Reading 1 Jl 4:12-21
Thus says the LORD:
Let the nations bestir themselves and come up
to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there will I sit in judgment
upon all the neighbouring nations.
Apply the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe;
Come and tread,
for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow,
for great is their malice.
Crowd upon crowd
in the valley of decision;
For near is the day of the LORD
in the valley of decision.
Sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars withhold their brightness.
The LORD roars from Zion,
and from Jerusalem raises his voice;
The heavens and the earthquake,
but the LORD is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the children of Israel.
Then shall you know that I, the LORD, am your God,
dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain;
Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall pass through her no more.
And then, on that day,
the mountains shall drip new wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk;
And the channels of Judah
shall flow with water:
A fountain shall issue from the house of the LORD,
to water the Valley of Shittim.
Egypt shall be a waste,
and Edom a desert waste,
Because of violence done to the people of Judah,
because they shed innocent blood in their land.
But Judah shall abide forever,
and Jerusalem for all generations.
I will avenge their blood,
and not leave it unpunished.
The LORD dwells in Zion.
Gospel Lk 11:27-28
While Jesus was speaking,
a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
“Blessed is the womb that carried you
and the breasts at which you nursed.”
He replied, “Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it.”
The life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth must have been so beautiful and inspiring. A young man in his early 30s went about teaching with a wisdom that no Rabbi could ever match or boast of, he demonstrated great power and anointing, he only had to will and things happened and yet with all these divine power, he was kind, approachable, humble and very humane.
A woman saw and heard him today and could not restrain herself and so she screamed: “happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked.”
PART A
First lesson: The life of Jesus brought glory to God and pride to his parents.
This is also a challenge for us. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
We may wish to ask ourselves today “is my light shining before others? Do I glorify God by my actions?
We may not be able to do extra-ordinary things like Jesus but we have all received the mandate to glorify God and we have been given the grace to do so. It is enough for us to “intentionally” do little things out of genuine love of God, to sow seeds of kindness, to be more loving, generous and compassionate, be more patient and gentle with people, to be more understanding, forgiving and less judgemental, to make sacrifices for others, allow God to use us to wipe their tears. These are ways we can make our light shine.
These are ways we can also respond to the Church’s call this mission month. The call to intentionally make Christ more visible and felt in the world.
PART B
Jesus responded to the woman’s comment by saying “still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
The greatest way we can witness to God in society and glorify Him is to live our lives in obedience to His word. This is the most authentic witness.
The first reading is the prophecy of Joel about the judgment of God upon disobedient persons and nations, which will take place in the valley of Jehoshaphat. Judah and Jerusalem shall be restored to original beauty, holiness and glory because they have learnt through suffering to heed the voice of God.
How are these related? On the Day of Judgment, the words of Jesus shall be fulfilled for they will be happy and blessed all who heard the word of God and kept it. It will go well with them all those who, like Jesus, glorified God by obeying His word, by witnessing in the world and letting their lights shine before others, they shall receive the reward of their good deeds
Sermon preached by Rev Fr. Emmanuel Okami on October 12, 2019