Twenty First Ordinary Sunday, Year B

Do we really love God? Some of you may say “Yes” immediately without any hesitation. But saying that you love God isn’t always exactly the same as really loving God. That’s the same with our family members and friends. If we say that we love our wife or our husband, that we love our parents, or our children, then we must prove it through our actions.

If we love someone, we will try to see the person as frequent as possible. It is only people whom we do not like that we try to avoid. Is this the explanation for the behaviour of some Catholics who come to church only once in a while? Are they trying to avoid God? But if we love God, we will try to meet him as often as possible.

If we have decided to love God, how do we show it? The bible tells us that we must love him with all our heart, all our mind, all our being. What does this mean? It means that we must serve him and only him alone. We must not have any other gods before him. When things get bad, when we are facing problems in life, where do we run to? Do we go back to God or do we run to the nearest temple, medium or bomoh? To say that we love God and that we want to serve him is a lie when we continue to worship and pray to other gods when we are in trouble. The bible speaks of it as a form of adultery. St. Paul gives us the image of a married couple to illustrate the relationship between God and us. If we pray to other gods, then we will be committing adultery against God like how we would commit adultery against our spouses when we are unfaithful to them.

This is the kind of love which is needed. It is a love that calls for commitment. It is a love that calls for fidelity, whether in good times or in bad. In today’s gospel, we hear how many of Jesus’ followers left him because they were not able to accept his teaching. If we say that we love Jesus and God, then we must accept his teachings. We cannot choose to believe only those parts of his teachings that suit us or make us feel comfortable. We must take God as he is and not as how we would want him to be. We must choose God over and above all other gods, whether it be money, power, or other deities.

This relationship that we have with God and the relationship between Christ and his church must also be reflected in our families and community. Do we show our love to our husband or wife in the way that we should love God? Do we love our children as how God loves us? Today, many families are facing difficulties. Adultery and divorce is becoming more rampant. Domestic violence is on the rise. Instead of loving their wives, we hear of husbands hitting their wives and children and treating them in way which is worse than animals. Today, the Lord is giving you an opportunity to change your ways. If this is a problem that you are facing in your family, then it is time to seek for help. Not doing anything about it will be a sign of hypocrisy.

Love calls us to change. Love calls us to commitment. Love calls to choose between what God wants and what we selfishly desire. Let us pray in today’s mass that we will make the right choices in life. Let us also pray that God will strengthen our faith in him and our relationship with one another especially in the family and in the community.