DAILY HOMILIES #hatred

Nigeria is ranked as one of the most religious countries in the world. However, Isaiah’s prophecy about Isreal is true of Nigeria – “these people draw near with their mouths and honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13). Nigeria is a nation badly in need of repentance. If Jonah were to visit Nigeria today, his message would be simple: “Forty days more, and Nigeria shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4). This is a message we must hear as we celebrate our independence today.

Paul looked into the future while addressing the elders (pastors) at Ephesus concerning fake pastors whom he described as ‘fierce wolves.’ Jesus also saw the future when He spoke of the world’s hatred against His disciples. Today, this hatred no longer comes from external forces but from fierce wolves in sheep's clothing operating from within the church

Prayer brings joy; it is both spiritual and therapeutic. Prayer helps to offload your burdens, calm your nerves and relieve your fears. Appreciate prayer because it can bring you the things you desire and because prayer (itself) is good for you. If a problem shared is a problem half-solved, prayer is sharing your problems with the only person who can truly solve them.

The world prefers darkness to light. Evil is always more attractive than good. If you are not experiencing opposition from the world, it means there is nothing about you that points to Christ; you are not a threat to the kingdom of darkness because they see you as one of theirs.

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.

Hatred (often expressed by unforgiveness) betrays our Christian faith: “By this, we may be sure that we are in him: he who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” How did Jesus walk? He forgave his killers. How are we to know we are in Christ Jesus? By forgiving our enemies.

Ordinarily, you should assume that when something good happens to you, people should be happy for you. Isn’t it? The bitter truth is that there will always be scribes and Pharisees around us - people who take offence knowing we are happy. They pretend to be our friends, but the moment our status changes (when things improve for us), they show their true colours.

Sin is not just an offence against God; it is an offence against myself. As long as I do not live by God’s instructions, I can never become all that God desires for me. When a doctor tells you to choose between your favourite meal and death, I bet you will start hating that meal. To live above sin, we must hate sin. If our hatred for sin is not strong, we may abstain for a while only to return.

When you are angry for too long, the devil seizes your anger as an opportunity to whisper evil suggestions to you. You find yourself thinking of how to inflict pain on others or wishing something bad happened to them. It is witchcraft to celebrate the downfall of others just because they hurt you in the past.

Hatred is deadly. The feeling of hatred makes you blind to the good in others. Hatred makes you criticise everything in everybody. Hatred blinds us. St. John warns us: “He who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1 John 2:11).

Jesus does not pray that we should be taken out of the world. Jesus prays that we should be protected from the evil one. Even though we wrestle against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12), we are rest assured of God’s protection. We do not wrestle as victims but as victors, because Jesus has already overcome the world (John 16:33). Do not fear.

Hatred is a sign of unforgiveness and a betrayal of our Christianity because as John says in today’s first reading: “He who says “I know him” but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him... By this we may be sure that we are in him: he who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”