Homily: October 19, 2024, Saturday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time (call and hope)

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 “That you may know what is the hope that belongs to His call.”

What is His call?

God called us into life, but not just a life of mere breathing and living. St. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, reminds us that “(God) chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before Him.”

To be holy and blameless before God, this is His call for us.

Then what is our hope?

Every one of us has hopes for much in life. We hope for betterment, fulfillment and achievement in various aspects of our living. 

In the last three years here, I have learned a lot about hope. Hearing stories of our refugee communities, about their journey from one end of the world to the other, how they survived in refugee camps, their perseverance through wars and injustices, and despite all these challenges, they never lost hope that life would get better, days will be brighter. And in many ways, their prayers have been answered now that they have settled here. They did not hope in vain.

Yet, I also hear people, who have lived in this land through the generations, often express dissatisfaction with their lives here, to the point of despair and hopelessness.

So I learnt, that hope is not about the circumstances outside of us, but it is about the inspiration in us.

If we are inspired to live on, no matter the conditions or situations around us, we will hope.

If we are not inspired in life, even in the most comfortable and peaceful environment, we will be hopeless.

Being inspired to live on, comes from the life force gifted to us by God. When we recognize this gift to live better, yearning to live fully, we tap into this life force to keep us going.

Deep in our souls, every one of us, even if we are not fully aware of it, we yearn for a life of fullness and eternity. Many are still searching for the way to reach this, but as Christians, we already know how, it is life with the Lord, life in the spirit.

To share in the divinity and eternity of God, this is our hope.

Let us all who know the way, walk faithfully this way and confidently towards this hope, living out fully God’s call for us. Amen.

 


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