21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B.
FIRST READING
Joshua 24:1—2a, 15—17, 18b
Joshua 24:1—2a, 15—17, 18b
SECOND READING
Ephesians 5:21—32
GOSPEL
John 6:60—69
John 6:60—69
THEME: THE CHURCH IS NOT A RESTING PLACE.
Some think that church is a refugee camp that you will run to when things
get hard for you. It is not that the church cannot help in that aspect but it
is not the primary duty of the church. Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese Most
Rev. Prof. Godfrey Igwebuike Onah in his 2014 Lenten pastoral message Volumus
Jesum Videre (we want to see Jesus), said, There is difference between a child that ran
to an elder’s house because he is pursued by a masquerade and a child that
prepared and went to visit an elder in his house. The first, when the
masquerade is gone, he/she will leave. Even when the child is still in the
house, he/she will learn nothing from the elder because he/she seeks only
protection that time. But when it comes to a child that prepared and went to an
elder, there will be discussions and he/she will learn a lot from the elder.
Tomorrow he/she will come back again for more but the other will not return
unless the masquerade is back. That is the same way some of us practice our
Christian life. Our church is not a bed of roses, it is a church filled with
many sufferings that have hope. If we are choosing Christianity to escape
suffering, we are making a serious mistake. Continue Reading...............