HOMILY FOR THURSDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
BY REV FR EKESHIRI JUDE EMEKA CSSP.
(1 John 4:7-10, Psalm 71:1-4,7-8, Luke 4:28)
Love is the basic principle of every human relationship. A relationship that is built on something else is indeed narcissistic. God is the first principal of love and He wants us to translate this love into a communal relationship.
Thus, today’s Gospel reading narrates the inauguration of Jesus’ prophetic mission in Nazareth. It presents Jesus’s public appearance, where He read from the scroll of the prophets Isaiah and in it, His basic ministry was to bring goodnews to the poor, proclaiming release to the captives, giving sight to the blind, freeing the oppressed and announcing the favour of the Lord. The mission of Jesus is practically liberative.
However, we are meant to be people who bring liberation and freedom to others and not captivity. Many of us go into relationships with others in order to put them into captivity. Let us examine ourselves today, what is our aim in relating with others? The reading from the letter of St John tells us that, “let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7-10). Also that, “We are to love, because God loved us first. Anyone who says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, is a liar, since a man who does not love the brother that he can see cannot love God, whom he has never seen. So this is the commandment that he has given us, that anyone who loves God must also love his brother. . ” (1 John 4: 19-5:4).
However, Jesus came to lead people out of their ignorance to the liberating knowledge of God, revealing divine mercy through His words and deeds. The whole Gospel of Luke is a testament to this prophetic mission until His death on the cross. As a Christian, how do I see my mission today? Is it liberative, proclaiming God’s love, or enslaving, excluding others? Let us examine ourselves today and factor ourselves into the mission of Christ. Peace be with you.
