HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Twenty First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)

Aug 23, 2020

808

Listen Read

First Reading

A reading from the first Book of the Prophet Isaiah (22:19-23)

Thus says the Lord to Shebna, master of the palace: "I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim's shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family."

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8)

(R) Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple. (R)

I will give thanks to your name, because of your kindness and your truth: when I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me. (R)

The Lord is exalted, yet the lowly He sees, and the proud He knows from afar. Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (11:33-36)

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been His counselor? Or who has given the Lord anything that He may be repaid? For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew (16:13-20)

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

I am sure you have heard the story of the six blind men who were asked to describe what an elephant looked like by touching different parts of the elephant's body. The man who touches the leg says the elephant is like a pillar; the one who touches the tail says the elephant is like a rope; the one who touches the trunk says the elephant is like a tree branch; the one who touches the ear says the elephant is like a hand fan; the one who touches the body says the elephant is like a wall; and the one who touches the tusk says the elephant is like a solid pipe. Who is right? All of them are right. Who is wrong? All of them are wrong.

Friends, we are all like those blind men when it comes to knowing God. In spite of our scriptural knowledge and our experience of God, none of us can claim to fully understand and know God. Our ability to comprehend God is limited. We catch only glimpses of God. Many of us struggle just to have a glimpse of God because our view of God is perhaps quite different and much narrower than the biblical view of God. Apostle Paul was just as well acquainted with God as any of us are, yet, in his letter to the Romans, he himself confesses he is at a loss when it really comes to knowing God at a deeper level.

In the first ten chapters of the letter, Paul speaks about the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He expounds step by step how God chooses to send His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins; how we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection; how the Christian life is lived in the spirit; how God saves both Jews and Gentiles. As he reflects on how God has designed and carried out His plan for our salvation he is simply overwhelmed with praise and glorifies God for His riches, wisdom, knowledge, judgments, and ways. He writes, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways!"

God's riches are deep or beyond understanding. God's riches are joy, love, and peace. For example, in the gospel of John (3:16) we read, "For this is how God loved the world: He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life."
God's wisdom is so deep that it's beyond our understanding. God's wisdom determines how He does what He does. Through the scriptures we come to know the wisdom of God, made apparent, in His plan for the salvation for both Jews and Gentiles.
God's knowledge is so deep that it's beyond comprehension. God knows all things - the known, the unknown, and the knowable. God knows the past, present, and future. And His knowledge is everlasting. Remembering the wisdom and knowledge of God, David sings (Psalm 139:1-4), "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar; you discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely."
God's wisdom is profound and His judgments are right, just and beyond comprehension. Often God's judgments go beyond the judicial criteria of right and wrong or good and evil. Paul believes that God's decisions are inscrutable because they are beyond human understanding. God's judgment simply cannot be questioned. God's judgments show how He executes His righteousness and justice. For instance, when Jesus and his disciples passed a man who was born blind, the disciples assumed he was afflicted because of some wrongdoing. Jesus said, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him", John (9:3).
God's ways are mysterious or beyond comprehension. In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (55:8-9) the Lord says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and are my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Remember how often occurrences in our life, such as illnesses, death, natural disasters have left us totally bewildered! God's ways are always mysterious.

To challenge our understanding of God, Paul poses three questions, "Who has known the mind of the Lord?" Who has been His counselor? Who has given the Lord anything that he may be repaid?" The answer to all three questions is, "No one." So the questions challenge the proud human beings who often compare themselves with God and who think they know better than God, and who feel greater than God. Paul reminds us that we are not even close to being great. We are not great in either wisdom or knowledge or riches or judgments or ways. Only God is great. Since God is beyond our comprehension, Paul wants us to humble ourselves before God and praise and worship Him. He says, "From Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever." In other words, God is the source of all things; means of all things and they are all for the glory of God. Therefore, Paul says all glory belongs to Him. His glory is the goal of our life.

Friends, what is the message for us? The message is very simple. Since God is infinitely wiser, richer, greater and more powerful than us, we must first and foremost humble ourselves before Him and recognize His power over our life. Secondly, we must gratefully acknowledge that our life and all the things in life are from God, through God and for God and so, praise and worship Him all the days of our life to bring glory to Him and His name.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

Content Options

to download the audio file Sign In » or Register ».
generate Google Translate Layout ».
share this homily via:

Top of Page

More Homilies this Month

Use the Prev or Next buttons to read or listen to the other homilies of the month.

« Prev Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A) Next » Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)