Being Aware Of The Times

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

November 03, 2025

in Spritual Growth

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November 2, 2025:
Readings: Isaiah 1:10-20
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
Luke 19:1-12

21st Sunday of Ordinary Time 2025 Homily – Abp. Hines

In most Liturgical churches, Christ is being proclaimed as Christ the King. But for most of us, we don’t go through the sequences of events and reflect on why things are the way they are. But if we would allow the Holy Spirit to quicken us, wouldn’t we wonder why the proclamation of Christ the King would happen days after we have spent our time commemorating the Day of the Dead? Christ is Christ of the living, and not the dead. But we put so much emphasis on the dead. We spent so many hours in the cemeteries instead of focusing on the things of God and being aware of the times. Scriptures indicate that when there are great earthquakes, this is a sign when the Lord is coming soon. We are getting closer to the end times. We start each Sunday proclaiming the Holiness of the Lord. There’s a voice in the wilderness saying, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” We put so much emphasis on the things of the world that we neglect to prepare the way of the Lord. We crown Him as the Lord of Life, not death. We were created with a soul. Without the soul, there is no life. Scriptures tell us, “to be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord.”

We should be in the business of peace. The church, specifically, should be a church of peace. A church that is not fighting against each other. In Israel today, the new temple is now being built- signaling that the end is nearer that we ever expected.

In today’s Gospel, it talks about this short man, Zacchaeus. He was the chief of the Publicans, a tax collector for Rome. He was the wealthiest person at that time in Israel. He was taking the people’s taxes and giving these to the enemy, and his arrangement with Rome was that whatever extra taxes were left, this was his. The people hated him, and he had no friends. But he had heard about Jesus, who was a friend to many, and he wanted to meet Him. So, when Jesus was passing by the town, he inched his way and climbed up a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus. But when Jesus saw him, He said, “Zacchaeus, come down, for I will go to your house.” Christ comes to us, even if we do not seek Him. Zacchaeus was considered an evil man, because he was enriching himself. But he was aggressive. He was determined to see Jesus, and nothing was going to stop him. The challenge we are facing today is that we should be aware of the times. We should be aware of the season. There are more earthquakes now than ever before. It is as if nature is talking to us, giving us signs so that we can be prepared. Zacchaeus was not a lazy person. He was very zealous in what he was doing. Like Saul, who later became Paul. And Christ chose them because Christ knew that they were going to have the zeal and the aggression to do things for the good when their hearts were changed.

If we proclaim Christ as King, are we proclaiming it though our lives? God wants us to grasp the knowledge that He has given us the power. Why did God choose Zacchaeus and Paul? Because He knew He could change their hearts. When they came in contact with Christ, the change took place. We should set our hearts that we want our character to reflect the character of Christ.