San Damiano Novitiate House - OFM Conv. Zambia

San Damiano Novitiate House - OFM Conv. Zambia San Damiano Novitiate House is a formation House of the Conventual Franciscans in Zambia.

During the Novitiate year, the novice is helped to deepen his understanding of the divine call to religious life and to the basic meaning and requirements of how to live this call in the Conventual Franciscan Fraternity.

11/10/2025

SUNDAY READING REFLECTION

28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C

2 KINGS 5:14-17, PSALM 98: 1-4, 2 TIMOTHY 2:8-13, LUKE 17:11-19

We celebrate today the 28th Sunday in ordinary time year C. The readings invite us to reflect on God’s love and mercy for all. We are reminded that God’s abundant love and mercy breaks all boundaries that separate us from him and from one another and that He seeks to restore us to good health. Our response towards all that God does for us is gratitude. In the first reading we hear about the cure of Naaman, the Syrian army commander who suffered from leprosy. Despite his resistant at first to follow the prophet’s instructions, Naaman believed Prophet Elisha’s word and went to bath seven time in the river Jordan. No sooner had he bathed seven times as instructed than his skin restored to health like flesh of a child. When Naaman offered gifts as thanksgiving for his healing, Prophet Elisha refused. Nevertheless, the cure instilled in Naaman a deeper faith in the God of Israel and promised to offer sacrifice and serve him alone. Our gospel passage is in parallel with the first reading and points to Jesus as a divine healer greater than Prophet Elisha: Elisha heals one man while Jesus heals ten l***rs. On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus met ten l***rs (9 Jews and 1 Samaritan) who stood at a distance pleading for mercy from him. Jesus did not cure them instantly but instructed them to go and show themselves to the priest as required by the law (Leviticus 14). The obedience of the ten l***rs in following Jesus’ instruction shows their faith and trust in his word. On their way, the l***rs were cleansed. Upon realizing his healing, the Samaritan returned praising God in a loud voice and fell at Jesus feet. The passage makes a twist by praising the Samaritan who came back to give thanks to God. Here, Luke seeks to highlight the impartiality of God’s love and mercy towards all provided they have faith in Him. As a consequence of his faith and thanksgiving for healing, Jesus gives the Samaritan a complete healing and blessing. In the second reading, Paul uses his life experience to encourage Timothy to remain faithful to the message of gospel. Paul’s enduring of suffering with gratitude is the means through which other believers can be saved. As such, enduring suffering with gratitude, gives hope of sharing not only in Christ’s passion, but also in life eternal: if we endure, we shall also reign with him.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we continue our faith journey with Jesus on the way to Jerusalem. Last week, the theme on faith was outstanding in the readings: In Habakkuk (1:2-3, 2:2-4) … the righteous will live by faith; in the gospel (Luke 17:5-10) - the disciples requested Jesus to increase their faith. Today’s reading elaborates further on faith in action that seeks God’s mercy and healing. The first reading and the gospel show God’s love and compassion towards us all who feel outcast, rejected, isolated, unworthy. He is a God who reaches to us even in moments of weakness, sickness, pain, suffering and despair and gives us restoration. All that we need is faith which acknowledges God’s infinite love and mercy that break all barriers that separate us from him and from others. Faith moves us to acknowledge our human limitation and makes us to trust in God’s power to change our situation. In addition, the readings invite us to show gratitude to God for all that he does for us. Naaman the Syrian army commander and the Samaritan l***r showed gratitude for receiving healing. Paul also gives thanks God for making him share suffering for the sake of the gospel. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, true faith makes us recognize God’s infinite love and mercy towards us. When we show gratitude to God even in difficult circumstances like Paul, we exalt God power above our problems and thus allow Him to work over them. This is because ingratitude makes us proud, focus on problems and not on what God can do to change our situation. Moreover, when our faith shows gratitude, we experience complete healing from God.

Have a blessed Sunday

(Fr. Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual).

27/09/2025

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

26TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C

AMOS 6:1, 4-7, PSALM 146:6-10, 1 TIMOTHY 6:11-16, LUKE 16:19-31

We celebrate today the 26th Sunday in ordinary time year C. The readings invite us to reflect on the sin of omission because of complacency and the danger it poses to our relationship with God and with others. We are reminded that failure to act in charity towards others regardless of the cause of their situation, is a sin . We are therefore called to be charitable to others through the gifts (both spiritual and material) we have received from God. In the first reading, prophet Amos strongly rebukes leaders and the rich of Samaria, for living a complacency lifestyle that disregards God’s law and fellow Jews who are suffering. The rich were living a luxurious life, adorning their homes, having exotic furniture’s, enjoying music, drinking wine in bowls and anointing themselves with fine oils. They neither fought for justice nor paid attention to the ruins of Joseph. Amos therefore reminds them of the impending exile that awaits them. Our gospel passage shares similar sentiments of complacency of material wealth. In the passage, Jesus tells a parable of the rich man (with no name or identity) and Lazarus (a name which means ‘God is my help’) to warn the Pharisees against the complacency of wealth. At the end of the parable, there is a turn of event: The rich man who feasted sumptuously on earth is tormented in the afterlife while the poor Lazarus who suffered on earth is consoled in the afterlife. The rich man is not punished for doing wrong or living a luxurious lifestyle but for being insensitive to the poor Lazarus who sat at his gate. Jesus concludes by warning those living in the complacency of their wealth to heed God’s word so as not to end in the same tragedy of the rich man. In the second reading, Paul presents a practical way of living a true Christian life amidst temptation of material wealth. In the passage, Paul urges Timothy to avoid false teaching centered on material wealth and exhort him to be content with what he has. Paul encourages Timothy to pursue righteousness, dedicate himself totally to God and be a true witness of Christ.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we continue listening to Jesus’ teaching on discipleship and its demand. In the past weeks, we have been listening to Jesus’ call to have the right attitude towards material wealth. That riches are a blessing from God and that they should be put into proper use, which is sharing with those in need. Today’s readings continue to give strong warning against complacency of material wealth. The readings thus are neither condemning riches nor the rich but warns us all on the dangers of complacency in life. Like the rich in the first reading and the gospel, when one is engrossed in material wealth, he or she becomes complacent towards others. The rich are condemned not for what they did but for what they failed or omitted to do. That is doing nothing to those in need. In the general prayer of “I confess to Almighty God” during mass, we mention the sins we commit; in thoughts, in words, in deeds (sins of commission) and those we fail to do (sins of omission). Many of us focus on the sins of commission (murder, stealing, adultery, lies etc.) than on the sins of omission. Failing to help others when we have the capacity to do so is equally sinful in that it makes us fail to act with charity towards others even when we are not the cause of their situation. We often pay a blind eye to those who need our help. We are called to act in charity towards others. Today’s readings challenge all of us against the sin of complacency, neglect, selfishness and indifference towards others. How do we treat the Lazarus of today (the sick, the mentally and physically challenged, street people, drug addicts, sinners, the poor, orphans, workers, etc.) in our families, neighbourhoods, small Christian communities, lay groups, churches, at work, government offices, countries? Do we help or ignore them? Do we treat them with dignity as human beings or we treat them as burdens, beggars, lazy or cursed, second class or tools to use?

Have a blessed Sunday

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

20/09/2025

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

25TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C

AMOS 8:4-7, PSALM 113:1-2, 4-7, 1 TIMOTHY 2:1-8, LUKE 16:1-13
We celebrate today the 25th Sunday in ordinary time year C. Today’s readings invite us to reflect on stewardship and proper use of gifts or material possessions. God has entrusted us with divine gifts and material goods which we are to use faithfully, prudently and generously shared with others. In the first reading, during economic prosperity, prophet Amos denounces leaders and the rich for exploiting the poor and manipulating others in business. The rich used to give loans to poor people with exorbitant interests and when they fail to pay back, they confiscate their fields, houses and sometimes take their wives and children as slaves. Not only that, the rich violated the Sabbath in that they focused on making profit for their businesses instead of worshiping their One and True God. As such, the rich became wealthier and the poor became poorer. Amos condemns them for prioritizing material wealth over the dignity and welfare of others. Therefore, God’s judgement will come upon them. In our gospel passage, Jesus continues on his way to Jerusalem teaching about discipleship and the kingdom of God. In today’s passage, Jesus tells the parable of the shrewd steward to teach disciples on winning friendship and securing eternal place in God’s kingdom through the right use of gifts or material possessions. In the parable, the steward is said to have acted shrewdly over his master’s affairs and was asked to account for them before the termination of his contract. The steward thus reduced the amount of oils and wheat for his master’s debtors to win friendship and favor from them after he is laid off from his stewardship. The master commended the shrewd steward for his prudence in securing his future. Jesus concludes the parable urging disciples to be prudent, faithful and make good use of God given gifts or possessions and share them with others. In the second reading, Paul writes to Timothy on God’s universal salvation that calls believers to pray for all. Believers where the minority often misunderstood and persecuted by civic leaders and non-believers. Paul therefore urged believers to pray for all, kings and those in authority in order to live in a peaceful and respectable atmosphere. For Paul, praying for all…civic leaders and non-believers align perfectly with God universal will of salvation through Christ Jesus.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s reading invite us to reflect on our stewardship of faith and material possessions entrusted to us by God. The reality of our human condition is that we come with nothing on earth and even when we possess material wealth, we take nothing with us: Our life, material possessions, talents and faith are gifts from God (Job 1:21, 1 Cor. 4:7). As steward, our task is to make good use of what has been entrusted to us by God. However, instead of putting into good use of what we have, material things become our idols: They start to control us and often times make us corrupt, unjust proud, shrewd, selfish, and sometimes make us lose faith in God. The first reading reminds us of the dangers of putting money or material possession at the centre of our life: it corrupts our morals and become an idol. Furthermore, our gospel passage gives us a hint on the right attitude towards material things or money in relation to our future life with God. Jesus invites us to imitate the shrewd servant not in his dishonest use of his master’s wealth but in doing what it takes to secure for his future. That we who have been entrusted with spiritual gifts and material possessions, ought to be faithful in loving and serving God alone and not worshiping other gods or anything that takes the place of God. Secondly, we ought to be ingenious in securing our eternal life through the right use of God’s gifts and material possessions. That we can prudently make good use of what is entrusted to us to win friendship of others. In other words, by sharing our material possessions with others, we imitate God’s generosity and thus secure treasures for ourselves in heaven.

Have a blessed Sunday

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

13/09/2025

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

FEAST OF THE EXALTATION OF THE CROSS

NUMBERS 21:4-9, PSALM 78:1-2. 34-38, PHILIPPIANS 2:6-11, JOHN 3:13-17

We celebrate today the feast of the exaltation of the cross which falls on the 24th Sunday in ordinary time year C. In today’s feast, we commemorates three important events: The discovery of the true cross of Christ in 325 AD, the dedication of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre (a place of Christ’s crucifixion and burial) in 335 AD and the recovery of the Holy cross of Jesus in 628 AD. In summary, in today’s feast we celebrate the centrality of Christ’s cross, the ultimate manifestation of God’s love in which Satan, Sin and evil were defeated and humanity was saved. In the first reading, we hear the story of the impatient Israelites in the desert and their complaint against God and Moses. The Israelites lacked faith and rejected the daily food of Mana provided by God. Therefore, God sent fiery serpent to bite them and many died. Israel’s sin of refusing God given food and its consequential death echoes Adam and Eve’s rejection of God given fruit and eating of the forbidden fruit and its consequential punishment in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3). The Israelites acknowledged their sins and told Moses to pray for them to God. God listened to Moses’ prayer and asked him to make a bronze serpent and set it up as a sign that whoever looks upon it with faith will live…God uses the same image of the fiery serpent to heal those were beaten by it. Our gospel passage makes reference to Moses’ lifting of bronze serpent to heal those beaten by fiery serpent when they look upon it with faith as a typology of God’s saving power through the cross of Christ. In his conversation with Nicodemus regarding spiritual regeneration through water and the spirit, Jesus points to his death on the cross as an act of God’s saving power to defeat Satan, sin and death which enslaves humanity. Jesus on the cross therefore becomes the sin bearer (2 Cori. 5:21, Gal. 3:13) for humanity and that through faith in him people may have eternal life. The passage emphasized that God’s ultimate love revealed through Christ’s paschal mysteries is a gratuitous gift and that those who will believe in Jesus will be saved. In the second reading, Paul presents the Christological hymn which acknowledges Christ’s pre-existence with God the Father, his self-empting in incarnation and death, and his exaltation to God’s glory. Christ self-emptying love and sacrifice should therefore be the model for believer’s attitude towards each other in the community.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s feast, we celebrates the cross of Christ which is central to our Christian faith and salvation; there is no salvation without the cross. The cross which was a sign of shame, excruciating suffering and a seemly defeat is the ultimate manifestation of God’s love and power to save us. That the ancient Satan who enslaves us with sin that stings us with death (Hosea 13:14, Corinthians 15:55-57, Hebrews 2:14-15) is vanquished by Christ’s death on the cross and thus set us free. When we are weighed down by our weaknesses, sins and burdens of life, we are invited to look up to Jesus’ cross with faith that he may save us. Jesus’ death on the cross reveals the immensity of God’s love that is able to do whatever it takes (Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:9) in order to liberate us from all that enslave us. Furthermore, Jesus who invites us to carry our crosses and follow him (Luke 9:23) gives new meaning to our crosses through his exaltation on the cross. That the cross which is painful to bear can be redemptive when united with the cross of Christ. This means that uniting our suffering to that of Christ’s suffering configures us to his self-giving love on the cross. Surrendering our suffering to Christ is not easy but in doing so we give God our ultimate love and thus find perfection in him (2 Corinthians 4:10-14, Philippians 3:8-15). May we who share in Christ death on the cross through baptism continue to look up to him in faith and abide in him always even in moments of weakness, pain and life challenges, so that we may be strengthened, comforted and experience his love now and forever.

Have a blessed Sunday

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

06/09/2025

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C

WISDOM 9:13-18, PSALM 90:3-6. 12-14. 17, PHILEMON 9-10, 12-17, LUKE 14:25-33

We celebrate today the 23rd Sunday in ordinary time year C. Today’s liturgy invites us to reflect on the cost of Christian discipleship. The readings call us to love God above all, to carry our crosses and to follow him. In other words, discipleship demands our total adherence to Christ and perseverance in life challenges. As such, anything that stands in between our relationship with Christ ought to be discarded. The first reading presents the last part of prayer attributed to Solomon asking for wisdom from God. The prayer describes the incomprehensibility of God will by the human mind impaired weakness or limitations. The author asserts that if the human mind is incapable of comprehending earthly realities, how can it comprehend heavenly things? The author concludes that only a person who has received wisdom and the Holy Spirit from God are capable of learning God’ intentions. Through God’s wisdom, people learn to walk in uprightness and come to knowledge of God’s will. In the gospel passage, Jesus tells the multitude following him about the cost of discipleship. To be Jesus’ disciple, one need to hate his family and his life as well. Jesus’ call to hate ones family seems to contradict his teaching on love and honoring our parents (Luke 10:25-28, Ephesian 5:25, Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16). Luke uses the word ‘hate’ not in a literal sense but in a metaphoric way to mean preference or total allegiance to Christ. That nothing or no one should be preferred over Jesus. Jesus’ assertion indirectly reveals his divine identity in that only God in the Old Testament should be loved or preferred above all including family (Deuteronomy 5:6-9). Furthermore, Jesus invites those following him to bear their crosses, renounce material possession and follow him. Here, Jesus reminds them that discipleship demands perseverance in the burdens and challenges of life. Discipleship also implies putting Christ above material possessions. In the second reading, Paul urges Philemon to put into practice the demand of discipleship that embrace love and forgiveness over hatred and punishment for Onesimus, his former slave. Onesmus was Philemon’s slave who might have stolen from him and ran away. While in Rome, he met Paul in prison and was converted to faith in Christ. In our passage, Paul entreats Philemon to receive Onesimus back not as a slave but as a brother in the Lord.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in life we make commitments of various kinds and adhere to what we have promised or want to achieve. Some commitment demand a lot of sacrifices. For example, when two people are in love, they make necessary sacrifice to adjust and try at all cost to defend their love from obstacles or oppositions: Those who work make serious commitment to follow the company’s rules unfailingly (report or knock off time, dress code and work hours). Our faith life also demands even more sacrifices in that it is a life commitment with God and submission to His Will. This means that we conform our life always to his will (Rom 1: 1-2). The call of Jesus to hate family, self, denounces possessions and taking up the cross therefore implies giving our total allegiance to Him with undivided attention (Mat 6:33, Lk 16:13). Jesus becomes not just a part of our life but our whole life. He takes the first place in our life and becomes the centre of our life’ activities; work, family, finances, plans, choices. In fact, the more we love Christ and make him the center of our life, the better we learn to love and serve others sincerely and the more contentment we become in life. Nevertheless, we are never serious with matters of our faith. We often push Christ away and only evoke him when overwhelmed by life challenges. Our discipleship therefore demands radical detachment from all that stand in between our relationship with Jesus (sin, relationships and material possessions) and perseverance in carrying our daily crosses. Daily crosses, can also be means to be drawn closer to Jesus and sharing in his passion (2 Cor. 4:7-14, Rom 8:35-39).

Have a blessed Sunday.

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

30/08/2025

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

22ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C

SIRACH 3:17-21, 20, 28-29, PSALM 68: 4-7. 10-11, HEBREWS 12:18-19, 22-24, LUKE 14:1, 7-14

We celebrate today the 22nd Sunday in ordinary time year C. Today’s readings exhort us to be humble and hospitable in serving God and our fellow human beings. When we become humble in life and show inclusive hospitality, we not only imitate God generous love but we are also assured of sharing in his eternal banquet. In the first reading, the author exhorts his son (or disciple) to serve others with humility. He tells him that the greater he becomes in life, the more humble he should become. According to the author, service done in humility attract favor from God and from people. Humility thus draws one closer to God and enables him to experience divine mysteries while pride brings endless suffering as a result of self-engrossment in wickedness. In our gospel passage, Jesus is dining at table on the Sabbath with the leading Pharisees who invited him with many others. The Gospel of Luke often presents Jesus either at table eating or talking about the kingdom of God as a banquet. For Luke, the feast or meal points to the eternal banquet or marriage feast that God will give to the righteous in his kingdom. In our passage, while at table observing how people were choosing places of honor, Jesus teachers his listeners about the important of humility and hospitality. For Jesus, the pride of choosing honorable places at banquets attracts embarrassment while the humility of choosing lowly place attracts exaltation and privileges. The call to humility thus points to Jesus’ humble service to humanity revealed in his incarnation, in his mission and death on the cross. Furthermore, Jesus invites his listeners to show hospitality to the less privileged (poor, maimed, lame and blind) who will not pay them back. Jesus assured his listeners that gestures of hospitality shown to the less privileged will be repaid by God at the resurrection of the just. The gestures of inclusive hospitality for the less privileged, who cannot pay back points to God’s generous gifts of salvation and hospitality shown to humanity, who are unworthy and cannot pay back. In the second reading, the author compares Israel’s encounter with God at Mount Sinai and Christian encounter with God on the new Zion – the heavenly Jerusalem. In the former encounter, the experience was terrifying and thus enabled the Israelites to encounter God through the mediation of Moses. In the later encounter, believers behold God’s presence without fear in that they are adopted children of God and made heirs of God’s kingdom through Christ. Believers are therefore encouraged to heed Christ’s Word and remain steadfast in faith amidst suffering in that God is close to them, he sanctifies them and assured them of an eternal banquet with them.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, all that we are and have are but gifts and blessing from God (Acts 17:27-28, Ephesians 1:3-9, 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, James 1:17-18). As such, we are forever indebted to God for such great gifts of love and salvation…we can never pay back all that God has done for us. The only right response towards God’s gifts is gratitude and humility to him. In addition, our Christian vocation is to live in communion with God and imitate his generous love with humility in serving our fellow human beings. The call to humility and hospitality is central to the message of salvation. Like Christ who emptied himself in his incarnation and submitted to God even in death (Matthew 11:29, Philippians 2: 5-11), we too are called to be humble in serving God and others. Humility empties us of pride, makes us accept our weakness and limitations and allows God to fill us with his grace and to use us as his vessels (Luke 1:51, 1 Peter 5:5, James 4:6). Through humility, we become hospitable and learn to serve others with love (John 13:13-15), impartiality and without prejudice (1 Timothy 5:21). In addition, humility makes us sensitive to the weakness, pain and needs of others and it prompts us to help them without seeking credit or recompense. As believers and heirs to God’s kingdom, let us cultivate the virtues of humility and hospitality in our life.

Have a blessed Sunday

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

23/08/2025

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C

ISAIAH 66:18-21, PSALM 116, HEBREWS 12:5-7.11-13, LUKE 13:22-30
We celebrate today the 21st Sunday in ordinary time year C. The readings invite us to reflect on God’s salvation and the need to strive in order to be saved. We are reminded that salvation is open to all but entry into God’s kingdom is strictly for those who commit themselves and live according to its demand. In the first reading we hear about the revelation of God’s universal salvation. Israel was chosen by God to bring salvation to other nations. Initially, Israel thought they were the only one God will save. However, through their disobedience and exile experiences, they slowly began to realize that God’s salvation includes all nations. In the passage, after settling down from exile, prophet Isaiah envisions universal gathering of nations to witness God’s glory and proclaim it to others; they will worship God, offer sacrifices and some will be set apart as priests of God. In today’s gospel, Jesus is asked, ‘will only a few be saved?’ During Jesus’ time, some believed that only Jews (Isaiah 60:21) will be saved while others believed that only the remnant (few) of Israel will be saved (Isaiah 10:22). In our passage, Jesus’ response does not focus on who or how many will be saved but on how one ought to strive in order to be saved. For Jesus, God’s salvation is open to all but entry into the kingdom belongs to those who strive to live according to the kingdom principles. Disciples are thus called to utilize the opportunity before the door is closed. In addition, to be saved it is not a matter of mere acquaintance with Jesus and his teaching but a life based on a personal relationship with him. Therefore, those whose life is based on mere acquaintances without conversion (workers of iniquities - sinners) and striving will be denied entry into the kingdom. Our second reading summarizes what striving for salvation entails. In the passage, believers are encouraged to persevere in faith amidst the constant suffering of life. According to the author, God sometimes uses suffering as means of training and disciplining his children in order to draw them closer to himself and make them holy. Believers are thus urged to persevere and embrace suffering as part of spiritual growth in holiness.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we continue reflecting on Jesus’ teaching on discipleship in relation to the kingdom of God. In today’s gospel, Jesus corrects the misconception which even many today believe that eternal life is only for the chosen few or for everyone provided that they are Christians or believers. We are reminded that salvation is open to all (free gift of God) but entry into God’s kingdom is for those who strive. In the teaching, Jesus reminds us of the danger of complacency in faith. Today, Christianity is reduced to mere presumption without true conversion and commitment. We claim to know and follow Christ (we attend mass or service, we participate in church activities, we give alms, fast and pray) and yet still live a tepid life that permits everything including sin; we do everything that unbelievers do, we dress like anyone else, we live like the rest. Believers have become spectators of God’s message of salvation and not active participants, we take delight in God’s gifts than in knowing and relating with him at a personal level, we embrace all the good things about God or what God does for us but abandon him when suffering or challenges of life come, we advocate for the change in others and in the world and yet not ready to see change in ourselves. We are challenged that belonging to a particular church or group does not guarantee salvation. Salvation is a free gift of God but it also demands personal conversion, perseverance and communion with Jesus. As such, having a tepid faith and living a life of sin without repentance breaks communion with Jesus and cuts one from eternal life with him. May we grow in our personal relationship with Jesus through repentance, prayer, perseverance and acts of love.

Have a blessed Sunday

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

16/08/2025

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C

JEREMIAH 38:4-6.8-10, PSALM 40:2-4. 18, HEBREWS 12:1-4, LUKE 12:49-53

We celebrated today the 20th Sunday in ordinary time year C. Today’s reading invite us to reflect on our faith and its demand in following Christ. The readings remind us that discipleship is not an easy enterprise but a life commitment that involves struggles, pains, persecution, and rejection. As disciples, we are called to be steadfast in our faith no matter the cost. In the first reading Jeremiah is put in the miry cistern and left to die due to his prophetic message. This was when Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem. King Zedekiah was afraid and started making alliances with other nations to fight the Babylonians. Prophet Jeremiah advised the King to surrender to the Babylonians and that people should repent from sins. However, the king’s princes convinced King Zedekiah to fight back and ordered that Jeremiah be imprisoned in the miry cistern and left to die. Jeremiah was rescued by God through the help of Ebed-melech, a Cush*te. In the second reading, believers are invited to imitate true witnesses of faith in God. Believers are thus called to lay aside sinful acts, hold on to their faith and look up to Jesus as the pioneer and perfecter of their faith who endured the shame of the cross and sits at God’s glory. In the gospel passage, Jesus continues to teach his disciples on the way to Jerusalem about discipleship. In today’s passage, Jesus whom we know to be the bringer of peace (Isaiah 9:1-7) and unity talks about bringing fire and division. Such words baffles us. In the bible, fire is used symbolically to mean divine presence or God’s glory (Genesis 15:17, Deuteronomy 4:24, Leviticus 9:24), purification (Isaiah 1:25, Jeremiah 9:7, Malachi 3:1-3, 1 Peter 1:7-8), divine revelation (Exodus 3), judgement (Isaiah 30: 30, 2 Peter 3:7). Jesus’s use of fire and division fulfils his prophetic role as ‘a sign of contradiction’ (Luke 2:34). This means that Jesus message of the kingdom is like a purifying fire that sets apart those who accept it from those who refuse. Fire will eventually lead to final judgment and salvation.
My dear brothers and sisters, today’s liturgy invites us to reflect on Christian discipleship and its costly demand. The readings reminds us that the journey of faith is not an easy enterprise but rather a demanding and a challenging one. It is demanding in that it calls for a total transformation of the whole person. As such, one’s perception, vision, goals, beliefs and orientation are changed. He or she becomes a new person driven by divine vision and perspective and not the worldly one. Faith life is challenging in that at times it comes with oppositions, rejection, tribulations and even death. This reality of faith as demanding and challenging is what we have witnessed in our readings today; Jeremiah suffers and was left to die for speaking God word’s against his peoples wishes and idolatry lifestyle…believers in the second reading are called to lay aside sin and imitate Christ who endured the cross…the gospel speaks of fire that purifies and sets apart those who follow Jesus from those who deny him. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, our Christian vocation is a constant submission to God fire (Spirit) which purifies us from sin and all that compromises our Christian morals and values. It is a life that set us apart from certain habits, practices, values, traditions and inclinations that are contrary to God’s laws even if they are considered to be important or cherished by our families, society or the world. Authentic Christian life sets us apart and inflame us with divine love and truth without compromise even if when others oppose it. As a result, opposition, rejection, persecution and sometimes death (2 Corinthians 4:1-18) will be part of our experience. Nevertheless, God is always with us, fighting for us and that he gives us his peace and joy amidst difficulties. May we all be transformed by God’s word and live our Christian life zealously and with authenticity. May our lives, families, societies, countries and the world be changed for the better through our Christian witnessing.

Have a blessed Sunday

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

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