A Homily for Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Friday, February 7, 2025
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 8:00 Mass
Hebrews 13:1-8; Psalm 27:1, 3, 5, 8b-9abc; Mark 6:14-29
Audio Recording
In today’s first reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, the author reminds us that God is always with us and that he never changes. And although he loves us no matter what, we must follow his commandments in order to EXPERIENCE this love.
Specifically, we must love our neighbor by showing hospitality to others, praying for those who are imprisoned and ill-treated, remaining faithful in our marriages and avoiding adulterous relationships, remaining free from the love of money, and being content with what we have. In other words, we must place love of God and neighbor above everything else in our lives.
If our priority in life is to love and serve God and neighbor, we will receive God’s grace that allows us to KNOW in the depth of our soul that God is always with us, in spite of the hand we have been dealt. We’ll be able to say with confidence: The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?
However, if we don’t keep God’s commandments, if we decide to live our lives according to our own ideas, whims and disordered desires, or if we ignore those moments of grace when God sends someone to help us, then we will become angry and close in on ourselves through self-pity or feelings of helplessness when trouble comes our way.
Have you ever encountered people who are so angry with God that they completely shut you out when you speak to them of his love for them? When you encourage them to trust in God, even though they may not see the light at the end of the tunnel? This is especially true with those who blame God for all of their misfortunes, saying that if God REALLY loved me, if God was REALLY good, he wouldn’t let this happen to me. So they dismiss him, they stop going to church and retreat into their own misery.
My wife, Christine, recently encountered a woman who was struggling with not having enough income to meet her needs. She was relying on a small income to get by that simply wasn’t adequate to meet her expenses. Although this person was physically capable of working, she was afraid she would lose her inadequate income if she did.
So rather than taking action to solve her problem and trusting that God would provide in some way if she stepped out in faith, she chose to be angry with God, with the government, and with the world at large. When Christine asked this woman if she ever prayed about this, she said that prayer wouldn’t help because it was obvious that God didn’t care about her. If he did, she wouldn’t have these problems.
Our attitude in the face of difficulty is so important, isn’t it? When we become angry at our circumstances, or when we are unable to have what we think we deserve, we can be tempted to think that God doesn’t care about us. As a result, we don’t experience the peace and joy God wishes each of us to have in both good times and in bad.
So what are we to do when we have family, friends or acquaintances who have turned their backs on God and his Church because of the circumstances of their lives? We must continue to love them, to encourage them to see things differently, and, most importantly, show them with our own lives that we remain joyful when the circumstances of our own lives become difficult or even tragic. We must encourage them to pray and let them know that we are praying for them.
It’s a big job we have to do. God is truly counting on us to be his hands and feet, reaching out to those in need and to lovingly speak his truth to them, especially with the powerful witness of our own lives of faith and the good fruit it bears. Are we up for the challenge?