DAILY HOMILIES #Words

Reflecting on the life of Prophet Elijah, St. James concludes, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power in its effects.” It is not enough to spend a whole night praying; pay attention to what you do when you are not praying (daily life activities) and strive for righteousness.

Prayer is not a recital. There is nothing wrong with using structured (already-made) prayer. Jesus gave us one in today’s Gospel passage. However, in using a prayer book, our job is not merely to read out the words but to communicate with the words.

The sad part was that while the scribes and Pharisees were busy multiplying the commandments, they never practised them, but they made the people believe they were holier-than-thou. Jesus could see through their hypocrisy. He knew that beyond the wearing of broad phylacteries, standing to pray in public places, and salutations in the market were empty hearts – far from God and lacking in love, which is the most important commandment of all. There are so many lessons contained in today’s readings.

Do you desire the faith that can move mountains? Then change the tone of your self-talk. Speak positively to yourself even if you don’t believe what you are saying; keep saying beautiful things until you start believing them. Count your blessings. Celebrate your victories. Be grateful for little positive steps. Do not dwell on negativity.

If actions speak louder than words, we are called to examine ourselves today. What sort of things are our actions proclaiming about us? What are my actions in preparing for Christmas saying about my understanding of Jesus Christ?

Whenever you consciously do something to hurt your spouse deliberately, it always backfires. On the day of your marriage, you were no longer two people, but one person. Treat your spouse with all the love and respect you can muster just as you would treat your leg or hand that is wounded. You don’t cut off a hand or leg because it is injured, you treat it.

In the final analysis, it is not our past that counts before God. If as Jesus noted, tax collectors and harlots were making their way into the kingdom of God before the chief priests, it means that your case is not yet hopeless!

Like Moses, there are times we become too conscious of the greatness and complexity of our problems that we completely lose sight of the greatness of God. Despite seeing that the bush was burning yet not consumed, Moses still feared Pharaoh more than God.

Just as words are capable of creating, they are also capable of destroying so when we speak. The saying goes that fools speak just because they have to say something but wise people speak only when they have something to say. If you must speak, make say you are speaking the truth and your actions do not, later on, contradict your words. In other words, only say what you mean and mean what you say.

Dear friends, if actions speak louder than words, we are called to examine ourselves today. What sort of things are our actions proclaiming about us? What are my actions in preparing for Christmas saying about my understanding of Jesus Christ?