Homily: August 16, 2025, Saturday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time (Obedience)

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 “Then the people promised Joshua, ‘We will serve the LORD, our God, and obey his voice.’”

In today’s first reading, we heard many times how the Israelites promised solemnly to be obedient to God, to serve Him and Him alone. Yet we know the history, this chosen race of God ultimately failed to keep their promises. 

Have you heard of the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers? They were a militant group in Sri Lanka, all their members had to undergo five years of tough and intense physical and mental training, ending with an oath ceremony. Every one of them had to promise to be loyal and faithful, to upkeep their mission even with their life.

And you know what? They were indeed fiercely loyal to their leader, Prabhakaran, and totally dedicated to their mission. Many of them even took on the mission of suicide bombers without a beat of hesitation. Many of them died violently but the group continued to faithful to their oath.

What about us?

I recall some years ago when I was secretary to my bishop in India. I was working on the list of priests assigned for transfer positions. At one moment, my bishop lamented to me, comparing his priests and the Tamil Tigers.

He said, “After ten years of formation and training, and after taking the vow of obedience, many of my priests are still resisting the assignments I give. What is the secret of the Tamil Tiger leader such that he was able to command total obedience in just five years?”

I didn’t have an answer then. I still don’t have an answer now. I too wonder. I was studying alongside the son of a Tamil Tiger soldier during my seminary years, but he had never revealed any “secret” to me.

But I realized this: obedience, true obedience, is not just about following rules and commands. It has to come deep from a virtue of humility.

Priests and religious are not the only ones who struggle with obedience. Many common believers find it difficult to agree with the law of the Church or the rubrics of liturgy.

At the root of disobedience is pride, which bloats the ego and manifests in arrogance. Only a humble heart can be truly obedient.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, our heavenly Mother, is the perfect model of obedience because she is truly humble. 

Today, let us ask her intercession that we may have a share of her grace of obedience, to be totally willing to submit to God’s commandments, to follow the teachings of His Church, and to conform our will perfectly to His will. Let us believe that obedience to God always leads to abundant blessings.

Amen.


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“The kingdom of God will be taken away from you  and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” We are now in harvesting season. Many months before this, we were planting and pruning, now we see the results, the fruits, the produce. Our two readings today are also about producing and harvesting fruits. In the first reading the vineyard produced wild grapes instead of good grapes. What went wrong? If the vineyard owner had done everything right, and yet the vineyard brought forth wild grapes, then the problem must have been the soil? Yet it was a land set on the fertile hillside. There is nothing the vineyard owner could do than to let it waste and be cursed. In the Gospel, the story is not about the soil which could not produce, but the tenants who refused to give the produce back to the vineyard owner. What went wrong? The produce must have been good, and the tenants might have become greedy, and wanted to keep all the harvest to themselves and even planned to kill to take ov...
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