Readings: Ephesians 4:32-5:8; Psalm 1; Luke 13:10-17.
In the first reading, St Paul gave a detailed counsel on purity.
Purity is a virtue that honours God. Purity is the recognition that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and my heart is the sanctuary of the Holy God. As such, I must abstain from anything that can contaminate my body, mind, heart and soul.
God demands purity from all of us. In Psalm 24:4, the Lord demands purity from those who approach His presence, in Matthew 5:8, purity is set as a condition for seeing God.
We are therefore encouraged to surrender to the Holy Spirit who purifies all believers and also be forceful and consistent in rejecting anything with the appearance of impurity.
Impurity includes all sins against chastity and every abuse of the gift of human sexuality such as fornication, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, pornography, masturbation, sexting, impure thoughts and imaginations, watching obscene movies and engaging in corrupt talks, chats, jokes, all inappropriate behavioural tendencies etc. All these pollute the heart and desecrates God’s sanctuary.
In the Gospel, a synagogue official was indignant because Jesus broke the Sabbath law to restore dignity, life and joy to a woman bent double for eighteen years.
Impurity is not just limited to sexual sins but it includes everything that contaminates the sanctuary within, these include wickedness in the heart, lack of compassion, hatred and resentment.
We pray today that the Holy Spirit may purify us, body and mind, heart and soul and make of us a sanctuary, pure and holy and fitting for God’s presence.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on October 26, 2020