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Two-Minute Homily by Fr Mauro Conte for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023.
“We can only boast in the fact that we belong to God but not because we are smart enough to find Him; but rather because He is merciful and loving enough to look for us.”

• Two-Minute Homily Transcript

  Two-Minute Homily Transcript

  Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane

  Hi. The second reading for this fourth Sunday in Ordinary time is taken from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, it’s chapter one, verses twenty-six to thirty-one. There are divisions and immoralities in that Church. As members of a young Church they had failed to protect themselves from the decadent culture of the city. And so the believers were identifying themselves as followers of specific Christian leaders rather than as followers of Christ. So Paul reminds them that it is not about the messengers, it’s not about Paul, Apollos or Chefas, but it’s always and only about the message and the person of Christ and Christ crucified. That is where the power and effect of the Gospel lies.

  The crucified Christ may look weak and foolish, maybe not attractive, but this is how God has decided to manifest his wisdom and power. Paul tells us that God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and His weakness is stronger than human strength. To me this statement of Paul appears to be the basis of unity in the church. The truth that people, like you and me are saved by the shameful death of Christ, places all of us, without any distinction, on the same level.

  Just imagine if you could save yourself through your own intelligence or maybe effort, then the kingdom of God would be filled with people who were proud of their own accomplishments. If you could get in through your own abilities, you would probably think that you were just as good as God. And that is the reason why God continues to surprise us and to call the nobodies of this world, those who are willing to admit their need for a Saviour, those who are willing to accept the gift of salvation, so that He alone will receive the glory. We can only boast in the fact that we belong to God but not because we are smart enough to find Him; but rather because He is merciful and loving enough to look for us.

  And in fact Paul in this passage clearly states how we experience God’s love for us, that He has chosen us, that He has called us to Himself, that He places us in communion with Christ and that He finally makes Christ become everything we need, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. So let this truth sink into our hearts this week as we surrender to the wisdom and the power of the cross. Blessings.