HOMILY OF FRIDAY OF THE TWENTHY SEVENTHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C. 10TH OCTOBER 2025.
BY REV FR. ADOLE ACHILLEUS ILE LAMPEZ CSSp.
1st reading : Joel 1:13-15,2:1-2
Psalm 9A:2-3,6,16,8-9
Gospel : Luke 11:15-26
There is a common saying that “if you want to kill a dog, you first give that dog a bad name.” This saying does not only work with dogs, but with human beings too as we have seen in our society how people are given bad names and killed unjustly.
The application of such principles as giving someone a bad name before killing him has been invoked even in the earthly days of Jesus.
Jesus’s short ministry on earth was never a smooth one as he seldom had heated encounters with oppositions who sought a way to kill him.
In the gospel of today, one way thought by the oppositions of Jesus to get rid of him was to give him a bad name, asserting that Jesus who is God is having a communion with the devil. “… some of the people said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils….”
These allegations were made against Jesus just because these oppositions never wanted to accept the good in him and because the good works done by Jesus were not done by themselves or those they gave approval.
We must reflect on this passage using ourselves as examples. Have we in any way acted like these oppositions of Jesus as seen in the gospel who wanted to give Jesus a bad name out of jealousy and would not want to acknowledge the good in him? Or have you given someone a bad name at any time because you lack some of the good qualities of that person?
This is not a kind of life that Jesus wants to see amongst the believers. Therefore, we must learn to recognise and acknowledge the good in one another rather than rejecting them and giving them bad names out of mere jealousy.
Peace be with you
