DAILY HOMILIES

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes us as salt and light. We are supposed to lead the way, not lead others into darkness. Our lives should inspire goodness, not confusion. Do not tell a child one thing while doing the very opposite. If our behaviour encourages others to remain in (or even increase) their sinful lifestyles, we will share in the punishment. Ours might even be worse.

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus say, “You shall not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” We must avoid turning the house of God into a place of commerce. Let us ask ourselves some pertinent questions. Have I come to God’s house to worship God or to transact business? As a priest, pastor, evangelist or clergyman, am I repeating the errors of the Jews by turning the church into a business empire? Do I make it impossible or difficult for the poor to worship God through the imposition of unnecessary levies, taxes and other forms of exploitation?

Jesus teaches us to avoid telling lies and other dishonest practices for the sake of money: “He who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much… And if you have not been faithful with that which is another’s, you will not be entrusted with what is your own.” (Luke 16:10-12) Someone once said, “If you lose money, you lose nothing. If you lose friends, you lose something, but if you lose your character (perhaps, in a bid to make money), you have lost everything.” If people cannot trust you with money, what else is left?

Today is the best time to start preparing for death. Please do not wait until it is too late. The steward did not wait until he was dismissed before calling his master’s debtors. Fifth, the best preparation for death is storing treasures in heaven and showing kindness to the needy. The steward made friends by reducing the debts of his master’s debtors. We are to make friends by giving away whatever we have. After all, nothing belongs to us in the first place. We came empty, and we shall return empty.

To kill a rat, you must think like a rat; to win a sinner to repentance, you must come to their level. This is precisely what Jesus did. He risked his reputation (to the extent that he was nicknamed a glutton) to save the lost souls. If we are genuinely interested in winning souls, we will never condemn or write off anyone. No matter how much evil a person has done, they still have something good in them.

As Jesus was hated by so many, anyone who wants to follow Christ’s footsteps should prepare to have many enemies. Do not be a people-pleaser, or you will compromise your Christian values. Love your neighbour as yourself, but at the same time, don’t be afraid of losing friends if such friendship opposes your relationship with God.

You may not like those who hurt you, but at least be kind to them if you are in a position to help them. Be like David, who spared the life of Saul when he had a chance to kill him in his sleep. The good you do to your enemies will come back to you as a reward from God. Do not be like the men in the parable Jesus gave us in today’s Gospel passage, who gave excuses. Sometimes, we want God to understand why we had to deal with those who mistreated us. There should be no excuse. Be good to everyone.

Why did Jesus insist we should invite the poor? They cannot repay us. If we invite our friends and relatives to our parties, they will pay us back by either giving us money or inviting us to their parties. Jesus wants us to ask those who cannot pay us back so that our reward will come from God. “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.”

Remembering the dead has its benefits. By honouring their memories, we are reminded of our mortality. There is no teacher like the grave. Visit the grave to gain wisdom, learn humility, despise vanities, know the value of time, and much more. Look at the tombs of those you knew who reigned on earth but now sleep in the grave. The graveyard is always silent, but even this silence speaks volumes.

Today, we are celebrating the innumerable multitude of souls who are in God’s presence. We cannot simply call them “dead people”, just as we cannot refer to the multitude in our first reading today as dead people. They must be more than just dead people if they can cry out and sing praises to God.

And behold, out of the blue, a man with dropsy arrived at the banquet hall. Would Jesus turn a cold face towards this man and pretend not to care? Or would he go out of his way to heal this man on the Sabbath? The wise Jesus looked at the scenario and decided to teach everyone a lesson in love. Jesus asked them: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” meaning, “Does the Sabbath law forbid anyone from performing an act of love?” They pretended not to get the message by keeping quiet.

If we understand the depth of God’s love for us, we exude a certain confidence; we are no longer afraid of what any human being can do to us because we know we have God on our side. When Jesus was told to run because Herod wanted to kill him, Jesus said: “Go and tell that fox, behold I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow and on the third day, I finish my course…”