DAILY HOMILIES #sacrifice

The joy of Christmas is God giving away his only son, Jesus, to save mankind. When we give gifts to others during Christmas or even make time to be with others, regardless of what it costs us, we incarnate Jesus. No wonder in today’s Gospel passage, we hear John the Baptist saying: “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”

To many, the widow’s mite was insignificant, but for that widow, these two coins meant the whole world to her. The others gave money, but she gave value. The others gave what they didn’t need, but she gave what she needed for survival. She, like Abel, sacrificed the best, and God accepted her sacrifice.

Jesus told the Scribe last Sunday that he was not far from God’s kingdom because he spoke on the importance of love. However, if this Scribe joins in oppressing widows (as other scribes), he would receive great condemnation. Jesus wants us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves, but this does not stop us from cheerfully contributing to the building and maintenance of God’s house and the upkeep of persons who have sacrificed themselves for the mission.

You may have been born into a Christian home, received baptism as an infant, attended a missionary school, etc., but you must carry your cross to remain a Christian. If being a Christian does not inconvenience you, you are not behaving like Christ. If it does, silently carry your cross.

Jesus was asked one question but gave two answers. He was asked, “Which is the first commandment?” but added the second. Why? Jesus knew that without adding the second, “Love your neighbour,” the first would be meaningless, yet the second is pointless without the first. As John puts it: “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). Loving God with all our heart, soul and might is not a matter of coming to Church it is rather a matter of loving our neighbour as ourselves.

The Price of heaven is simple: Keep God’s commandments. This was Jesus’ instruction to the rich man Last Sunday. The second step is detachment. The entrance into heaven is like the “Eye of a Needle.” We cannot pass through this gate with our luggage. Today, Jesus mentions a third step – the sacrifice of one’s very life for the good of others. Jesus asked James and John, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or to be baptised with the baptism with which I am baptised?” (Mark 10:38).

Jesus condemned Moses’ Law on divorce but excused Moses by saying he responded to the people’s hardness of heart. Today, the choice is up to us: whether to remain hardened in the heart (follow Moses’ instruction; obtain a certificate of divorce from the court) or to embrace Jesus’ stance on Marriage (take the path of sacrifice, remain with our spouses through thick and thin, remove divorce an option). Anyone who still wants to go with Moses today is not yet a Christian.

“If you close your ear to the cry of the poor, you will cry out and not be heard.” (Proverbs 21:13). This is a stark reminder of the consequences of indifference. It echoes the Golden Rule: “So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12). No one has it all; no one is absolutely rich. We are all poor in one way or another. This is why we need each other.

Herod was not thinking straight when he promised even half his kingdom to a little girl. What if she had asked for his head? Think before you speak. Be a master of your emotions. In moments of anger, hold it. In moments of excitement, hold it also. Learn the habit of speaking to God and hearing from him before talking.

Jesus is inviting us to invest in eternity and live in such a manner as to be worthy of heaven after our death. If you do not attain heaven, everything else is useless. Regardless of one’s length of days or riches attained, without heaven, one has only lived a wasted life. Go to the graveyard; you will observe that you cannot tell the difference between those who lived in affluence and those who barely survived. What truly matters is where we spend eternity; it is neither how much we gather nor how much we leave for our children. To die in a state of disconnect with God is the worst kind of death.

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

What Qualities Make Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd? In today’s Gospel passage from John 10:11-18, Jesus provides four answers to this question: 1. Sacrifice - “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (verse 11). 2. Knowledge - “I know my own, and my own know me.” (verse 14). 3. Unity – “I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, so there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (verse 16). 4. Power – “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” (verse 18)