Please press here to listen to the homily or download
Saturday – Ninth week – OT1
Readings: Tob 12:1, 5-15, 20; Mk 12:38-44.
1/ First Reading: RSV Tobit 12:1 Tobit then called his son Tobias and said to him, “My son, see to the wages of the man who went with you; and he must also be given more.” 5 So he called the angel and said to him, “Take half of all that you two have brought back.” 6 Then the angel called the two of them privately and said to them: “Praise God and give thanks to him; exalt him and give thanks to him in the presence of all the living for what he has done for you. It is good to praise God and to exalt his name, worthily declaring the works of God. Do not be slow to give him thanks. 7 It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God. Do good, and evil will not overtake you. 8 Prayer is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold. 9 For almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin. Those who perform deeds of charity and of righteousness will have fullness of life; 10 but those who commit sin are the enemies of their own lives. 11 “I will not conceal anything from you. I have said, `It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God.’ 12 And so, when you and your daughter-in-law Sarah prayed, I brought a reminder of your prayer before the Holy One; and when you buried the dead, I was likewise present with you. 13 When you did not hesitate to rise and leave your dinner in order to go and lay out the dead, your good deed was not hidden from me, but I was with you. 14 So now God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One.” 20 And now give thanks to God, for I am ascending to him who sent me. Write in a book everything that has happened.”
2/ Gospel: RSV Mark 12:38 And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places 39 and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” 41 And he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.”
I. THEME: How can one live his relationship with God?
All human relationships require two dimensions to balance and to develop, to give and to receive. Similarly in the relationship between God and people: God shall love, bless and protect if people love God and follow what He teaches. In opposition, if people refuse to love and walk in His way, God shall let people alone and enemies shall attack them from all directions.
Today readings teach us show to correctly live our relationship with God. In the first reading, the Archangel Gabriel finally revealed for Tobit and his son about his identity and God’s given mission. The Archangel also revealed two important duties which people must fulfill: First, people must always praise God and exalt His name. Secondly, they must live according to the truth all the days of their life. If people fulfill their duties, God shall send his angels to protect and to give countless blessings on them. In the Gospel, Jesus warned people when they worship God and contribute money to the temple. The purpose of worshipping is to deepen the relationship between people with God, not for any other reason. The purpose of contribution is to pay back all blessings which God poured upon men, not giving away their extra money.
II. ANALYSIS:
1/ Reading I: “Exalt Him and give thanks to Him in the presence of all the living for what he has done for you.”
1.1/ People’s obligations to God:
(1) Always praising God: The purpose of praising God is for others to recognize God’s goodness and to believe in Him. The Archangel Raphael called[c1] the father and his son privately and said to them: “Praise God and give thanks to him; exalt him and give thanks to him in the presence of all the living for what he has done for you. It is good to praise God and to exalt his name, worthily declaring the works of God. Do not be slow to give him thanks.It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God.” The author differentiated beween God’s and kings’ works. God’s works are opened to all, He doesn’t need to keep anything secret as kings’ works; but the more people know them the better for His plan.
(2) Making an effort to do many good deeds for people: Since people can never equally pay back to God, they should make efforts to help others. God counts all good and bad deeds which people do to others as to Him (Mt 25). The love which people have to others is the measure of their love to God; if people can’t love others, they have no love for God.
The Archangel Raphael confirmed this belief when he advised Tobit and his son: “Do good, and evil will not overtake you.Prayer is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold.For almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin. Those who perform deeds of charity and of righteousness will have fullness of life;but those who commit sin are the enemies of their own lives.”
1.2/ The Archangel Raphael is God’s instrument to bring blessings for Tobit and Sarah: God controls everything happening on the earth by His angels who bring people’s prayers to God and His blessings to people. They also take notes of good and bad deeds which people do to others as revealed by Raphael to Tobit and Tobias: “I will not conceal anything from you.”
(1) God has eyes and ears: God’s eyes and ears are His angels; nothing which people act that escapes God’s judgment, as the Archangel said to them: “When you and your daughter-in-law Sarah prayed, I brought a reminder of your prayer before the Holy One; and when you buried the dead, I was likewise present with you.When you did not hesitate to rise and leave your dinner in order to go and lay out the dead, your good deed was not hidden from me, but I was with you.”
(2) God has hands to heal: “So now God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah.I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One.And now give thanks to God, for I am ascending to him who sent me. Write in a book everything that has happened.”
2/ Gospel: “This poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.”
2.1/ Not preaching the Good News for material gains: The faithful pay a special respect for priests and religious people because they sacrificed their life for the preaching of the Good News for the salvation of souls. The habit which they cover their body shows their sacrifice and giving up of all things. Unfortunately, there are some priests and religious people used their habit to deceive others and to destroy people’s faith. This is the reason which Jesus forewarned his audiences in today passage: “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces,seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers.”
Jesus’ words warned his audiences, but also a warning for priests and religious people: “They will receive a very severe condemnation.” The faith of many people were shaken because of their abuses; but the faithful must understand that they believe in God and Christ, not their followers. If priests and the religious truly reflect of Christ’s light, come and co-operate with them to widen God’s kingdom. If some of them aren’t, pray God for them so that they can worthily live their vocation. As a human being, everybody can fall and needs to be forgiven; but they can’t use their habit to deceive people and to draw them far away from God.
2.2/ Those who give more shall receive more: Many times in the Gospel, Jesus emphasized on believing in God’s providence. If God cares for lilies in the field and birds of the air which live today and disappear tomorrow, how much more are His children whom Jesus poured out his blood to redeem them! But many faithful don’t believe in God’s providence. They think that they must hoard up money and material possession to protect their future without a concern for needy people around them.
What Jesus praised the widow is her faith in God’s providence: “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” She was not only poor but also a widow, but she didn’t worry about her future because she believed that God shall not let a child who believed in Him to be died of hungry.
III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– We worship God not only by our praises but also by our true love for Him by carefully keep all of His commandments.
– While we worship God, we must pay attention to the spiritual dimension. We shouldn’t pay attention to attract others or material gains.