Spirituality Vs. Soulicality
February 04, 2024
Readings: 2 Kings 4:18-21, 32-37
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39
6th Sunday After Epiphany 2024 Homily – Bp. Rolando Geronimo
The Lord saves us, for us to not just hang around, win a little battle here and there, struggle through life, and wait to go to heaven. The Lord saves us, redeems us. and having been washed by His Blood, we are to be the Royal Priesthood. God wants us to live here on earth. It is not of our own choosing, if He wants us to be here. He would make sure we are provided for. In the Season of Epiphany, the most iconic symbol would be that of the Wise Men, who traveled from afar, guided by a Star to encounter Jesus. May we continue to guided by stars, by people who would lead us to encounter Jesus.
There are two words to learn today: Spiritual and Soulical. In order to understand “spirituality,” we must go back to the Garden of Eden. God created man out of the dust of the earth. When God breathed life into man, man became a living being. Soulical is the ability to govern right or wrong. There are two trees that God specifically pointed out to Adam. One was the Tree of Life, one was the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But original sin came about when man chose to do things by himself. It was like a declaration of independence. That he no longer needed God to make decisions for him. In the New Testament, Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. Follow Me. Deny yourself and take up your own cross daily.” Many times, Jesus had said that He came to do the will of God and not His own will.
In today’s Gospel, we see Him teaching, preaching and healing. He healed the mother-in-law of Peter, and He cast out demons. Those assigned by God to take care of the earth by preserving His Image and likeness are thinking of going to heaven. God had told us where He would live one day. He would live here on earth in the New Jerusalem. Revelations 21 and 22 contain passages of what it would look like. God has done everything and He wants us to implement what He has told us to do. Simeon prayed to God to not take him away first until he has seen the Savior.
Man is a spirit, he has a soul and lives in a human body. The Spirit communicates with God. The Soul is where our feelings are, It is composed of our will and our mind. The mind analyzes and evaluates things, the will makes the choices. Much of what is in our soul are being guided by our feelings. We should rely on God to choose the right from wrong. We should not let our emotions rule our lives. God does not want two partners. We should love the Lord with all our heart and soul and not love something else in the same capacity. Even our feelings and emotions should be at God’s disposal. Our spirit should receive what the Holy Spirit is prompting us to do. When we are involved in humanitarian efforts, it should be in the name of Jesus. It should be what the Lord wants us to do and not because we want to be in the limelight. The Soulish part enables us to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What tree are we partaking of? The difference in how we progress as Christians is being faithful and obedient.
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