugly, let our light of holiness purify and wash us clean. Therefore, we must not let our lights be hidden under the darkness of the passing world, rather we must let it shine anywhere we find ourselves.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we struggle every day to truly carry out the mission entrusted to us, give us the grace and courage to dedicate ourselves, our time, our energy and our effort to become the true light that illuminates our families, society and the world filled with the darkness of sin and evil. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful week.