DAILY HOMILIES

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus likened the scribes and Pharisees to whitewashed tombs, beautiful from the outside but full of dead men’s bones inside. Jesus also condemned the fact that the Scribes and Pharisees had a practice of adorning the tombs of the prophets (who were killed for speaking the truth) to exonerate themselves from the crimes of their ancestors.

Paying one’s tithe is not a sin, but it should never be done out of fear. God’s blessings are not reserved for tithers only. Jesus mentioned the washing of the outside of cups and dishes, while inside their hearts were full of extortion and rapacity (the violent seizure and carrying off of another’s property; plunder). When the preacher is only interested in what he can get from the people (the inside), his words (the outside) cannot be clean.

Many of us (preachers) attempt to deceive people by pretending to be holy, but we are not. We are like David, who was quick to condemn the man in Nathan’s fable, or like the men who brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus. We assume the moral high ground and we quickly pick stones against government officials, tax collectors, so-called sinners, but as Jesus would say, “Let him who has not sinned be the first to cast a stone.” When we honestly look inwards, we realise that even though we stand on the pulpit to preach, we are worse than our audience.

The simple truth is that even though many of us are frequent at Holy Communion, we have no real connection with God. At the gate of heaven, God will deny knowing us because we refused to take our hands off evil. We tried eating our cake and having it; we thought we could serve two masters. We pretended to be good externally, but we soaked ourselves in sin in secret. On the last day, it is those things we did secretly that will count.

Jesus is not against the use of titles. No. Jesus is against answering a name that your actions contradict. Don’t call me Father if I am not behaving like one. I don’t deserve such titles if I do not practice what I preach. Jesus is against the worship of human beings. If I do what is wrong, be bold enough to call and correct me. Do not say: “Leave him alone. He is next to God.” Jesus says: “Call no man on earth your God. You have only one God who is in heaven!”

Love is empty if it doesn’t require anything from you. True love requires sacrificing for others, especially for the old. Just as loving God demands our wholehearted worship, loving our neighbours also demands sacrifice on our part.

During the marriage feast, the King discovered there was one who came into the feast without a wedding garment. Not only was this man bound hand and foot, but he was also cast into the outer darkness, a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Just as no one forced Jephthah to make a vow, no one forced this man into the marriage feast. He came on his own. He was supposed to do just one thing: put on a wedding garment like all the others who were invited freely. But in the end, he got what he deserved.

When Jesus mentioned the rewards, the disciples felt relief. However, Jesus narrated the Parable of the Landowner to teach them a fundamental lesson: when receiving rewards, avoid comparing yourself with others. Like the workers recruited for work in the vineyard at different times, we are not all gifted the same way; we were not all born on the same day, and we did not come to know God on the same day. However, after our labour, we shall all receive exactly what we deserve.

The truth that with God all things are possible shines out again in today’s First Reading. An Angel of God addressed Gideon as a “mighty man of valour.” Gideon did not believe it until he saw a sign. Gideon was the least in his family, and his clan was the weakest in Israel, yet God chose him to save Israel. Relying on our strength, we are powerless, but all things are possible with God.

Like the Israelites we read about in our First Reading, we become idol worshippers when we seek security in our possessions. To the young rich man who wanted to know how to possess eternal life, Jesus said: “If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you possess and give to the poor.”

Like Jeremiah, we shall surely face persecution, but everything we suffer is a form of fire that purifies us from impurities just as gold is purified by fire. Our real enemy is not people but sin. As St. Paul would say: “For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12).

Children are impressionable; like clay, they are easier to mould when soft. However, they learn by example. There is a saying, ‘We cannot give what we don’t have.’ Bringing our children to God begins with bringing ourselves to God. If our practice of religion is just lip service (pretence), our children would know immediately. We would only be scandalising our children if we gave them instructions we never obey.