Listen to The Warning

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Have you ever ignored a warning? Maybe your doctor told you to change your diet. Maybe your parents told you not to make a certain decision. Maybe your phone kept saying, “Battery Low,” but you ignored it until it suddenly died. Let me ask you a question: Does life usually fall apart all at once? Not really. Most of the time, it falls apart one small choice at a time.

That is exactly what we see in today’s First Reading. To understand this passage, we need a little history. The Kingdom of Judah had been warned for many years. God did not suddenly punish His people. He first sent prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many others. They kept saying, “Come back to the Lord. Stop worshipping idols. Care for the poor. Be faithful.”

But the people refused to listen. Finally, around 587 B.C., the mighty Babylonian army, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, surrounded Jerusalem and locked the flow of goods. Imagine living inside the city. Food slowly ran out. Families became weak from hunger. Fear filled every home. After many months, the city walls were broken down. The Temple – the most sacred place for God’s people was burned to the ground. The palace was destroyed. Many people were taken away into exile. For the Jewish people, the Temple was not just a beautiful building. It was the place where they believed God’s presence dwelt among them. Watching it burn must have felt like losing everything. But here is something important. God did not abandon His people. The people had first abandoned God.

That is a hard lesson, but an important one. Sometimes we ask, “Why is God so far away?” Maybe the better question is, “When did I stop listening to Him?” Sin usually does not begin with one huge decision. It begins with little compromises. “I’ll pray tomorrow.” “This one lie won’t matter.” “I know this is wrong, but just this once.” Little by little, our hearts become like the walls of Jerusalem – strong on the outside, but weak on the inside. The good news is that this reading is not only about destruction. It is also about hope. The exile was not the end of Israel’s story. God would eventually bring His people home. He would rebuild what had been broken. And centuries later, He would send His Son, Jesus Christ, to become the true Temple where heaven and earth meet. That is our hope too.

Maybe today there is an area of your life that feels broken. Maybe your prayer has become weak. Maybe you have drifted from God without even noticing. The Lord does not ask you to rebuild your whole life today. He simply asks you to come back. Because every saint has one thing in common: they never stopped returning to God.

So let us not wait until the walls come crashing down. Let us listen while His voice is still gently calling our names.

Prayer: Lord, You never stop calling me back to You. Forgive me for the times I have ignored Your voice and trusted my own way. Help me to notice the small choices I make each day and give me the courage to choose You. Rebuild whatever is broken in my heart, and make my life a place where Your presence can dwell. Amen.

– Homily by Rev Fr Patrick Agbeko