DAILY HOMILIES #Love

Just as Jesus was hated by so many, anyone who wants to follow Christ’s footsteps should prepare to have a lot of enemies. If you are a people-pleaser, you would end up trying to please the devil and, thereby, compromise your Christian values. Love your neighbour as yourself, but at the same time, don’t be afraid of losing friends who want you to disobey God.

Growing up demands that we are no longer content with keeping the law as stated in black and white but that we now aim to love God above all things and our neighbour as ourselves. Growing up demands that we feed the hungry, clothe the naked and perform acts of kindness to people we do not even know or expect in return. It demands that we go all the way, even to offer our very blood for the benefit of others.

We dare not claim that we love God if we do not love our neighbours. Visit the hospitals around you, visit the prisons, visit the orphanage homes – open your eyes – and you will agree that even if you don’t have all you wish for, there are many praying to be in your position. Wastefulness is a sin. Be a wounded healer. You have suffered, but ask yourself, “If I could turn back the hand of the clock, what would I have done better?” Some people are easy to love, but we must love even those who hate us – this is what it means to love God.

By saying that “all have sinned,” St. Paul is not saying we should glory in our sinfulness. He emphasises that we must avoid boasting, feeling superior to others, and looking down on others. “Are we any better off?” St. Paul asks, “No, not at all; for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin.” (Romans 3:9).

Jonah’s experience, how his ship almost sank, and how he had to spend three days inside the belly of a great fish is a classic example of what we suffer when we live only for ourselves! In the Gospel passage, Jesus teaches us to be kind and generous to everyone regardless of who they are. He offers us a universal definition of neighbour that is not restricted by race, colour, religion, or physical borders.

There is one lesson to learn from the way Jesus reacted to rejection by the Samaritans in today’s Gospel passage. He would not allow the sons of thunder, James and John, to call down fire from heaven to burn them. He even rebuked them for saying such. All Jesus did was ask them to go to another village.

According to St. Paul, those who consider ministry a money-making enterprise “fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. The love of money is the root of all evils; through this craving, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. But as for you, man of God, shun all this.” (1 Timothy 6:9-11).

Let us put to death our earthly passions and desires. Aspire for sainthood instead of aspiring to be rich. Instead of working to achieve fame and glory and be spoken of highly by people, devote your time towards securing a seat in heaven.

We learn from Ezekiel that if we fail to correct (win back) those going astray, God will hold us responsible for their soul. Nevertheless, in correcting them, we must do it with a spirit of love because, as St. Paul says, love is the only debt we owe others. Meanwhile, Jesus gives us the steps to follow in this process of winning back and reconciling with one another.

The first and greatest commandment is also intricately connected to the second commandment: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Of course, as St. John says: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20).

Like this Canaanite woman, we have been victims of tough times at some point. We may be going through very difficult circumstances right now. Today, we learn that tough times do not last, but tough people do. What does it mean to be a tough person? Selflessness – living not merely for oneself but for others. Living above Prejudice - refusing to judge others based on their origins. Positivity - refusing to take ‘No’ for an answer. Humility – accepting and taking advantage of whatever insults we receive. Let us not examine some lessons in today’s readings.

While fear can be a stumbling block in our proclamation of the Gospel, attachment to family members (love for material possessions and earthly riches) can also be a stumbling block in our mission. Hence in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus tells us: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37-38)