Homily: September 23, 2025, Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Offering)

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 “For the dedication of this house of God, they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, together with twelve he-goats as a sin-offering for all Israel, in keeping with the number of the tribes of Israel.”

That was quite a massive sacrifice! But if we check back, during the dedication of the first temple, King Solomon offered even greater numbers of sacrificial animals: 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep and goats. The Jewish historian Josephus recorded that during festival times, as many as 250,000 animals were sacrificed in the temple in a single day.

But did God really delight in such sacrifices?

Not in the way the people thought He would. Again and again, through the prophets, God reminded His people: “Obedience is better than sacrifice,” and “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Yet the Israelites convinced themselves that piling up sacrifices was the way to please God. Those offerings, by themselves, did not draw them closer to Him, and did not draw God closer to them.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us what really matters: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

What a great privilege it is to be called Jesus’ brother, His sister, His mother. To be in the same family as Jesus, to be in an intimate and close relationship with Him, and His Father.

And how do we ‘qualify’ for such a privilege?

By hearing God’s Word and acting on it, with our heart and mind, not just superficially.

Like the Israelites, we too face the danger of reducing our faith to external rituals and rubrics. Our prayers and worship can become mechanical; meaninglessly repetitive without engaging the heart.

To be in the same family of God, and live in harmony and unity, we need humility and obedience, our behavior and actions must be congruent to our faith in God. We cannot claim to be God’s children, brothers and sisters of Jesus if we live in conflict and contradiction to God’s precepts and values.

Let us pray then that our hearts and minds be aligned with God’s will and desires, for us and for the world. The ultimate and most precious sacrifice has been offered and accepted. Jesus Christ has appeased God and reconciled the world to Him. Thanks be to God!

Amen.


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