DAILY HOMILIES

Stop worrying about your problems. By worrying, we magnify our problems, and God appears lesser. Be like Paul and Silas; sing instead. Sing the praises of God as our Psalmist today prompts: “I will extol you, my God, and bless your name forever… the Lord is faithful in all his words… the Lord supports all who are bowed down.”

You cannot claim to be a Christian with a bad attitude. You risk losing your Christian Faith and even your very life itself. Again, you cannot be a Christian and still live a life of pretence or show-off, as the case may be. Otherwise, one day your “skin” will burst, and the whole world know you have just been deceiving yourself.

While people were busy pointing fingers, Jesus was busy winning a soul for heaven. While others were calling names, Matthew was busy examining his conscience. Ultimately, this same Matthew became one of the greatest Evangelists ever. It is okay to criticise others for their wrong deeds, but it is more profitable to examine one’s heart. All that name-calling and insults will be of no use if, in the end, you are guilty of a much greater evil.

Do not assume your righteousness exempts you from testing. As St. Paul says: “We rejoice in our sufferings (testing, temptations etc.), knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us.” (Romans 5:3-5) Going through a tough time? Remain steadfast. Don’t give in to sin. Don’t give up on God.

God will never force His way into your life if you do not make Him welcome. I mean, we all have a choice, to be possessed by the Holy Spirit or to be possessed by evil spirits such as lust, materialism (greed), wrath, pride, envy, gluttony, sloth, etc.

Do not be pessimistic in life. Believe in God, and let your faith be so big that you only expect positive outcomes in whatever situation you face. Cast away your wrong fears and have a relaxed mind like Jesus sleeping in the boat.

Very often, we tend to think of the Saints as extraordinary human beings or larger-than-life figures. We see them as the people who did the impossible or attained the unattainable. Saints are imperfect creatures who refuse to allow their weaknesses to prevent them from pressing forward on the journey to heaven.

While fear can be a stumbling block in our proclamation of the Gospel, attachment to family members (love for material possessions and earthly riches) can also be a stumbling block in our mission. Hence in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus tells us: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37-38)

Abraham was kind to strangers when he had no reason to be; in return, he received a concrete assurance of God’s promise of a son. Avoid practising selective kindness. Be good to people even though they don’t deserve it. Show hospitality to strangers not in expectation of anything in return, not because they deserve it but because you are a Christian. Show hospitality to strangers; they could be Angels sent from God to test you. (Cf. Hebrew 13:2)

While the leper believed God could do anything, Abraham fell on his face and laughed when God told him that his wife Sarai would have a child. Abraham thought that God had already done his best with Ishmael. Like Abraham, we sometimes look at our external condition and assume what we have now is the best God can ever do. As long as we believe it, there is no limit to what we can achieve. Never doubt the power of God.

While Peter represents tradition, authority, and unity, Paul represents grace, mercy, and humanity. St. Paul says today, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” These words underlie the nature of the Christian life. It is both a fight and a race at the same time.

A tree may appear very nice outside, but it is bad if it bears rotten fruits or fails to produce any fruits. It is easy to pretend. It is easy to deceive others. It is easy to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but then, no matter how much we pretend to be who we are not, our fruits will sell us out.