DAILY HOMILIES #Persecution

Look up and raise your head. Look beyond this world. Look beyond the satisfaction you will gain by making money through dubious means. Look up; raise your head above the suffering you see around you. In a few years from now, we would all be dead and buried. No one will ask who drove the best car, ate the best food, or wore the best clothes. The only thing that would matter then is where we are spending eternity.

In today’s first reading, we continue the revelations of St. John, where he mentions the two witnesses (two olive trees or two lampstands) who stand before the Lord. These two witnesses were attacked and killed by the beast who came from the bottomless pit, but after three and a half days, the two witnesses rose to life when a breath from God entered them. Death is not the end; it is only a new beginning.

Pretence is a virus we must delete from our lives. Secondly, when correcting others, avoid speaking behind their backs lest it becomes merely gossip and character assassination. By addressing God as our Father, Jesus shows us that we are God’s children, and this must be reflected in our behaviour. Every temptation (or trial) is a spiritual battle; if we are not fortified, we fall

Thank God for your enemies. Always wish them well. Enemies are blessings in disguise; they help to bring out the best in us. Enemies remind us to be careful and prayerful. Enemies serve as road signs, speed bumps, and other safety signals that prevent us from road accidents. Enemies are like hot water that helps to cook the food. Do you wish to get to the top or see your dreams come true? Pray to have enough enemies to challenge you.

St. Lawrence did not simply give to the poor; his giving was at the risk of his own life. Jesus says that unless a grain of wheat falls and dies, it remains alone, but after it dies, it bears much fruit. It is always painful whenever we make sacrifices for God’s sake, but we must remember that our pain, like the death of the seed buried under the ground, will yield a great harvest.

Prophesying is not the same as giving a merely motivational speech. There is an aspect of prophecy that causes discomfort to its listeners. Preaching truth takes work. Anyone determined to take this path must be prepared for death.

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.

As long as we let our light shine as God’s children, we cannot escape moments of persecution. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus likens these persecutions to the pains a woman feels when she is about to give birth. When a woman is in travail, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world.

Today’s first reading narrates the great persecution that arose against the church following the death of Stephen. This persecution, though distant in time, echoes the challenges we face in our own lives. During his stoning, the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul, who became determined to wipe out the entire church. However, this reading concludes on a positive note: “So there was much joy in that city.” (Acts 8:8).

God allowed the jailers to secure the prison doors because He wanted to prove to them that there was no chain, padlock, piece of metal, wood, bronze or any created object that could lock up the Gospel. Even those who never heard the Gospel heard that the apostles were imprisoned but found in the temple preaching. In other words, throwing the apostles in prison further helped to spread the Gospel.

Refrain from the temptation of hating your persecutors, otherwise, you become like them. Submit everything to God and let Him take vengeance as He deems fit. Do not pray for the death of your enemies. Just surrender them to God.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus teaches that the criteria for greatness in God’s kingdom is servitude. When we seek power and comfort like worldly leaders, we become wolves feeding on our sheep (being served) rather than shepherds who feed the sheep (serving them)