Homily For Tuesday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 3rd October, 2023. The Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Readings: Zec.8:20-23; Ps.87; Luke 9:51-56

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

HOW TO DEAL WITH STRONG OPPOSITIONS OF LIFE

 

Oftentimes when we find ourselves in difficult situations caused by our opponent, the first instinct that comes to our minds is to do away with the opponent and ensure that he or she does not exist anymore. Sometimes we feel like crushing anything that stands on the way towards our goal, especially when we think that we have the power and authority do so.

 

This is the disposition of James and John in our Gospel passage today when they said to Jesus: ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ This is because the people of Samaritan village will not let Jesus and his disciples past through their town to Jerusalem. For opposing them the two disciples felt that they should be consumed by fire. But Jesus turned and rebuked his disciples, and then went off to another village.

 

Here, Jesus is showing us how to deal with opposition of life. For in life we must surely encounter oppositions, but what makes a difference is how we deal with it. In the Gospel the two disciples of Jesus feels that the best way to deal with such opposition is by calling down fire on the opponent, just like most of us will have done if we have the power and authority to do so.

 

However, this is not the same with Jesus, who though had the absolute power and authority to command fire to consume anything he wishes, but in this case, he chooses to flee from the problem not because he was a coward, no, but rather because he hoped to experience peace and teach us that sometimes the best way to deal with opposition in life is to walk away.

 

This does not mean that he was weak, rather he wants us to understand that a change of location does not make us weak or remove our enemies, it only changes where the battle takes place. And for Jesus, the battlefield is not the Samaritan territory, but the heart of the human person who occupied the territory. Perhaps, Jesus did not come to destroy the people, if he had come for that purpose, he would have destroyed these Samaritans; but he came to save.

 

And so he bears patiently the ignorance of the opposition and we too must learn to do the same, just as we heard prophet Zechariah in our first reading saying: there will be other peoples yet, and citizens of great cities. And the inhabitants of one city will go to the next and say, “Come, let us go and entreat the favour of the Lord, and seek the Lord of Hosts. This is what we see in the life of St. Therese of the Child Jesus whose memorial we celebrate today.

 

Dear friends, we must learn from Jesus how to walk away from opposition for the sake of peace. We should not be like James and John wanting to destroy those who opposed us. Rather we must learn to acquire the spirit of the Lord Jesus; temper our zeal like his; and seek to bear patiently with those who stand in our way. Let us seek peace, let us be patient and forgiving. Let us not allow the feeling of revenge to consume us into hurting those with whom we feel we cannot resolve our differences. Let us learn to identify what makes the real battle life and then change the battleground for victory.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, every day we encounter oppositions that we feel like crushing and eliminating. Through the intercession St. Therese, helps us to learn from Jesus how to deal with opposition patiently for the sake of peace and harmony in our societies. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.