DAILY HOMILIES #light

This is the night when God led our forebears, Israel’s children, from slavery in Egypt and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea. This is the night that God banished the darkness of sin with a pillar of fire. This is the night that, even now, throughout the world, sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and the gloom of sin, leading them to grace and joining them with his holy ones. This is the night Christ broke the prison bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld…

When all hope was lost for Susanna, God sent Daniel and endowed him with such wisdom and eloquence that no one could withstand him. The same judges who confessed to seeing this woman with a man gave conflicting answers when asked the name of the tree under which they saw the woman, proving they were telling lies.

“Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Remember, you are the earth’s light and the world’s salt.

Beyond refraining from pointing accusing fingers at others, the season of Lent offers us ample opportunity to pray for the conversion of sinners. Let us become like Jesus to the Levi’s in our world today. Don’t stop condemning evil, but go beyond pointing fingers; show love to sinners, reach out to them, and lead them out of darkness to God’s marvellous light. This is the fasting that God desires.

The great catch of fish was a turning point in Peter’s life. He immediately recognised God's presence and confessed his sins. Isaiah had a similar experience in today’s First Reading. Meanwhile, in today’s second reading, St. Paul confesses how he previously persecuted the Church, yet God made him an apostle. Is it the case that God prefers working with individuals with a sinful past? What do we learn from these readings?

Mary and Joseph knew that Jesus was God, meaning there was no need to bring the baby Jesus to the temple, but in humility (not wanting to appear like the special ones in their community), they followed the law. They presented God to God. Today’s Second Reading states: “He had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17).

To be clean of hands and pure of heart means that you do not have any skeletons in your wardrobe. Being clean of hands and pure in heart means you have nothing to hide. By the way, we live in a world where it has become impossible to hide anything. With our latest technological gadgets and devices, one’s entire life history can be dug up in a minute. Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel passage: “For nothing is hidden, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.”

The people to whom Isaiah prophesied in our first reading were a people in darkness. Isaiah prophesied that Christ, the world’s light, would dwell in their midst and wipe out the darkness. The Angels announced this to the shepherds who kept watch at night: “For to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.”

It is often said that if the devil is not fighting you, it is because you are working for hm. Many Christians today have grown lukewarm in their Christian faith, no longer letting their light shine and compromising their values. You should be worried if you are not facing persecution; it is a sign that you have aligned with the devil.

Daniel was talking about the brightness of good deeds: our holy life, our love for one another, our rendering of help to the needy, our genuine worship of God, our faithfulness to sound Christian living, etc. These good deeds are lights amid the darkness of sin enveloping our world today. If we don’t start shining now, we will not shine when we die.

When Job uttered this song (“I know my Redeemer lives”), he had no more reason to believe in God. He had been praying for days, and all he could see was the opposite of what he was praying for. This song reminds us of Paul and Silas, who, in prison, sang songs of praise to God. Nothing touches God as much as our ability to sing His praises despite our difficulties. By singing, Job utterly disappointed the devil, who felt that Job’s righteousness was tied to his material blessings.

While others were scared of Paul because they judged him as a bad person who later became a Christian, Barnabas saw in Paul a very good man who had a bad past. In this way, Barnabas acted as the salt of the earth, as Jesus instructs in today’s Gospel passage. Just as salt preserves food (prevents it from going stale), Barnabas helped to preserve whatever good was in Saul until he became Paul.