DAILY HOMILIES

Jesus knew that the Pharisees were following him to find fault with him. He could have chosen the path of diplomacy, pretending he didn’t see the man with a withered hand. He could have signalled this man to meet him secretly, but Jesus chose to heal him publicly. Do not be afraid of what anyone would do to you. Only fear God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Cf. Matthew 10:28)

Each time we attend the Sacraments, Jesus asks the question He asked the two blind men following him in Matthew 9:27-30, “Do you believe that I can do this?” If you believe Jesus can do it, you will receive your miracle. However, if you do not believe, you are no different from the people of Jesus’ hometown.

From Jesus’ response, we learn two important points. One, Jesus is God; He is the long-awaited bridegroom. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Two, God wants us to worship Him in spirit and truth instead of merely observing rules (Cf. John 4:23). There is a difference between worshipping God and following the commandments. This is the difference between the new wineskins and the old wineskins.

In his admonition to the Corinthians, Paul made no negative statement about Apollos, who had been made a rival to him by the people. This is very instructive. It is the devil’s delight to see church leaders quarrel and fight over what they say. Avoid taking sides when people bring gossip; they may be plotting the stage for you to fight with your brother.

Perhaps Jesus is asking me to let down my nets for a catch, yet I procrastinate and give God excuses. Trust God and obey His commands. Forget what people around you are saying. Do what is right, and God will reward you with an abundant catch—more than you would have dreamt of if you had disobeyed.

For the Corinthians, their problem was taking sides between Paul and Apollos, similar to when we began to form camps around our spiritual leaders. Paul was unhappy with them because they failed to see that Paul and Apollos were mere instruments while God was the real Chief Shepherd who made the growth happen.

Jesus started with prayer, and all through His public ministry, Jesus never joked with prayer. He would rise early in the morning, go to a quiet place to pray (Luke 4:42), and at the end of the day, after dismissing the crowd, he would go again to a lonely place to pray. (Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46). He would even spend a whole night praying (Luke 6:12). When you are prayerful, a certain aura goes with you; you don’t need to shout or make noise. Your very presence in any space is already a threat to demons. Jesus did not break a sweat dealing with the demon-possessed man. As we often say: “power pass power.”

Instead of allowing the truth to cure their pride, they turned against Jesus, intending to throw Him off the cliff. Their action did not nullify the bitter truth. Salvation is not hereditary, nor is it automatic. Indeed, the fact that I am a Catholic does not qualify me for heaven; it is the way I live that counts.

To avoid self-deception, Jesus says, “First, clean the inside of the cup.” In other words, the first step to becoming His true followers is to look honestly at ourselves, acknowledge the dirt within our hearts, and clean them up. The problem is that, like the scribes and Pharisees Jesus condemned, we always try to do the opposite; we clean the outside and abandon the inside.

Rather than engage in useless competitions with one another or expend energy fighting for equality (a fight that will never end), rather than engage in the “pull-him-down” games we play often, there is much peace that comes with realising it is not what we have that counts but how we manage it.

To be wise spiritually is to trust little in your wealth, current status, education, connections, and devotional practices. To be wise is to have a backup, something extra, to hold on to should everything else fail. To be wise, you have to have some extra oil.

Herod was not thinking straight when he promised even half his kingdom to a little girl. What if she had asked for his head? Think before you speak. Be a master of your emotions. In moments of anger, hold it. In moments of excitement, hold it also. Learn the habit of speaking to God and hearing from him before talking.