DAILY HOMILIES #Jesus

Refrain from the temptation of hating your persecutors, otherwise, you become like them. Submit everything to God and let Him take vengeance as He deems fit. Do not pray for the death of your enemies. Just surrender them to God.

Be good, not for the sake of attracting the applause of people but for God’s sake. As long as you desire to serve God, be prepared for attacks and tests (Cf. Sirach 2:1). Do not be a mediocre Christian lest you fail when tested, and then you become a laughing stock of those who do not believe that good people are still in existence.

Be good, not for the sake of attracting the applause of people but for God’s sake. As long as you desire to serve God, be prepared for attacks and tests (Cf. Sirach 2:1). Do not be a mediocre Christian lest you fail when tested, and then you become a laughing stock of those who do not believe that good people are still in existence.

If you were Jesus and you knew that people were planning to kill you for healing people on a Sabbath, would you continue? Let us be honest. Only Jesus can do this. Only Jesus can take such a risk. This is the nature of God’s love, as the Prophet Isaiah presents in today’s First Reading. It is a love deeper than that of a mother for her nursing child.

Jesus warned the man who had been cured to avoid sin so that nothing worse would happen to him. What else could be worse than suffering for thirty-eight years? What else could be worse than spending half of your lifespan in pain, discomfort, and misery? This is exactly what sin does to us.

The Galileans received miracles not because of their location but because of their deep-seated faith. Jesus said to the woman at the well: “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.” (John 4:23). It is not about your location. Are you worshipping God in spirit and truth?

If you know that what you plan to do will make you ashamed if the whole world knows about it, then don’t do it. How long will you live in the fear of being discovered? How much longer before that secret deed becomes exposed? Cherish your shame. Let it be your guard against evil.

Our first reading today comes from the Book of Prophet Hosea. God instructed Hosea to marry a harlot to demonstrate the idolatrous practices of the Israelite nation. Just as a harlot leaves her husband for other men, we cheat on God when we serve other gods (such as money, power, pleasure, etc.)

Those who accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub believed in Beelzebub’s power. Some Christians are quick to ascribe misfortunes to the devil’s power but find it very hard to believe that God is capable of protecting them or granting their prayers.

Judas Iscariot was too ashamed to face Jesus after his betrayal was exposed. What happens when people do worse things without guilt or shame? A society self-destructs when people behave like they are greater than the law. Even Jesus Christ (God in human flesh) never claimed superiority over the Law.

Like the brothers of Joseph in the Old Testament, we could become so overwhelmed by envy that we begin to think that our survival depends on eliminating others. We begin to think that we can only shine when we quench that of others. This is the insanity of the envious mind.

The parable of Lazarus teaches us that one could be ‘helped by God’ and still live in abject poverty. With this parable, Jesus teaches that being poor despite your religiosity does not mean God has failed or that He is powerless. Does it surprise you that Lazarus, who lived in abject poverty (on earth), was sitting at the feet of Abraham in heaven?