DAILY HOMILIES #Jesus

After the great catch of fish, Peter and his team left everything to follow Jesus. They did not go after the fish itself but after Him who caused the great catch. Do not worship the blessings (miracles) that God gives to you. Worship God instead. And even if blessings do not come, remember that we brought nothing to this world and we shall take nothing with us – God alone is enough!

We must face the truth, we Nigerians (along with our government) have failed and there is no amount of shouting in our churches daily that can change our situation. For instance, if you refuse to do any work, shouting “I receive it” in Church will not put millions of naira in your pocket.

As we reflect on the life of Bartholomew, we are called to look at our own lives. How committed am I to living uprightly? Do I tell lies? How close am I to God? How good is my prayer life? Do I still recognize Jesus Christ as God? Or have I come to take Jesus’ presence for granted?

Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel passage “Let the children come to me.” This is a very important instruction. Allow your children to come to Jesus. Never assume that they would not understand. Come to think of it, if your children can understand cartoons (which they often consume excessively), what would stop them from understanding Bible Stories?

In the Transfiguration, God himself preached a very powerful short sermon to us: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Do I take out time to listen to Jesus daily? Do I long to hear from Jesus as much as I long to hear from social media?

Contentment is a decision; a decision to focus only on those things you are grateful for. It is ignoring your problems and praising God as though you had no problems. It is choosing to accept your life as it is knowing that God only permits what is best for you to happen to you.

When Jesus died, it was as though all hope was lost. It was like a confirmation that Jesus was just a man after all. Everyone went their separate ways but Mary Magdalene still returned to the tomb.

They probably assumed that if Jesus were to cure all the demoniacs in their city, there might not be any livestock left. Has it ever occurred to you that like these people, there are times we kick Jesus out of our lives all because of our pursuit of (or perceived loss of ) some material riches?

In the midst of all these, we are given an opportunity today to reflect and ponder on the Sacred Heart of Jesus; the heart that is so full of love, so full of mercy, so quick to forgive, so selfless, so heavenly minded, so trustworthy and caring. A heart from which blood and water flowed when it was pierced by the soldiers on the cross; blood symbolizing sacrifice and water symbolizing washing, renewal, baptism, rebirth.

: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.” The key to greatness is to serve others.

God calls us individually to different tasks. Just as our gifts and abilities are different, our sufferings for the sake of God are never the same. Sometimes we would wonder if God is partial but all that matters is that we follow Jesus.

Today we celebrate the fact that Mary intercedes for Africa. When Herod sought to kill the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph took shelter in Africa. At a time when our continent is faced with the turmoil, suffering under the yoke of neo-colonialism, we need Mother Mary’s intercession more than ever.