November 13, 2020 – Friday of the 32^nd Week in Ordinary Time

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111320.cfm)

Homily

Every day, we do our personal routine and usual daily activities. We wake up. We take a bath and eat. We come to work or study. We take a rest and pause. Then, we sleep and end our day. The next day, we do, most probably, almost the same. Yet, is there anything beyond this in our life? Is there anything beyond to what is ordinary and routine?

Doing what is routine is not bad. Yet, to be so engrossed with our usual daily affairs may distract us from becoming more aware of ourselves and of God’s daily invitations for us. Indeed, there is also a danger when we just make ourselves occupied with many things. For example, a person who works excessively, a workaholic, may experience fatigue physically and mentally. Moreover, a person who only fills himself or herself with what is only enjoyable and entertaining in life, may become indifferent with his or her personal issues and of people around.

Certainly, such behaviors may make us ungrounded and indifferent. This will definitely affect our relationships and the way we live our life as Christians today. Jesus’ warning to the people echoes to us today. Jesus reminded us in today’s Gospel not to be so absorbed with our daily activities, with what only gives us comfort, with what only gives amusement and pleasure in life. Just like in the time of Noah, people became indifferent and were only concerned in eating, drinking and marrying, yet, they all perished because unlike Noah, the people rejected God’s call. Just like in the time of Lot also, people continued to do what they wanted in eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building, and they too perished because they rejected God’s invitation to change and be renewed by God’s mercy.

This is not what Jesus wanted for us. The Lord always would desire that we experience the fullness of life with God. And John’s letter gives us an advice on how we should live our lives today.

John, in his Second Letter, expressed his gladness to a Lady, as he witnessed how her  young children were walking in the truth. These young people were not living out of impulse or did not make themselves occupied with what would just give them pleasure and comfort in life. As John recognized, they were walking in the truth. This means that aside from their daily activities, they too were in touch with Jesus, aware of God’s presence and of God’s invitation for them.

In this way, John reminded them “to love one another.” This is not a new commandment but the one we have heard from the beginning, as John wrote. In love and in loving, we will never be lost and will never be wrong, “for this is love,” and this is of God’s. In love and in loving, this makes us grounded and fully aware of ourselves, of the presence of people around us, of God who constantly calls us to love. Thus, in everything we do and in everywhere we are, love. This will surely make our daily affairs and days ahead to be brighter and full of life. Hinaut pa.

(To concretely show our love for each one today, many of our brothers and sisters in Luzon are affected seriously by the typhoons recently. First we had Super-Typhoon Rolly that hit the Bicol Region and followed by three typhoons and with Typhoon Ulysses bringing heavy rain and floods in many cities and communities. Let us remember them in our prayers these days and if we can, extend charitable help to them through the credible organizations working and helping for the affected families and individuals.)