Homily For Thursday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 17th October, 2024. The Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch

 

Readings: Eph 1:1-10, Ps. 98, Luke 11:47-54

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE WHO SPEAK TRUTH?

Today in our Gospel passage, Jesus continued with his reproach on the Scribes and the Pharisees for hardening their hearts from his teaching, therefore behaving like their ancestors. Little wonder, Jesus, in his reproach, said: woe to you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed!

In this way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building. Hearing this the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him. They tried to force answers from him by setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.

Here, Jesus was speaking to the people about the ugly attitudes and wickedness of humanity, well manifested by the Scribes and Pharisees. For on the various occasions when we ought to obey the Lord, we prefer to live and act in accordance with our own selfish and proud attitudes. Hence by reproaching us, Jesus is reminding us that this is not the right path for us to follow.

Instead, we should be more faithful and pay more attention to God’s words and teachings. This he had repeatedly communicated to us through the prophets, which we often rejected and also killed the prophets. Similarly, Jesus despite all the signs and wonders he had done for humanity we still refused to have faith in him.

To understand this great sacrifice of the Lord, St. Paul, in our first reading, says: blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. For he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and spotless and live through love in his presence. Telling us how much God loves us and how necessary it is for us to listen to him.

This is what we see in the life of St. Ignatius of Antioch whose memorial we celebrate today. He was 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.

Dear friends, why do we often feel bad when we hear people telling us the truth? Why do we often set traps to catch up with innocent people because they are telling us the truth we don’t want to hear? Today, we are called not to be like the Scribes and Pharisees, who, out of pride and selfishness, rejected the words of Jesus and sought to kill him.

Rather, we should be more humble and disposed towards the words of God we hear every day. We should make efforts to transform our lives and faith more closer to that of Jesus. We should stop opposing and setting traps for people because they are telling us the truth or refuse to follow our opinions. Let us stop building on the past ugly and evil attitudes of people who have gone before us just like the scribes and Pharisees.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, out of pride we often wish to eliminate those who correct us. As you reproach our ugly attitudes of pride and selfishness today, may we be filled with the longing for true holiness and humility; we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.