DAILY HOMILIES #Jesus

Many Christians today resemble the remaining nine lepers; God has answered their prayers, but their ingratitude prevents them from being made whole. They often complain about unanswered prayers, not because God has failed to do more than what they request, but because they have yet to notice God’s blessings. Ingratitude — taking the small things of life for granted — is a sickness only you can cure. It is like a man being confined in a prison cell, crying day and night to be fed, while the key to the cell lies right beside him.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes us as salt and light. We are supposed to lead the way, not lead others into darkness. Our lives should inspire goodness, not confusion. Do not tell a child one thing while doing the very opposite. If our behaviour encourages others to remain in (or even increase) their sinful lifestyles, we will share in the punishment. Ours might even be worse.

Jesus teaches us to avoid telling lies and other dishonest practices for the sake of money: “He who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much… And if you have not been faithful with that which is another’s, you will not be entrusted with what is your own.” (Luke 16:10-12) Someone once said, “If you lose money, you lose nothing. If you lose friends, you lose something, but if you lose your character (perhaps, in a bid to make money), you have lost everything.” If people cannot trust you with money, what else is left?

Today is the best time to start preparing for death. Please do not wait until it is too late. The steward did not wait until he was dismissed before calling his master’s debtors. Fifth, the best preparation for death is storing treasures in heaven and showing kindness to the needy. The steward made friends by reducing the debts of his master’s debtors. We are to make friends by giving away whatever we have. After all, nothing belongs to us in the first place. We came empty, and we shall return empty.

To kill a rat, you must think like a rat; to win a sinner to repentance, you must come to their level. This is precisely what Jesus did. He risked his reputation (to the extent that he was nicknamed a glutton) to save the lost souls. If we are genuinely interested in winning souls, we will never condemn or write off anyone. No matter how much evil a person has done, they still have something good in them.

As Jesus was hated by so many, anyone who wants to follow Christ’s footsteps should prepare to have many enemies. Do not be a people-pleaser, or you will compromise your Christian values. Love your neighbour as yourself, but at the same time, don’t be afraid of losing friends if such friendship opposes your relationship with God.

Today, we are celebrating the innumerable multitude of souls who are in God’s presence. We cannot simply call them “dead people”, just as we cannot refer to the multitude in our first reading today as dead people. They must be more than just dead people if they can cry out and sing praises to God.

In celebrating Saints Simon and Jude, we remind ourselves that, as Christians, we have a history. We are part of a people specially called by God to walk in the light - to be living examples of good conduct to the world. Saints Simon and Jude are foundation members of this special assembly. They remain for us both role models and intercessors.

When the tax collector approached the Temple, he stood far off (like the prodigal Son at the gate of the Father, scared of entering the house), he couldn’t even lift his eyes to heaven but beat his breast (as we do during the “I Confess” at Mass), saying “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Jesus tells us that this man went home justified. The time of prayer is not the time to boast; it is rather a time to look inwards, a time to search deep and beg for God’s mercy.

From Jesus’ response, we can see that sin by itself is just as deadly and dangerous as having a whole tower fall on top of a person, or having one’s blood mixed with sacrifices. While many felt this calamity was due to the sins of the victims, Jesus said they were not even worse sinners than others. This means that God does not punish us according to our sins, but then every sin we commit is a serious matter.

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 intense, we may abstain for a while only to return.

St. Paul tells us today: “Do not yield your members to sin as an instrument, but yield yourselves to God.” There is an extent to which a slave would give trouble that the master will have no choice but to let the slave go. You only become a slave when you stop resisting and give up the struggle.