DAILY HOMILIES #Paul

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?

Many Christians claim to be born again (baptised) but lack an encounter with God. They live recklessly because they have only heard about God but have never had an experience (like that which brought St. Paul to his knees on the way to Damascus). Pray to have an experience of God that would show you that God is not just a figment of imagination.

The natural outcome of proper preparation for Christmas following these four steps above is joy. Try it out and see. Prepare a way for Jesus in your heart, cover the valleys, bring down the mountains, and straighten the crooked lines. There is no way you will not be happy. Only a heart that truly receives Christ understands what it means to be happy.

In his admonition to the Corinthians, Paul made no negative statement about Apollos, who had been made a rival to him by the people. This is very instructive. It is the devil’s delight to see church leaders quarrel and fight over what they say. Avoid taking sides when people bring gossip; they may be plotting the stage for you to fight with your brother.

For the Corinthians, their problem was taking sides between Paul and Apollos, similar to when we began to form camps around our spiritual leaders. Paul was unhappy with them because they failed to see that Paul and Apollos were mere instruments while God was the real Chief Shepherd who made the growth happen.

When Jesus saw the great crowd that followed, he did not send them away but “had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd and he began to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:34). This spirit of self-sacrifice is one shining characteristic that only good shepherds possess. In John 10:11, Jesus says: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” What sacrifice am I making for those under my leadership? Do I care more about what I am gaining from my people?

Today, we remember St. Peter and St. Paul, the greatest names in the church’s early history. In our Gospel passage today, we see that Peter was the one to whom Jesus entrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven as the visible head of the Church. Meanwhile, Paul was the one Jesus arrested on the way to Damascus, making him a great apostle to the Gentile world.

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.

The spirit of competition is wired into our being; we want to be the greatest among our peers, classmates, siblings, fellow employees, business associates, etc. While this could motivate us to take necessary steps that bring about positive growth, it also has negative side effects.

Without love for God, the cross is a punishment, but when there is love in our hearts, the cross is worth carrying.

Apart from the Gentile converts, a large number of those who embraced Christianity were Jews who believed that Jesus was truly the long-awaited Messiah, but those who didn’t believe felt threatened and sought ways to end the spread of Christianity among Jews. However, in their attempt to stop Jews from converting to Christianity in their numbers, the Jewish authorities suffered many setbacks. One of such setbacks was their lack of unity.

Prayer brings joy; it is both spiritual and therapeutic. Prayer helps to offload your burdens, calm your nerves and relieve your fears. Appreciate prayer because it can bring you the things you desire and because prayer (itself) is good for you. If a problem shared is a problem half-solved, prayer is sharing your problems with the only person who can truly solve them.