DAILY HOMILIES #Christians

Ezekiel’s prophecy of the dry bones shows us that there can be dead cases as far as our life is concerned. We can always change; there is always room for repentance. We can never be too old to start learning again. Why is it that it can never be too late for God? His steadfast love never ceases; His mercies endure forever. God’s mercies are new every morning. As we often sing: “Great is thy faithfulness, O Lord. Great is thy faithfulness.”

You cannot be a true Christian without bearing fruits. You cannot be light, yet fail to shine on at least one person – bringing them out of the darkness of sin and ignorance. You cannot be salt without anyone ever getting to taste your sweetness. As Christians, we are influencers – we always attract people by our words and lifestyle, not to ourselves but to Jesus Christ.

We are used to hearing: “Love your neighbour as yourself” or “Do to others what you want done to you”, but in this case, Jesus wants us to love others as He loved us; he wants us to offer our lives for one another as He did on the Cross of Calvary. This is the basis of abiding by Jesus – sacrificial love.

“While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”(Acts 13:2). This is the first recorded instance of the Holy Spirit speaking directly, not just to one person, but to an entire congregation; everyone heard and understood the Holy Spirit’s message.

In today’s first reading, God says: “O that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your prosperity would have been like a river.” In other words, if only we would trust God enough to keep His commandments, we would find the desired prosperity. Jesus would later throw more light on this point when He said: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Today, our Psalmist sings: “For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hopes of the poor ever perish.” When it seems like evil people are succeeding, don’t worry, keep trusting in God, don’t give up hope, and stop being good.

In today’s Gospel passage, Luke narrates how Jesus spent an entire night in prayer before selecting the twelve apostles. This teaches us the importance of prayer as a consultation with God before making any major decision. Prayer is the master key. Jesus started with prayer and ended with prayer. A Christian who does not spend time in prayer will hardly hear from God. Prayer is consultation; we talk to God and listen to Him.

When Peter saw the great catch, he knew only God could do this. His eyes were open. He fell at Jesus’ knees, saying: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” An encounter with God helps us to come to terms with our nothingness. Disobedience to God is a function of our spiritual blindness. If you know God, you would be too afraid to disobey Him.

There are some so-called Christians who believe strongly in the power of the gods of African Traditional Religion. Some say that the Christian God is too slow, too lenient, and too forgiving so when they need things done quickly and effectively, they know where to go. If that is what you believe also, just know that you do not belong to Christ.

Jesus says “they are not of the world even as I am not of the world.” This world is not our home. We are only passing through. We cannot have it all and we can’t expect everything to be perfect on this side of existence. We only need to be content and grateful. The book of Hebrews says: “Be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never fail you nor forsake you.’ Hence, we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.’” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

When we fast, we involve our whole body in prayer. Fasting helps us to silence the noises around us and feel the real hunger of our souls which is the hunger for God. When we fast, we face our fears, we realize we can survive without certain things, and we become aware of the inner power that we possess over food, luxury, or that which we had depended on for so long.