3A Sunday Homily, Matthew 4:12-23, January 22, 2023
1) STORY
During the war, after fierce fighting
in a small town, a soldier found a beautiful statue of Jesus with his two hands
missing. He did not want to throw it
away, yet he feared to place it anywhere as it was. He solved this problem by putting it at the
entrance of the town with a sign in front of it, “LEND ME YOUR HANDS.” In today’s gospel Jesus asks us to lend him our
hands.
2) GOSPEL: MATTHEW 4:12-23
A) COME AFTER ME
Christ
asks us to follow him. We do this
because
i)
He is the light of the world leading us to happiness. The first reading tells us that "The
people who sat in darkness have seen a great light."
ii) He is the bread of life who gives us the spiritual strength to live as his friend in a world filled with temptations and difficulties.
B) I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN
Christ
wants us to bring people to him. Many do
not know that he exists and is the source of the gifts which they are searching
for happiness, joy and peace.
3) APPLICATION TO LIFE
A) FOLOWING JESUS
We
follow Jesus, our teacher and guide, by listening to his instructions as found
in the bible and by ideally reading it each day. We hear this word during Mass.
B) BRING OTHERS TO JESUS
We
bring others to Jesus:
i) By word
We should share with others what we know about Jesus, how he helped people when on earth, and how he continues to help us each day. He is the source of our happiness, joy, and peace.
ii) By our actions
We
bring others to Jesus by our kind and caring acts, by willing to listen to
those in pain, and by helping those in pain, and by helping those in need.
4) CONCLUSION
In the story we learned that we are the
modern hands of Jesus. We follow Jesus by
listening to him as he speaks to us through the bible, by praying to him, and by
receiving the Eucharist. We bring others to Jesus by our kind and caring words,
by listening to those in pain, and by helping those in need. Jesus is the
source of our joy, happiness and peace.
