DAILY HOMILIES #Christian

Never be discouraged by setbacks when you desire growth in your spiritual life. Like the Christian faith, beginning a new habit is like planting a seed. When we decide to change from our sinful ways and devote ourselves to becoming more serious with God, we have just planted a small seed. The beginning may be rough, very rough. We may even face great temptations that we may attempt to give up.

Empathy is the first step to healing, but it is not enough. Go beyond words such as: “Sorry, oh. It is well you.” Do whatever is within your power to do. It might seem small compared to the person’s problem, but it would mean the world to them. Sometimes, we underestimate ourselves. What makes you think your prayers cannot heal the sick? With just five loaves and two fish, over five thousand people were fed. Even for someone looking for a million naira, ten naira is something. You might not even have ten naira, but you might know how to connect them to someone who has.

According to John, “So many antichrists have come; therefore, we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out, that it might be plain that they all are not of us…. I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you know it and know that no lie is of the truth.” (1 John 2:18-21).

You may have been born into a Christian home, received baptism as an infant, attended a missionary school, etc., but you must carry your cross to remain a Christian. If being a Christian does not inconvenience you, you are not behaving like Christ. If it does, silently carry your cross.

Jesus condemned Moses’ Law on divorce but excused Moses by saying he responded to the people’s hardness of heart. Today, the choice is up to us: whether to remain hardened in the heart (follow Moses’ instruction; obtain a certificate of divorce from the court) or to embrace Jesus’ stance on Marriage (take the path of sacrifice, remain with our spouses through thick and thin, remove divorce an option). Anyone who still wants to go with Moses today is not yet a Christian.

When Job uttered this song (“I know my Redeemer lives”), he had no more reason to believe in God. He had been praying for days, and all he could see was the opposite of what he was praying for. This song reminds us of Paul and Silas, who, in prison, sang songs of praise to God. Nothing touches God as much as our ability to sing His praises despite our difficulties. By singing, Job utterly disappointed the devil, who felt that Job’s righteousness was tied to his material blessings.

Dear friends, if all that Jesus came to do for us was to provide for our material needs, why did Jesus allow the crowds to leave Him? If all that Jesus came to do was to remove poverty from our lives, why did He say we would always have the poor among us? (Cf. Matthew 26:11). Do not make the mistake of this crowd. Let it never be that you only worship God for the passing things of this Life. As St. Paul says: “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

Today, we remember St. Peter and St. Paul, the greatest names in the church’s early history. In our Gospel passage today, we see that Peter was the one to whom Jesus entrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven as the visible head of the Church. Meanwhile, Paul was the one Jesus arrested on the way to Damascus, making him a great apostle to the Gentile world.

Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:12-14). These words of Jesus underscore the importance of faith in our prayers. Before you start praying, read these verses again and again. If possible, memorise them and repeat them in your heart daily

When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence. The believers understood this saying and achieved a family united in one heart and soul. Don’t be afraid to share what you have; the more you give, the more it increases.

Just as Jesus was hated by so many, anyone who wants to follow Christ’s footsteps should prepare to have a lot of enemies. If you are a people-pleaser, you would end up trying to please the devil and, thereby, compromise your Christian values. Love your neighbour as yourself, but at the same time, don’t be afraid of losing friends who want you to disobey God.

You may not like those who hurt you, but at least be kind to them if you are in a position to help them. Be like David, who spared the life of Saul when he had a chance to kill him in his sleep. The good you do to your enemies will come back to you as a reward from God.