HOMILY OF MONDAY IN THE 22ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Luke 4:16-30
THEME: WHY WE MUST KNOW WHO WE RELATE WITH
Our faith in people cannot go beyond our knowledge of them. To establish harmonious relationships and derive mutual benefits from others, it’s essential to know who they are and not just relate with them based on what they are. We must understand their inner selves and not merely interact with them based on their outward characteristics or roles.
In the gospel of today, we understand that the Nazarenes knew Jesus simply as the son of Jospeh. They never knew that he was their expected Messiah. Their limited knowledge of him made them incapable of building up any form of expectation or faith that may move the hands of Jesus to perform miracle in their midst. Though they marveled at his teaching, they did not hesitate to drag him out of the synagogue when they realized that his teaching has begun to question their doubt.
Therefore, in our relationship with people, it is good that we look beyond their genetic makeup, physical appearance, age, gender, race, and other objective attributes. Let us seek to know who they are deep down in their personality. This helps us to know what we may expect from them.
We pray that we may understand the people around us and that we may truly know and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Amen.
