Homily- Tuesday of the 22nd Week of Ord. Time,
Yr. B. Fr. Udoekpo, Michael
v 1
Cor 2:10b-16
v Ps
145:8-9,10-11,12-13ab, 13cd-14
v Luke
4:31-37
The Role of the
Spirit of God (Pneuma
tou Theou) in our lives
Yesterday we
celebrated the importance of the spirit and power of God in the faith of the
community. Today’s readings and celebration build on where we stop
yesterday—namely the role of the spirit of God (Pneuma tou Theou), not just human spirit (pneuma tou anthrōpou) in life of a Christian believer.
This is very true in
the first reading, 1 Corinthian 2:10b-16 where Saint continues to challenges
the church in Corinth, plagued with
Hellenism, human wisdom and philosophical tendencies, corruption of all kinds,
boasting, bragging, back-biting, spiritual infancy, and disunity among members. Although,
he met opposition of Corinth, Paul insist that it takes the spirit for one to
discover the hidden mystery of God’s plan of salvation- the hiddenness of God,
who can “write on a crooked line.” Paul, is emphatic, “no one knows what
pertains to God except the Spirit of God (vv. 10-11). The Spirit not human
flesh, searches everything, even the depths of God.
God’s depth I
believe includes his divine nature, expressed in today’s Psalm 145, verse 17,
in particular. “The Lord is just in all his ways.” The Lord is just, righteous,
kind, merciful, truthful, gracious, compassionate, and always faithful (Exod
34:6-7; Ps 85; Jonah etc). As Pope Francis, in different ways stresses, the
face of God (Misericordiae
vultus),
mixes misery with mercy” Misericordia
et misera”,
(cf. his episcopal motto, ”miserando
atque eligendo”= God saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him..), is that
which shines for the poor, the needy, the widows, the orphaned, the prisoners,
those in captivities, the rejected, the weak, and the oppressed and for those
possessed with illnesses and demonic powers.
Apart from Paul’s
first Letter to the Corinthians and Psalm 145, the depths and mysterious nature
of God, that can only be known through the Holy Spirit is in display as well in
today’s Gospel of Luke 4:31-37, where Jesus, God’s incarnate actually, while in
Capernaum, in Galilee, not only taught on the Sabbath with the power and spirit
of God, but heals and cast out a man with unclean spirit (pneuma) of an unclean demons( daimoniou akathartou).
Without being
simplistic our society today is faced with all kinds of things, challenges,
“uncleanness” (akathartos): morally, socio-politically,
culturally and religiously, etc. that may not have been in conformity with the
spirit of God. Like in the divided Corinthian Community addressed by Paul, we
ourselves today are confronted with all forms division, racism, violence, terrorism,
ethnocentrism, secularism, consumerism, anthropocentric attitude towards the
planet- that requires our total surrender to the Jesus of Nazareth, “the Holy
One of God,” who as he does to the man with unclean spirit, the demons, is able
to clean us and our society of our “uncleanness” of all kinds.
Reflection Questions:
1.
What do you consider as “unclean”, politically, morally, socially, and
culturally in our society today, especially in your own very location?
2.
How often do we allow the spirit of God (pneuma tou theou) to lead
us in our decisions and choices?
3.
Can you relate to any of the problems challenged by Paul in 1 Corinthians-
disunity, boasting, spiritual infancy, pursuit of human wisdom etc?
4.
How often do you remind members of your faith community of the importance
of the spirit of God in religious communities and Christian homes, especially
of God’s depth, and nature?
