DAILY HOMILIES #truth

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit is God dwelling in us, speaking in the depths of our hearts and making the impossible possible in our lives. We must pray every day for a renewal of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we may live not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Peter and John were ready to face whatever comes their way in their proclamation of the Good News. Are you still scared of what people can do to you? Are you scared of letting your light shine? Ask yourself – If I am so scared of dying, is it possible to preserve my life for another hundred years?

Lies are destructive. Every time we tell a lie, we are taking sides with the devil whose very nature is that of telling lies. No amount of money is worth selling our lips or selling our conscience. No amount of lies can bury the truth. If we continue telling lies, it means we are refusing to rise from the grave with Jesus.

Just as there are two separate kingdoms, we cannot belong to both at the same time. Just as satan cannot cast out satan, we cannot claim to belong to Jesus and still be involved in falsehood. We are either children of God or agents of darkness. Hence, Jesus concluded today saying: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” (Luke 11:23).

Striving for Christian perfection surely sounds like foolishness to the world. The world we live in today has lost its moral values. Saying the truth at all times, refusing to tell a lie, staying away from sex before marriage, remaining faithful to your spouse even in tough times, keeping one’s heart pure, forgiving others freely and continuously, and staying away from secret sins may not command the respect of people but these are the characteristics of truly wise people.

Hatred is a sign of unforgiveness and a betrayal of our Christianity because as John says in today’s first reading: “He who says “I know him” but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him... By this we may be sure that we are in him: he who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

As great as John the Baptist was, we hear Jesus saying today: “He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist.” What does this mean? That heaven is so different from this world and the standards of judgment or ranking are not like what we see here on earth. Let’s face the fact, heaven is not an easy place to get to. No wonder Jesus asserted in Luke 13:24 “Strive to enter by the narrow door...

To the surprise of everyone, Jesus praised this woman for giving the highest because while others gave only tiny bits of what they had, this woman gave everything she had.

As the book of Hebrews confirms: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12).

It is not enough that we avoid sin, we must relate with God every day as if it was today that we gave our lives to Christ. Avoid familiarity, avoid becoming cold, don’t let your fire go out, and be the best version of yourself always.

After killing John the Baptist for preaching the truth, Herod was hungry again for the head of Jesus. What did Jesus do to Herod? Believe it or not, your goodness is a threat to certain persons and if they cannot bring you down by destroying your name and reputation, they would try to attack you physically. St. Paul tells us that in this battle, we must be fully dressed for action and our attire should consist of the following:

Pretense (unholy diplomacy) is a virus that we all need to delete from our lives. It is also important to point out the fact that Paul did not go about talking about Peter behind his back but addressed Peter to his face. If you lack the courage to tell people their faults to their face, better keep quiet and pray for them. Do not be a coward.