Thursday, 21 March 2019

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C. By Tobe Eze


3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C.

First Reading
Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 12:12-30
Gospel
Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21
THEME: THE POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD.
In the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God (John 1:1). And the word took flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:14).
An old man one day went to the church for the first time. After the homily, he was unease on his seat. When one of the church wardens approached him to know the problem, he told the man that he wanted to appreciate the priest for the wonderful homily. The church warden told him that no one is permitted to reply the homily that it is meant for people to take in, digest and use it in their daily lives and the man accepted that. After the mass when they were going home, he overheard people saying that the priest did not make sense in his homily that day and he was confused. After sometimes, he barked at them. When he went home, he started having mercy on those persons and the entire church for they do not know what they are doing to themselves. Next Sunday he went again and the priest as if he knew about him and started the homily with. “No matter what the world is turning to be, you should not be discouraged for God is still with us”. These words of introduction by the priest gave the man consolation. Why the story? Continue Reading...................................

In the first reading, after reading the word of the Lord to the people, they started weeping for they noticed that they were not doing what they were expected to do. The consolation came from the same person who read the word that the joy of the Lord is their strength. In the gospel, we can see what the word of God will do for us if we recognize that we are one as Paul tells us in the second reading. Some do take others as nothing and relegate them to the level of nothing good will come out of them. St. Paul through the second reading is telling us to count everyone as equal. Do not tell anyone that the person is not important as you are for you think that your own gift or charisma is better than the person’s own. We are all working for one purpose which is, to make heaven and we should help each other in the journey. The world of the Lord is what we should listen to, obey it and put it into practice in our everyday life for effective working of the one body of Christ.

The Jews could not recognize the power of God that manifested among them through Jesus Christ though he even explained it to them. Power of the word of God will make the blind to see, the dumb to talk, the deaf to hear, the cripple to work and it is the same word that will announce the acceptable year of the Lord to us. The world was also created with the power of this word. If all these are true, why do we still joke with the power of the word of God?
We may be blind, cripple, deaf, dumb spiritually and not physically and both spiritual and physical troubles are healed by the power of the word. The only thing required of us is to accept it as the widow of Zeraphath, as Neman of Syria not rejecting it as the Jews. The power of the word is our Saviour for God’s word is God. The word was God………… THANKS AND HAPPY SUNDAY.

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