DAILY- HOMILY

06 November 2016

32nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Cycle C.          Green.       

2 Mac 7:1 – 2, 9 –14 / 2 Thes 2:16 – 3: 5 / Lk 20:27 - 38

From the 1st Reading: 2 Mac 7:9, 14   

At the moment of his last breath, he said, "Murderer, you now dismiss us from life, but the King of the world will raise us up.  He will give us eternal life since we die for his laws." 

At the point of death, he cried out, "I would rather die at the hands of men, and wait for the promises of God who will raise us up; you, however, shall have no part in the resurrection of life."

From the Gospel Reading: Lk 20:28 - 36 

Jesus said, "Now, when you see the first events, stand erect and lift up your heads, for your deliverance is drawing near."

And Jesus added this comparison, "Look at the fig tree and all the trees.  As soon as their buds sprout, you know that summer is already near.  In the same way, as soon as you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all this has happened: heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

"Be on your guard: let not your hearts be weighed down with a life of pleasure, drunkenness and worldly cares, lest that day catch you suddenly as a trap. For it will come upon all the inhabitants of the whole earth, But watch at all times and pray, that you may be able to escape all that is bound to happen and to stand before the Son of Man."

Reflection

Is the hope of resurrection in the future worth living for and dying for?

The seven Maccabean brothers in the first reading withstood the cruelest tortures and even died because of their confidence in the resurrection.  Jesus also speaks of the resurrection in the Gospel reading today.  Is the resurrection really worth it?

What are the qualities of our future resurrected body that makes it worth living and dying for?  Let us consider what the Scriptures have told us about it.  And we have a preview in the risen Christ and our Lady in her various apparitions.

The first is "impassibility," which puts a person beyond the reach of pain, discomfort and sickness. "It is sown in decomposition; it will be raised never more to die." (1 Cor 15: 42)  While the glorified body is "impassible," the bodies of the damned will suffer in fire and pain.

A second quality is "splendor" or "glory," meaning that glorified bodies would shine like the sun. "It is sown in humiliation and it will be raised for Glory." (1 Cor 15: 43)  Paul also writes, "It is buried in weakness, but the resurrection will be with power.  When buried it is a natural body, but it will be raised as a ere is at present a living body." body. (1 Cor 15: 43b- 44)

A third quality is "agility," by which the glorified body will be able to move with the utmost facility of movement anywhere and wherever.  

A fourth quality is "subtility," which means it is subject to the absolute dominion or control of the soul. The risen Christ passed through closed doors.

The resurrection is really worth hoping for, worth living and dying for. As Paul wrote, ""Flesh and blood cannot share the kingdom of God; nothing of us that is to decay can reach imperishable life.  So I want to teach you this mystery:  although not all of us will die, all of us have to be transformed, in an instant, at the sound of the trumpet.  You have heard of the last trumpet; then in the twinkling of an eye, the dead will be raised imperishable, while we shall all be transformed.  For it is necessary that our mortal and perishable being put on the life that knows neither death nor decay."  (1 Cor 15: 50 – 53)

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     Lolita P. Del Carmen

     Isabel Lopez Nazal

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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