DAILY HOMILIES

The death of the Holy innocents casts a dark shadow on our Christmas celebration. It gives us a glimpse of the darkness that so filled the earth before Christ’s birth brought light to the world. It also gives us a glimpse of what life on earth would have been if Jesus had not brought salvation. If Jesus wasn’t born, I guess none of us would have been alive today.

As part of our Christmas celebrations, the story of John the beloved draws us to open our hearts to love Jesus as a friend and brother. It is not enough that we eat rice and chicken to celebrate Jesus’ birth, we must also enter into a personal relationship with Jesus just as John did.

If God so loved us even when we were His enemies due to our sinfulness, we too must love our enemies; we must love those who persecute us, we must pray for them and ask God to forgive them even when we keep receiving their stones.

At Christmas, God is saying to us: “Come to me as you would come to a baby, I will not hurt you.” Perhaps, you cannot remember the last time you prayed. Start today. Start to talk to God again. Don’t be scared. Carry this child in your arms and talk to Him.

Let us remember that we are the hands and feet of Christ. Wherever you go during this period, do not be concerned about eating and drinking, bring peace, joy, forgiveness, and love. Begin that visit with prayer, talk about Christ and ensure you end the visit also with prayer.

Silence helps to refine our hearts. For instance, we tend to listen more when we are silent, we tend to hear more and understand life better, we get to see the bigger picture and we get to look beyond our immediate problems. If God forced Zachariah to be silent, how much more would we profit if we decide to embark on silence voluntarily.

Are there promises you have made to God when things were rough for you, yet, long after God heard your prayer, you refused to fulfill your part of the promise? Do you even remember God when things are going well for you? Lastly, are you currently going through a storm, don’t worry, storms do not last forever. Keep telling yourself, “This too shall pass.” Tough times don’t last but tough people do.

God is not pleased with the Proud. God does not recognize those who believe that they are self-made; those who live as if God is not necessary; those who never go down on their knees to pray; those who consider going to church as a waste of time; those who depend on themselves or on other people rather than God. One quality of proud people is that they consider Thanksgiving a waste of time or money.

Like Jesus Christ, we all have two names; one which appears on our certificates and one which defines who we are. Although the names we bear may vary, the kind of life we live must reflect our real identity - Christianity. People should not only call us Christians; they must also see Christ in us.

Be careful of who you laugh at! God can shock you. Why should you even be laughing at your fellow human being? Who are you to write someone off? Why label a person with their painful condition? So, because this guy is always calling to ask for help, you saved his number with “begi-begi-beggar? Watch out oh!

Are you scared? Are you troubled? Who has threatened you? Have you heard something in the news that makes your heart shake like the trees of the forest? What is it that troubles you? There is one message for you today. It is contained in the name of Emmanuel; the God you serve is not far away, He is with you. He sees He knows, He understands and He has every power, every wisdom, and everything needed to handle the situation.

Our Gospel passage today contains a lot of names; these are the ancestral line of Judah. Not every person in this genealogy was outstanding, in fact, some of them were terrible sinners who did unthinkable things. What does this tell us? That God can work through anybody. Stop looking down on yourself. Every saint had a past and every sinner has a future. Say Yes to God today and let your past pass.