Homily For Saturday The Sixth Day Within The Octave of Christmas, 30th December, 2023

Readings: 1 John 2:12-17, Ps 96, Luke:2:36-40

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

COME ENCOUNTER THE LORD JESUS AT THE TEMPLE JUST LIKE ANNA

 

It’s always the desire of humanity to have the experience of God especially when we are passing through difficult situations. This had always been the desire and disposition of the people of Israel as they awaited the coming of the Messiah as prophesied by the prophets. Hence, our Gospel passage today presents to us the experience of Anna with Jesus at the temple.

 

Anna was a deeply spiritual person who spent her working hours in the Temple, praying and fasting. She came on the scene just as Jesus and his parents were in the Temple. She, too, must have realized the true identity of the Child and gave thanks to God. She then began to speak about Jesus to everyone, especially those awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

 

This passage says much about our experience with the divine, showing that our social status is of no consequence in our relationship with God. If we want to be close to God, we have to make prayer a very important part of our lives. In prayer, we come to know Jesus and to love God more and once we truly come to know Jesus, we cannot keep it to ourselves but must share the experience with the people around us, especially those who are looking for some meaning in their lives, just like Anna in the Gospel.

 

 Little wonder St. John in our first reading admonished us to embrace the love God is offering us through his Son Jesus and not give in to the love of this passing world, because, the love of God cannot be in any man who loves the world. For the world has nothing to offer us except the pleasure of the sensual body, the lustful eye, pride of sin and greed which finally lead us to destruction.

 

Dear friends, what is our relationship with God like as regards the things of this passing world? How have we personally experienced the Lord Jesus who has been born for us? How have we been able to share our experience of God with others? If we have not experienced the Lord personally in our lives, the right time to do that is now. But we need to ask ourselves what is our disposition towards prayers and pleasurable things of this passing world. To experience the Lord, we must love him above all other things and truly desire to encounter him just like Anna.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are living in a world where materialism and pleasurable things are seriously distracting us from experiencing your presence in our midst, help us to conquer our inordinate desire for the things of this world in order to embrace the heavenly things. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. As the year comes to an end, may the joy, favour and grace of God lead us into the new year.