DAILY HOMILIES #Love

Until we begin to love those who hate us, we cannot claim to be children of God. A heart that does not forgive is a heart that is yet to receive Christ. Until we stop praying for our enemies to die, we cannot claim to be children of God. Jesus says “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; (Matthew 5:38-39)

As the saying goes: “all lizards have their bellies on the ground, no one knows which has a running stomach.” We come to church but the truth is that some of us have become like try branches; our relationship with Jesus is long dead. Today, is another day, God is giving you a second chance to reconnect again. If Paul could become a preacher, who says you, despite your past cannot do the same?

Once upon a time, a rich young man asked Jesus about the secret of inheriting eternal life. Ultimately, Jesus told him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor after which, he could return to follow Jesus. It is interesting to note that this group of believers literally kept this instruction, they sold their possessions, brought them together and were united in one heart and soul.

As the Prophet Isaiah mentions in our first reading, God has called us to righteousness and we are the light to the nations. To succeed in this special calling, we must be willing to give our very best to God, be content with what we have and remove hatred from our hearts.

As the scribe said: “to love our neighbour as ourselves is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” If the love of God is not in our hearts, if there is hatred against others in our hearts, then our singing and dancing in church, our rolling up and down, our speaking in tongues and so on, are all useless.

Children must resemble their father, their DNA must match. If we are not merciful, we cannot claim to be children of God and we really have no business in heaven. Your best possible life can only happen when you are merciful. Your heart is too precious to be used as a storage device for hurt, bitterness and vengeance.

Most of us Christians today only pretend that we love God. We worship God just for the benefits we gain from God. We are like one who marries a person because he/she is rich. When the money is no more, they leave! If you truly love someone, you would sacrifice everything for that person. No wonder, in today’s Gospel passage, we hear Jesus saying to us, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

Dear friends, let brotherly love continue. Do not be a Herod to someone just because he or she is telling you the truth. Do not be like the kinsfolk of Jesus who were almost throwing him down the cliff because He told them the truth.

It is bad enough that despite our efforts, we still fall but nothing can be more terrible than our refusal to get back on our feet when we fall.

Love is giving our very best to our enemies; those who have no regard for us, those who hate us. Love is giving freely and selflessly to others; not those we are attracted to and more importantly, not those we expect to receive from. So if you stopped giving just you are not appreciated or the person does not reciprocate, it means there was never any atom love in you. You were just being a merchant.

Growing up as kids, we read a lot of story books which ended with the phrase: “And they lived happily ever after.” Most of us often make the mistake of assuming that after the wedding ceremony, everything suddenly falls into place by itself. This is not true. If your family is to be holy, then get ready to do the hard work; be prayerful, fear God, live a virtuous life, be faithful to your marital vows, love your spouse to the end. Remember, no one can give what he or she does not have.

Today, there are many Christians who literally throw caution to the wind in the name of celebrating Christmas. By so doing and without realizing it, many of us actually celebrate the devil more than we celebrate Jesus Christ during Christmas. Let me ask, where are you planning to go and catch fun today? And why do you feel Christmas is empty without this “fun”?