Homily for Friday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time

Our LORD grieves that the people of the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida did not appreciate all He had done among them. They were unchanged by God’s works in their midst and were not in any way moved by them to turn to a better life.

We, too, can sometimes miss the signs of God’s grace among us. Grace might take the form of a surprising kindness shown to us, an unexpected invitation, a word of appreciation or support when it was needed, a positive and willing response to a request we’ve made, or someone’s simple presence and work among us.

 The LORD comes to us especially in and through His followers, in and through each other in the Church. He says in today’s Gospel, “Whoever listens to you listens to me.” We don’t always recognize how the LORD touches our lives; we don’t always notice the LORD passing by and gracing us in different ways. In the evening, it can be good to look back over our day, notice where and how the LORD has been gracing us with His presence, and then quietly give thanks for that.