DAILY HOMILIES

How do we make our proclamation of Christ’s resurrection concrete? a. Choose Jesus instead of Barabbas. b. Prioritise Jesus over money. (Do not sell Jesus for 30 silver coins.) c. Defend your faith in public. Don’t keep quiet when people ask what you believe. d. Don’t hate or envy anyone like the Jews who wanted Jesus dead by all means. e. Don’t follow the crowd (like Pilate); stand by your beliefs. f. Don’t build your faith on signs and wonders, as the people who wanted Jesus to jump down from the cross did. g. Forgive wrongs patiently, as Jesus said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

This is the night when God led our forebears, Israel’s children, from slavery in Egypt and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea. This is the night that God banished the darkness of sin with a pillar of fire. This is the night that, even now, throughout the world, sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and the gloom of sin, leading them to grace and joining them with his holy ones. This is the night Christ broke the prison bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld…

Good Friday shows God understands our pains. He knows what it feels like to love and be rejected, to be betrayed, angry, hungry, insulted, dissatisfied, sick, weak, or sorrowful. Good Friday teaches us that Jesus once felt what you are going through today.

If by the words “do this in memory of me”, priests are other Christs (capable of turning bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood and performing other sacraments), then priests have been entrusted with so much power. Yes, priests have the power to bind and lose; they can forgive (or retain) sins. (Cf. John 20:21-23). Knowing immediately that this could lead to pride and abuse of power, Jesus did something that would make a lasting impression, an act we shall repeat during this Mass – Jesus bent down to wash His disciples’ feet.

Spiritual Creativity is obedience to that tiny voice of conscience within us. It is following God’s commandments regardless of what society thinks. It is doing God’s will without questioning or arguing. The fact that the disciples were asking shows they had not used this room before. They did not even know what to expect, but they obeyed.

The moment Judas took the bread from Jesus and ate, “Satan entered him.” What does this mean? Judas was no longer on the fence; his mind was made up. Not even a morsel of bread (show of love) from Jesus could change his mind. The more I listen to the devil, the sooner I reach a point when I am no longer afraid of betraying God. At this point, I am more concerned about making more money (or whatever the devil promises) than loving God. I begin to act as one without conscience.

Judas Iscariot said, “This oil could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Meanwhile, he said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. Do you sometimes feel that some people are doing too much for God? Let God be the judge. We may deceive others by pretending to be good, but nothing is hidden from God.

Judas used a kiss (i.e. a friendly signal) to identify Jesus. Jesus said to Judas, “Friend, why are you here?” letting Judas know that he was still his friend despite the betrayal. Jesus never held any grudge against Judas. Whether we like it or not, betrayal will come. The question is: how quickly are you willing to forgive your friends?

Child of God, let us examine our conscience: Do I feel threatened by anyone doing well? In all sincerity, are there certain persons I secretly envy and pray for their downfall because they have become successful or are now far ahead of me? Do I kill through character assassination – bearing false tales about others just to bring them down? Perhaps I am guilty of the fear of the Jews. Repent. Let others shine. Celebrate the greatness in each person. Be humble enough to accept the truth.

Jeremiah and Jesus were provoked in our readings today, and we have much to learn from their reaction. Jeremiah prayed a prayer of surrender. He asks God to fight on his behalf: “O Lord of hosts, who test the righteous, who see the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them for to you have I committed my cause.” (Jeremiah 20:12).

To hope in God is to believe He can bring life out of what is already dead. Our hope is never based on our visible circumstances; instead, it is built solely on what God can do. This hope operates through the eyes of faith. Like Abraham, you may consider your body as good as dead, but let your focus be on what God is capable of doing. Don’t be distracted by your situation; look at God instead. Do not make the mistake of the Jews, who were only focused on Jesus’ humanity without seeing His divinity.

It is not easy to say “Yes” to God. However, once we say “Yes” to God, we become God’s instruments of salvation in our world. St. Teresa of Avila says, “Christ has no body now but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks with compassion on the world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.” God needs you to cooperate with Him.