26B SUNDAY HOMILY, MARK 9:38-43, 45, 47-48, SEPTEMBER 29, 2024
1. STORY
A king, wishing
to reward his warriors, offered them the prize of a small beautiful island. The
first one who put his hand on it would win the prize. Each one in their own boats paddled with all
their might. In this fierce competition,
the king’s son was determined to win at all costs. To win this closely contested race, as they
approached the island, the son cut off his left hand and with his right hand
threw it on the island. He won the prize
as he was willing to make this great sacrifice.
2. GOSPEL, MARK
9:38-43, 45, 47-48
A. THE KINGDOM OF
GOD
Jesus tells us that there is the kingdom of God, that is heaven. There is also hell or Gehenna.
B. WHAT CAN HELP
US OR HURT US GAIN THIS PRIZE
Jesus gives us
three examples explaining what can help or hurt us gain this prize; that is our
hands, our feet and our eyes.
3. APPLICATION TO
LIFE
A. THE KINGDOM OF
GOD
i) Life has a
beginning and an end. The end of our
life is not the cemetery but heaven, the kingdom of God. The kingdom is being with God and living in
peace and happiness.
ii) Jesus,
through his death and resurrection, opened the doors
of heaven for us
and is waiting for us to enter.
iii) Like any valuable prize, we must work hard to gain it. God is always with us to help on our journey.
B. HOW TO GAIN
THIS EXTREMELY VALUABLE PRIZE
i) For a student
to get good results in his exam, he must sacrifice. If an athlete wishes to get a gold Olympic
medal, he must sacrifice. For a
businessman to succeed, he must make sacrifices. We must also make sacrifices to gain this
prize.
ii) We must use
our hands, not to steal or hurt others, but to help others and be generous. We must use our feet not to go to bad places
but to go to church and to places in need of our help. We must use our eyes not to see bad things on
the TV, computer, or mobile phone but read the bible and other spiritual books.
We must be prepared to make sacrifices
to gain this valuable prize.
4. CONCLUSION
The son of the
king won the prize of the island as he was willing to make a great sacrifice. Jesus tells us there is heaven at the end of
our life’s journey. We must make
sacrifices to gain this prize. We must
use our hands to help others. We must
use our feet to go to church. We must
use our eyes to read the bible and good literature. We thank Jesus for this important instruction.
We ask him for the help in our life to
gain the price of heaven.
