4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 4:21-30)
The Rejection of God
Have you ever been rejected by a group of people? If you are a teacher – and a capable one, you might have an experience of being rejected by a class. If you are a preacher – and an effective one at that, you might have an experience of being rejected by a congregation. If you are a speaker or a performer you might have an experience of being rejected by an audience. If you have attempted to love some people in your life, perhaps you may have experienced being rejected by another person.
In the gospel story of today – a sequel to the gospel passage of last Sunday – Jesus experiences rejection. He is rejected by the people […]
Year C
Year C Sunday Sermons
Sermon for 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C Homily
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21)
Good News to the poor
One of the popular books that have inspired me a great deal is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Supposedly, the book has sold more than 25 million copies in 38 languages since its first publication in 1989. I must say, the book has played an important role in improving my effectiveness, and I have used it to train many young people in Africa and India. The second habit of highly effective people, according to Stephen Covey is to, “Begin with the End in Mind!” This, simply means having a personal vision of life, setting realistic goals, and even writing out a personal mission statement.
We are in the beginning of the ordinary time of the liturgical year. Today we are beginning to listen to the […]
Sermon for Baptism of the Lord
Baptism of the Lord:
Called to be Active Participants
As a priest while administering the sacrament of baptism to groups of infants, I have often noted with much curiosity the variety of infant-reaction to the ceremony of the baptism itself. There are basically three types of behaviour as infants react to, the priest, the water, the oil, the white cloth, the light, and the crowd itself that is around during the celebration of the sacrament of baptism:
There are the sharp-eyed infants, who watch every movement with keen curiosity. They are like the spectators at the tennis court, moving their head towards every stimulus. They are generally quiet but active. When the parents and god-parents are presented with the candle, for instance, these infants would also try to reach out and insist on holding […]
Sermon for 3rd Sunday in Advent – Year C Homily
3rd Sunday in Advent – Cycle C
Spirituality of the Essential
The message of John the Baptist in the gospel text of last Sunday (2nd Sunday in Advent – year C) was, “Prepare a way for the Lord…” (Lk 3:4). After hearing this message, we see in the gospel text of today people going to him and asking him, “What must we do” (Lk 3:10). How do we prepare for the coming of the messiah? His general message to everyone is ‘Charity’. His message to the tax collectors is, ‘Justice’. And to the soldiers, “Be content!” John the Baptist seems to be well aware of the situations of each group and quite down to earth in his proposals.
So I too went to John the Baptist. “What about me? What must I do?” I asked. He said, “Live simply. Live a spirituality […]
Sermon for 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C Homily
Moved with pity… he went up and bandaged his wounds
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 10:25-37)
After the World Youth Day (WYD) in Cologne in the year 2005, I was at the Frankfurt airport waiting for my flight back to Kenya. After waiting in the long queue, it was really disappointing to be told that I was not on that Egyptian Air flight, because I had not reconfirmed my ticket. The group that I had led had no problem – their ticket was reconfirmed, and mine had been neglected by the host parish because mine was a separate ticket. I was stranded. Next possible flight was only after two days. Was I to stay at the airport for those two days? Going back to the parish in Cologne where we had stayed for the WYD would mean […]