Homily For Tuesday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 17th October, 2023. The Memorial of St Ignatius Antioch

Readings: Romans 1:16-25 Ps. 19; Luke 11:37-41

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INTERIOR OF A PERSON  OVER THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE

 

There is no doubt that our societies today are full of artful deception, dishonesty and fraudsters. Integrity has become a virus to be eliminated. Morals and virtuous actions are no longer valuable. Heroes of deception and fraudsters are honoured and celebrated. The interior life of the human person is no longer regarded as important as the outward appearance. This unhealthy way of life is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today. For when a Pharisee invited Jesus to dine at his house, he was surprised that Jesus had not first washed before the meal.

 

But Jesus said to him, ‘Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.

 

Here, the Pharisees were so much interested with the outward appearance and the ‘letters’ of the Law, that they neglected the ‘spirit’ of the Law and the interior life of the human person. However, Jesus made it clear that the interior life and purity of the human person are not based on outward appearance of a person but, from the good fruit of virtues that comes from the human soul, because outwardly we may appear to be good and pious, but in reality, our hearts are full of wickedness, immorality and sin.

 

Little wonder St. Paul in our first reading, reminded us that the anger of God is being revealed from heaven against all the impiety and depravity of men who keep truth imprisoned in their wickedness. For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain. Therefore, we must learn to take our interior life very seriously knowing that without a sound interior life, all of our good actions, obedience and the observances of the Law will be empty and meaningless.

 

Dear friends, today we are called to look within ourselves, and purify our inner being and so make our outward appearance reflect our inner being. We must ensure that our faith in God is pure and genuine by letting our whole lives be inspired by virtuous and truthful actions of our daily activities. This is what we see in the life of St. Ignatius of Antioch whose memorial we celebrate today. He is one of the most prominent of all the early Church fathers, who helped to establish a solid foundation for the Church in Antioch and also the Universal Church.

 

He wrote extensively to the other Church communities. But was martyred by being thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheatre, where he defended his faith to the very end. Teaching us to be true Christians in our way of life, words and deeds. Let us learn to put our trust in God who has promised to keep us from falling away from the true faith we have found in His Son Jesus. Therefore, let our attitudes begin to change our society that is full of artful deception, dishonesty and fraudsters. Let our lives bear good fruits of integrity, love, purity and faith.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our hearts are full of corruption, impurity, greediness, wickedness and immorality, through the intercession of St. Ignatius give us the grace to purify our lives with virtues of integrity, honesty, purity and love, we ask this through Christ our lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.