DAILY HOMILIES

Sometimes, we feel unworthy of approaching God’s presence. Satan, the accuser of the brethren (cf. Rev. 12:10), capitalises on our guilt to make us wallow deeper and deeper in sin. Satan, the liar per excellence (cf. John 8:44), tells us that there is no need to pray. Meanwhile, God is waiting for us to return home like the father in the story of the Prodigal Son. The best time to pray is when you are in the shoes of the tax collector.

In all three synoptic Gospels, when Jesus was asked about the first commandment, He immediately added: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31, Cf. Matthew 22:36). In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus summed both commandments in one sentence: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

Those who accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub did so because they felt Jesus had no power. Some Christians are quick to ascribe misfortunes to the devil but find it difficult to praise God when good things happen. Jesus described the devil as a strong man but made it clear that He is stronger: “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his palace, his goods are in peace; but when one stronger than he assails him and overcomes him, he takes away his armour in which he trusted, and divides his spoil.” (Luke 11:21-22). If you are more scared of the devil than God, your heart is hardened.

In today’s first reading, Moses said: “Give heed to the statutes and the ordinances… that you may live and take possession of the land.” God means well to us by giving us the commandments. There is a reward for every act of obedience. Unfortunately, today’s Christians are more concerned about their discomfort than their disobedience

The Master addressed the servant, saying: “You wicked servant…” In other words, when we fail to extend God’s forgiveness to others, we are being wicked. The next time you feel like dealing with someone, think about how much God has forgiven you in the past. Think of what God could have done to you if He were not merciful. Jesus says: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31).

Naaman flared up when Elisha told him to bathe seven times in the Jordan. He felt insulted that the prophet did not come out “to stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the leprous spot, and cure him” as magicians do. Naaman was angry because the Jordan River wasn’t as clean as the rivers of Damascus. Here is again another bitter truth; what matters is your obedience, not your location. Some people believe they can never make it in this country; their only desire is to travel abroad. As Jesus told us, “Seek first God’s kingdom,” put God first, and obey His commandments. God can bless you anywhere.

In his conversation with the Samaritan woman, Jesus made a clear distinction between the water she had come to draw and the water Jesus was offering her: “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14). Vanity of vanities, says the preacher, all is vanity. What do we really gain if we amass the whole world and yet lack Jesus?

The Father heard that the elder brother was outside. The father could have ignored him, but this would mean losing another son. Just as the Father was merciful to the prodigal son, he showed mercy to the elder brother by stepping out of the banquet to reason with him. Joseph’s brothers hated him because Israel, their father, loved him more than the other children, and he did not hide it. When one of my children is not doing well (or goes astray), do I reach out to them in love?

To think that someone’s light has to go off before yours can shine is to have a very limited mindset, which is the opposite of God’s mind. The funny thing is that in trying to quench others’ light, we only succeed in making them shine brighter, and then, we destroy ours. The householder demanded a harvest from the vineyard because He knew what the vineyard could produce. God expects us to shine rather than fight others because of their gifts.

In today’s First Reading, God speaks: “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the mind and try the heart to give to every man according to his ways and the fruit of his doings.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). The rich man did not go to hell because he was rich; neither did Lazarus enter heaven solely based on his poverty. Just as there are many wealthy people in heaven, there are many who died wretched and are in hell. I may be poor materially, but if my heart is corrupt and evil (turned away from God), I cannot enter heaven.

Drinking the Cup Does Not guarantee seats of Honour; serving Others Does. Jesus said to James and John: “You will drink my chalice, but to sit at my right and left is not mine to grant but those whom my Father has prepared.” Whether we like it or not, we will all face tough times, but the weight of our crosses does not translate into the type of seats we would occupy in heaven. Jesus said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first must be your slave.”

The scribes and Pharisees were more concerned about their appearance than their holiness. They invested heavily in looking good but remained ugly in God’s sight. They took seats of honour at banquets but remained unworthy of the eternal banquet. They sat in the front rows of the synagogue, but without oil in their lamps, they were destined to stay outside like the foolish virgins. (cf. Matthew 25:1-13).