DAILY HOMILIES #Pharisee

Why is it difficult to invite poor people to our celebrations? Why is it difficult to give a helping hand to people who may never help us in the future? Christianity is not about living a normal life; it is about being a “super-human” - helping people who cannot or will not help you when you need them.

Today, St. Paul explains that as Christians, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. We fight against that thief who “comes only to steal, to kill and to destroy.” (John 10:10). No matter how good we are, we have enemies who would hate us not for the good we do but because they have been won over by the thief – the deceiver whose only goal is to destroy.

This woman shed tears because she regretted her past life (she had a bad reputation). This is the correct attitude we must have when we confess our sins in the Sacrament of Penance. This woman did not speak but used her tears to confess her sins. She was truly sorry, and in the end, she was forgiven for her sins.

The worst kind of enemy is the one who comes to you as a friend. It is easier to avoid a known enemy than to hide from an enemy who pretends to love you. In today’s Gospel passage, the Pharisees and Herodians came to Jesus pretending to be his friends. They began by praising him: “Teacher, we know that you are true, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men, but truly teach the way of God.” (Mark 12:14).

God does not reject the prayer of the humble and contrite, who can honestly beat his chest and say, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Don’t be ashamed to pray right after you realise you have sinned. Your heart may condemn you, but God will never condemn you.

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.

Knowing the weaknesses of others should not make us puffed with pride, it should make us think of ways to help them up. This requires humility; humility to know that your level in life came not by your power but by the grace of God and others who helped you in the past.

There are two kinds of sinners; those who admit they are sinners and are willing to repent and those who believe they are perfect. Jesus gave the parable of a physician with reference to the second group. Unlike the Pharisees, Levi admitted his faults; he knew he needed a physician. While the Pharisees were busy running their mouths, Levi and his friends were having a foretaste of heaven; enjoying a banquet with Jesus Christ.

Don’t be an actor – be a Christian. And you would know if you are Christian or not when you are provoked, humiliated, and insulted by others. The way a person behaves when they are angry reveals their true color; it is very difficult to pretend when you are angry. Jesus tells us today that anyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment, anyone who insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and anyone who says ‘you fool’ liable to the hell of fire.

Luke tells us that Jesus told a “parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others.” (Luke 18:9) One of the symptoms of pride is trusting in ourselves rather than in God, forgetting that our righteousness is a product of grace, not personal efforts.