DAILY HOMILIES

Jesus did not sugar-coat discipleship. He strips it bare: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me, for whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.” (Luke 9:23). Jesus lays before us a choice to either follow him along the path of sacrifice which eventually leads to eternal life or to seek worldliness now and forfeit our souls eventually.

Why must we make efforts during this Lent to repent? Joel says, “He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and repents of evil.” Look around you; there is already enough evil and suffering in the world. Your decision to repent today goes a long way toward making the world a much better place. More still, you may also be averting punishment for your sins.

Since our temptations come from our insatiable desires, the best way to weaken their power over us is to create new desires. After fasting for forty days, Jesus was hungry, so hungry that he felt like misusing His divine powers. Jesus resisted because His desire for our salvation outweighed His desire for food. How deep is your desire for sainthood? Whatever you hope to achieve, you must desire it passionately. You cannot fight sin unless you truly hate the object of that sin. For instance, we lie to ourselves, saying, “I will stop doing this” Meanwhile, whenever we see it, we secretly crave it.

In the words of St. Augustine: “God will never let his children suffer except if such suffering is ultimately for their good.” Every time you face trials, know you are on the verge of a breakthrough. Something great is coming your way; you only need to pass this test. Trials are like promotion exams we take before moving up. St. James says, “Count it all joy when you meet various trials.”

Hypocrisy is endemic among Christians today. Every Sunday, our churches are full, yet evil continues to increase in our society. Preachers are often guilty of the very sins they condemn. Our policemen (and other security agencies) are accused of kidnapping, armed robbery, and other crimes they ought to fight against. Politicians and government officials who swore an oath to protect the people use the people to serve their personal interests. Run away from it. Repent.

By turning to idol worship, Jeroboam forgot his agreement with God (during his meeting with Prophet Ahijah): “If you will listen to all that I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you, and will build you an enduring house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.” (1 Kings 11:38). Are you having a very difficult time? Know that it is just a test. The devil has nothing to offer. Never break your covenant with God. Indulging in sin may seem the only way out, but it only worsens matters.

As much as God wanted to punish Solomon, there was something special about Jeroboam that caught God’s attention, just as David possessed certain qualities that impressed God. In 1 Kings 11:28, we read: “The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he gave him charge over all the forced labour of the house of Joseph.” Do you desire to be great? Stop seeing work as a punishment.

What was Solomon doing with seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines? Too much of anything is bad. St. Augustine would say: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in God.” To have God is to have everything. Never assume that the more you get, the merrier you become.

We always select what we eat for fear of dying of food poisoning. Why, then, do we allow immoral, unwholesome or negative thoughts? Thoughts are powerful; thoughts defile - if it is happening in your mind, you are already doing it. Jesus taught that anyone who looks lustfully is guilty of adultery. When you think of killing someone, you are guilty of murder. Thoughts are not as harmless as we assume. The fact that no one can ‘see’ your thoughts does not make them okay. Stop feasting on bad thoughts.

Hypocrisy is condemning others (making them feel less in public) while committing greater sins. The Pharisees were quick to accuse Jesus and his disciples of not washing their hands. Meanwhile, their hearts were full of corruption and evil. Jesus gave the example of two men who prayed in the temple. One praised himself for all the good he had done, but his prayer did not reach God. The other man, accepting his faults, begged for mercy and went home justified. (Cf. Luke 18:10-14). Instead of pointing fingers (or calling people names), be the change. Instead of washing the dirty linens of others on social media, be a true Christian.

The Psalmist says: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” (Psalm 122:1). This was the joy the people felt in today’s Gospel passage they moment they recognised Jesus. They ran from various neighbourhoods to meet him, bringing their sick with them. Like those who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, let us approach God’s temple, conscious that we will drink from the river of life that flows from it. According to Ezekiel, “Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live.” (Ezekiel 47:9)

The key to being ‘the salt of the earth’ and ‘the light of the world’ is showing love to those who need it most: the hungry, the homeless, the naked, the sick, the prisoners and so on. Although Isaiah’s list is not exhaustive, he basically draws our attention to the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy, which are: Feeding the Hungry, Giving Drink to the Thirsty, Sheltering the Homeless, Clothing the Naked, Visiting the Sick, Visiting the Prisoners, and Burying the Dead.