Homily: Facing the Truth

 

Year C / Ordinary Time / Week 25 / Sunday
Readings: Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14 / Psalm: Psalm: 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19 (R/v Lk 15:18) / 1 Timothy 1:12-17 / Luke 15:1-32

“Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son.”

This is our gospel acclamation. It is a prayer to welcome Jesus. His words are filled with God’s Spirit, carrying life—and the promise of eternal life—for all who believe. They are not human advice or one man's lessons. Since we do believe, let us ask: what is God saying to us today? Perhaps this: God alone saves—and He calls us to act decisively for the future that lasts forever.

St. Paul reminds us in the second reading: “God our saviour… wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). These words reveal God’s heart. His deepest desire is salvation for all—not just a few, not only the holy or strong, but everyone. This hope sustains us in daily life.

For those of us who come to God in the Eucharist week after week, this truth is deeply personal. We turn to Him in distress—asking for healing, peace, or guidance—and we know, sometimes quietly, sometimes dramatically, that God answers. Not always as we expect, but always in a way that works for our good. God saves, because God is faithful.

But how does God save? This is where today’s readings challenge us. Salvation is not merely removing difficulties. It comes when God reveals truth—truth about Himself and about ourselves. Only by facing that truth can God work His saving power in us.

This truth is not always easy. Sometimes it hurts. We may distract ourselves with work, possessions, or even religious activity, trying to avoid our need for salvation. To say, “I don’t need saving,” is perhaps the most foolish thing of all—a dangerous bluff to say to continue living in the same old, same old, even sinful ways we do daily.

God, in his mercy, uses many voices to speak truth to us. It may come from a prophet, like Amos, who, as we hear in the first reading, challenged Israel for turning religion into empty rituals. It could be those closest to us, a friend or family member, who’s insistently speaking the truth. It could even be a colleague, classmate or teacher whose words prick our conscience because they are truthful.. Often the truth disturbs, sometimes it stings—but these voices are not there to condemn us: they are meant to wake us up to God and God’s saving love.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells the story of the unjust steward—a man who squandered his master’s wealth and is about to lose everything. Faced with reality, he acts shrewdly, reducing the debts of others to secure his future. Jesus commends not his dishonesty, but his decisiveness. The steward hears the truth about himself and acts urgently for his future.

This parable should challenge us who believe in God’s salvation in this way. If someone facing financial ruin can act so quickly, what about us when eternal stakes are involved? Jesus emphasises: “Whoever is faithful in very small matters is also faithful in great ones.” Small acts—prayer, forgiveness, quiet generosity—may go unnoticed by the world but are precious to God. They are the daily opportunities for us to act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with God. 

He also warns: “No servant can serve two masters… You cannot serve both God and wealth.” The choice is clear. Either God is central, or something else takes His place—money, success, reputation. These things are fragile; only God unites and saves.

So, the question is: will we invest in what passes away, or in what lasts forever? Will we give ourselves to things, or to the living God who alone brings salvation?

St. Paul offers guidance to Timothy: he urges prayer, petitions, and intercessions. We should follow Paul's instruction too because prayer keeps us in relationship with God. It helps us hear His voice and shapes us to live faithfully, even in small matters. If we pray regularly we might even hear God whisper, “I created you for salvation.”

Today’s readings together call us to action. God desires salvation for all, but we must choose to want it. This is why the prophet Amos urges the Israelites to repent from hollow rituals and the steward models decisive action when faced with truth. Today, through the gospel reading, Jesus challenges us to make choices that serve God alone.

Here, at the Eucharist, God reveals the deepest truth: He loves us to the end. Christ has given Himself for us. Salvation is a gift already offered. Here in the Eucharist at Holy Communion, we receive not just consolation but strength. Love responds to truth, and truth opens us to love.

Let us not be lukewarm. Let us not simply wave our membership card that says “Christian” as if it were an automatic passport to heaven. Let us act decisively, like the steward—but for a greater purpose. Let us invest in what lasts: faith, hope, love. Let us be faithful in the small matters, and keep our hearts undivided, serving God as our one true Master.

In the end, this is our true future—not the temporary security the world promises, but eternal life God freely gives. God desires everyone to be with him in heaven—this includes you, me, all of us. Already, in this Eucharist, we taste the goodness of salvation – here on earth as it is in heaven. Truly, isn't God alone enough?

Preached at the Church of the Sacred Heart.
Photo by Marwan Abdalah on Unsplash