(Sirach 35:15b-17, 20-22b; Ps 34(33); 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14)

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Theme: Renewal of the Strayed and Humbled Heart  

 

This Sunday, the Lord demands our honesty, sincerity, and an admission of our need for His mercy and grace.  For in truth, we are mere dust and ashes, living with people with unclean lips, unworthy servants yearning to serve pleasingly our Creator and God.
However, reflecting on our lives, it is evident that we have not always fought a good fight of faith.  Hence, we have struggled to please the Lord, and our tribe has suffered for it. Although we achieved some successes for ourselves and the community, there were times when we failed to live out the commands of the Gospel, which sometimes made us wonder whether the Lord’s work begun in and through us in our families and communities would ever be completed.  
For we have struggled to humble ourselves for the sake of God’s love; our hearts and minds are overshadowed and overrun by the pursuit of earthly prizes, riches, glamour, and luxuries. As a result, some have died because of our selfishness; faith was lost due to our ungodly attitudes; our citizens are trapped in the valley of hunger, fear, and penury because of our insincere tendencies; and the wave of division has weakened families because of our refusal to show mercy.
The Word of God says, today is an ideal time for renewal; a chance to cleanse our hearts and minds of impurities and distractions for the sake of the gospel and the well-being of all. Indeed, the time has come for a fresh start.  Much like the tax collector in today’s Gospel, we are called to humbly seek the Lord’s mercy and to be renewed as vessels bearing the message of humility, love, and peace. Ben Sirach reminds us in today’s first reading that “the prayer of the humble pierces the clouds …until it reaches the Lord.” And so, let’s commence the prayer of the humbled.  
Yes, some have declared us a write-off, called us names, and deserted our families, just as they did to St Paul when he was in prison, and as the Pharisee did before the Lord to the tax collector. But the Lord’s ways are not man’s; therefore, He will not abandon or crush a strayed but humbled heart crying out to be comforted, rescued, and saved. Let us recognise our weaknesses, admit we are flawed, and trustfully await the Lord’s touch, rescue from unworthiness, and empowerment to rewrite our stories, reshape our minds, redefine our dreams, and reattempt to please the Lord and our people.