Homily for Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Cycle II) based on the readings:

📖 Genesis 19:15–29 | Psalm 26:2–3, 9–10, 11–12 | Matthew 8:23–27
Theme: “When God Calls You Out, Don’t Look Back”

✝️ Homily – Tuesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time (Cycle II)

Theme: “When God Calls You Out, Don’t Look Back”

🧯 1. First Reading – Genesis 19:15–29: The Danger of Looking Back

The angels urge Lot and his family:

“Flee! Take your wife and daughters, or you’ll be swept away!”

God is rescuing Lot from the judgment about to fall on Sodom and Gomorrah. But there's one condition:
Don’t look back.

Yet Lot’s wife disobeys—and turns into a pillar of salt.
What does this mean?

  • Looking back means longing for the old life God is saving you from.

  • It shows a heart still attached to sin, even when the body is moving forward.

Sometimes, we also resist God’s call to move forward:

  • We hesitate to let go of unhealthy relationships, old habits, sinful comforts.

  • But God's mercy is calling us into freedom, not back into destruction.

🌊 2. Gospel – Matthew 8:23–27: The Lord of the Storm

Jesus and His disciples are in a boat. A storm arises. The disciples panic while Jesus sleeps.

They cry out:

“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

Jesus wakes and says:

“Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”
Then He calms the sea.

This story reminds us:

  • Jesus is in our boat, even when we feel afraid.

  • Faith does not prevent storms, but it calms our reaction to them.

  • Just as Lot had to flee the fire, the disciples had to face the storm—but in both, God was at work.

🎵 3. Psalm – Psalm 26: “In You I Trust”

“Examine me, Lord… I have walked without blame… my feet stand on level ground.”

The psalm is a prayer of someone trying to live with integrity in a world that feels unstable.

We are reminded that:

  • God sees our efforts to be faithful.

  • Even when we stumble, God makes us stand on level ground.

🧠 4. Message for Today

Both Lot and the disciples faced crisis moments:

  • One had to flee judgment.

  • The other had to face the storm.

Both were saved not by their strength, but by God’s mercy.

Our lives, too, have moments when we must:

  • Let go of the past

  • Trust God through the storm

  • Resist the temptation to look back

The Gospel and the first reading meet at one point:

God is saving you—but you must respond in faith, not fear.

💬 Quote for Reflection

“God cannot lead you forward if you keep looking over your shoulder.”
– St. Augustine

✅ 5. Life Application

  • What is God asking you to let go of today?

  • Are you looking back at what God is calling you to leave?

  • Are you afraid in a storm instead of trusting that Christ is with you?

🙏 Prayer for the New Day

“Lord, Help Me to Trust and Not Look Back”

Lord Jesus,
Thank You for waking me to this new day.
When the storms of life rise up, calm my fears.
When I want to look back to what You’ve called me to leave, give me strength to walk forward.

Like Lot, may I flee anything that leads me away from You.
Like the disciples, may I call on You in the storm, believing You are present.
Help me today to trust more, fear less, and walk boldly into Your will.

Lead me forward, Lord—and help me not to look back.

Amen.

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