DAILY- HOMILY

September 3, 2014
Wednesday 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
[Memorial, St. Gregory the Great]

1Cor 3: 1-9 / Ps 33: 12-13, 14-15, 20-21 / Lk 4: 38-44

Reading: 1Cor 3: 1-9
I could not, friends, speak to you as spiritual persons but as fleshly people, for you are still infants in Christ. I gave you milk and not solid food, for you were not ready for it and up to now you cannot receive it for you are still of the flesh. As long as there is jealousy and strife, what can I say but that you are at the level of the flesh and behave like ordinary people. While one says: "I follow Paul," and the other: "I follow Apollos," what are you but people still at a human level? For what is Apollos? What is Paul? They are ministers and through them you believed, as it was given by the Lord to each of them. I planted, Apollos watered the plant, but God made it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who makes the plant grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work to the same end, and the Lord will pay each according to their work. We are fellow-workers with God, but you are God's field and building.

Gospel: Luke 4: 38-44
Leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the house of Simon. His mother-in-law was suffering from high fever and they asked him to do something for her. Bending over her, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and waited on them. At sunset, people suffering from many kinds of sickness were brought to Jesus. Laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Demons were driven out, howling as they departed from their victims, "You are the Son of God!" He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, for they knew he was the Messiah. Jesus left at daybreak and looked for a solitary place. People went out in search of him and, finding him, they tried to dissuade him from leaving. But he said, "I have to go to other towns to announce the good news of the kingdom of God. That is what I was sent to do." So Jesus continued to preach in the synagogues of the Jewish country.

Reflection:
     Jesus forbids the expelled demons to announce that he is the messiah. This is called the messianic secret. Israel awaits a messiah who will be their liberator from both political and economic oppression. Jesus is truly the messiah but his mission is not limited to perform miracles. To publicize a premature announcement that he is the messiah would endanger his real mission which is to liberate and redeem man from sin and death through suffering. The motive in following him remains self-serving and superficial. People were following Christ with a perverse intention. They want to be rid off of suffering. But Christ wants to give a deeper experience, to have faith and peace that can withstand all adversities. The real sickness of man is internal.  Many times after a cure Jesus would say: "You are now healed. Sin no more." Of what is the healing when faith is still imminent? Lazarus was raised to life but still he died later. Death can be overcome if the internal man has the real life of Christ. This man is described as a house built on a rock. Strong winds and wave may buffet it but it still remains standing. Before this is possible, Christ needs to enter death for the forgiveness of sins, and to resurrect so that his Spirit can be offered to us. This spirit is indestructible. We can receive this through the proclamation of the good news. That is why Christ did not remain in the midst of the euphoria of having a multitude of followers. He had to move on for the proclamation of the kingdom of God. The possibility of internal healing is offered to those who welcome the preaching.  Here lies the true liberation of man.
     What is our relationship with the Lord? Do we treat him like a genie that appears to grant our wishes? Or are we willing to follow him even in the midst of life's conflicts and difficulties because we have this certainty that nothing can separate us from the love of God?

Prayer Requests:
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary
… for families who are in need of healing
     * for Agnes Bacani
… for world peace and reconciliation

… for the eternal repose of Cipriano P. Maribojoc

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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