DAILY HOMILIES #Jesus

Let us by every means avoid having to compare ourselves with others because we do not know the whole story. Stop asking: “Is her/his/their cross heavier than mine?” We are all carrying the crosses that God deems fit for each of us. No one has it all good!

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.

Happiness on earth may be limited but the happiness above is totally unlimited. If we do not experience happiness as we so desire, let us not give up on God or attempt to seek happiness in sin. The devil cannot give what he does not have; it may seem as if we are enjoying for a while but soon it dawns on us that we have been deceived. Child of God, sorrow may last in the night but joy comes in the morning. Never Give up on God!

Today should be a day of joy for us, a day to celebrate the final victory of life over death, a day to celebrate our firm assurance that heaven exists, that just as Christ ascended to heaven, we too shall one day depart this earth and be united with God in heaven. Immediately after the ascension, the disciples entered a mood of prayer in preparation for the Holy Spirit. This is exactly what we must do now.

Today, Jesus Christ calls us his witnesses. We are to work side by side with the Holy Spirit in spreading the truth about him to the world. The question is: How are we to be his witnesses if we are yet to understand him fully? How can we talk to people about Jesus without first talking to Jesus himself? How are we to stand up for him, if we are not convinced about him as the answer to the world’s deepest yearnings? How can we witness to him if we do not abide in the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit is God dwelling in us, speaking in the depths of our hearts and making the impossible possible in our lives. We must pray every day for a renewal of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we may live not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

We are a mysterious people. We always forgive those who hurt us. We turn the other cheek when someone slaps us on one side. We let others have their way and we pray for God’s blessings rather than heap curses on our haters. (Cf. Matthew 5:38-39). This is how we melt the hearts of our enemies. This is the principle that has made our religion spread all over the world and continue to grow in leaps and bounds.

It is one thing to call a person your friend but a different thing for that person to recognize you as his or her friend. God considers us as His friends but the question is: How many of us relate with God as His true friends? In other words, how many of us are faithful to God’s commandments? How many of us love others as much as God loves us?

Jesus tells us today: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:10-12)

Jesus adds: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:4-7). There are so many advantages of going the extra mile every day to connect with Jesus. Do not let your religion end with just signs and symbols. Jesus told the Samaritan woman that a time is coming when true believers will worship neither on this mountain nor on that, but they would worship in spirit and in truth.

How can we possibly accept the many tribulations that are part of the road to heaven? The only solution is for us to have the kind of Peace which only Jesus can give.

Jesus wants us to understand that He is not simply a shepherd who answers our questions, He is the very answer to all that bothers us. Jesus is teaching us today that He is not just a shepherd who protects us from danger, He is also the very life that sustains our existence.