SATURDAY OCTOBER 19, 2024
SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY EIGHTH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME B
Ss John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogus, P. and Companions,Mm; St Paul of the Cross, P. (Opt. Mem.)
Ephesians 1:15-23
Luke 12:8-12
THE CHRISTIAN CALL TO WITNESS TO THE GREATNESS AND MAJESTY OF OUR LORD CHRIST
The Christian faith we hold and live in is not meant to be hidden, or just for us alone. It is God’s desire to proclaim his goodness, tell of his love and acknowledge his presence and divine work in our lives.
In the gospel, our Lord Jesus puts before us the important task of acknowledging his, bearing witness to his name and making him known to all we come across in life and in all circumstances. Jesus expects us his followers to continually tell of his name from one generation to the other.
Aknowledging Jesus before men is not merely by words alone but by all means, our words, our conducts, our behaviour, our moral life, through our daily struggles and in all circumstances.
God presents us greater opportunities to make him known, loved and appreciated. We must be alife, active and attentive to know and determine when and how God expects us to witness to his name in the most auspicious way.
And he promises us that to all who acknowledges him,“Every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God;.” But to the one who denies him, he equally will deny before his angels in heaven.
We live to praise the name of our God. It is his life we live, his rules we follow, his ideals we exemplify, his commands we uphold, his moral code we abide in. This is the way to acknowledge him. We may amplify it by speaking about him to others, by street evangelization, by attendance at mass and by working selflessly and voluntarily for his honour and glory.
More importantly, acknowledging Jesus can come in the form of thanksgiving, either in the Church, or with songs of praise and worship. It is the greatest prayer we can offer when we give God our thanksgiving.
Such thanksgiving could be a daily struggle in the midst of many adverse circumstances, or it could also be a minute by minute effort, a sincere, truthful heart drenching life of total devotion and dedication to God’s cause. But it flows from a grateful happy and loving heart.
In our world filled with so much worries and cares for self, our world drifting towards materialism, relativism and absolute denial of the sacred and denial of God, we must stand strong to uphold the name of our God, attributing all powers, all majesty and all dominium to him.
Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, our first reading today acknowledges the goodness of our God detailing his powers, majesty and greatness. More importantly, Paul gives thanks and prays for the faithful of Ephesus for their faith in Christ Jesus, their doggedness to the life in Christ. Paul encourages us to always think of the “riches of his glorious inheritance” reserved for the saints, and “the immeasurable greatness of his powers” at work in us and therefore live to proclaim the name of our God giving unalloyed witness to him.
Heavenly Father, you called us to give honour and glory to you. May our tongues continually proclaim your name, our thought be filled with you praises and our lives give witness to your greatness and majesty. Keep us always in your love and never allow us deny, abandon or forsake you. Bless us today and always in your love through Christ our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
