HOMILY OF MONDAY 13TH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY OF MONDAY 13TH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: SELECT YOUR FRIENDS CAREFULLY
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul
Amos 2:6-10, 13-16; Psalm 49(50):16-23; Matthew 8:18-22
‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.’
In the Gospel of today (Matt. 8:18-22), something remarkable happened; a man offered to follow Jesus, but he was rejected. We may argue that God who sees the hearts of men had seen his heart and considered him unfit. But we should equally know that Jesus never hated him. He knew that he didn’t fit into his plans and visions. Perhaps he might be good in other areas. After all, the one who got the invitation gave an excuse and refused to follow.
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We don’t have to hate anyone, but not everyone can be our companion. Sometimes, to evaluate our success, we need to examine the quality and not quantity of our friendships. Our friends must share our visions. They must not work against us. Jesus needed followers, but not everyone could provide the qualities needed to be one. Thus, He had to pray even before selecting them.
We all need friends in our lives. And when we don’t have them, we can feel lonely, isolated, and like we have to go through life on our own. The Bible says that ‘God sets the lonely in families’ (Psalm 68:6). He knows when we are feeling lonely, and when we ask Him to provide us with true, godly friends, He will. Sometimes we don’t have the best experiences with our families and so our friends can become like our family. They support us, comfort us, encourage us, and advise us, just like a family would. ‘Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family’ (Proverbs 18:24). Paul writes that when he was struggling, God comforted Him by bringing along Titus (take a look at 2 Corinthians 6:7). And He can bring people into our lives as a form of comfort when we need them too. But we also have to play our part. The Bible says: ‘A man who has friends must himself be friendly’ (Proverbs 18:24 ).
If we want good friends, we must be good friends to others. We need to be vulnerable and let people into our lives. We need to be willing to encourage and support others, just as we would want them to do for us. We need to sacrifice our time just as others would sacrifice their time to be there for us. Having godly friends means we have people we can call on when the going gets tough. Trying to do God’s work by ourselves can get tiring. We sometimes need the encouragement and skills of others to help us out. After all, we can achieve more together than we can alone. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. As we begin a new week, we humbly ask God for grace, blessings, and protection. May God heal our country, Nigeria, through Christ Our Lord Amen.
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