DAILY HOMILIES

It is better for us to suffer injustice than to suffer the disrespect of people who admire us for being Christians. If the unbeliever doesn’t see any difference in your character, why would he or she be motivated to embrace Christ? If you must seek redress, then go before the Saints; that is, take your issues before your fellow Christians. Jesus even said this: “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:17).

Jesus was well aware of the law and he knew the implication of healing this man on the Sabbath day. Jesus also realized there was one law that the Pharisees were not aware of; the law of doing good or better put, the Law of Love. So, Jesus asked them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it on Sabbath day?”

Forgiveness is one virtue that enables us to resemble Christ more. No matter what others may have done to us, no matter what they may have taken away from us, no matter what privileges they may have denied us, if we do not forgive, we are not yet Christians. We don’t forgive because the person who has offended us deserves it, we forgive because of our Faith in Christ Jesus who was able to forgive the very persons who executed Him on the Cross of Calvary. It does not make sense (humanly speaking) to forgive, but it takes a Christian to forgive. Remember, as Christians, we do not operate according to human wisdom, but Divine Wisdom.

Hostility towards others is a sign of the absence of true inner spirituality. Just as Jesus’ detractors were hostile to him looking for faults at every instance, we could relapse into such hostility and forget the essence of our faith in God is love for our neighbor. Once we no longer love others, our worship of God becomes mere religiosity.

It is in our human nature to judge people whether good or bad. Most times, our judgment is based on what we can see or what we think we know about them, or based on who we are. St. Paul is teaching us today not to be too quick to pass judgment because only God has the capacity to “bring to light the things now hidden in darkness…”

What kind of wisdom am I operating with right now? Is this decision I am about to take fuelled by worldly wisdom? Is there an element of Faith in what I am about to do? Could it be the case that Jesus is telling me to throw my net for a catch and I am protesting strongly against the move based on what I already know about fishing?

There is something that Jesus did after the great session of healing and casting out demons that we must learn. When you are successful in fighting satan and destroying the forces of darkness, do not become puffed up with pride.

As we struggle to make progress in our spiritual lives every day, let us realize that every step we make in the right direction pisses off the devil more and more. This is a truth clearly hidden from the worldly-minded; a truth which St. Paul says in our first reading, always sounds like mere gibberish to the unspiritual man.

Herod was obviously not thinking straight when he promised even half his kingdom to a little girl. What if she had asked for his own head? Think before you speak. Be a master of your emotions. In moments of anger, hold it. In moments of excitement, hold it also.

When we are proud, we have only one life goal; to outshine others. We never have peace of mind because when the ego is in charge of our lives, we are constantly under threat. We are never satisfied with what is ours. Whatever progress anyone makes becomes a problem to us because as soon we know about it, we refuse to sleep until we achieve something greater. Nothing frightens us more than the laughter of others so we live basically to please people and as a result, despite all that we show to the world, there is always this feeling of emptiness within us.

Envious people are never tired of complaining and speaking of others in a bad light. This man was so used to complaining that when the master arrived, he complained about the master’s character saying he was a hard man blah. blah. blah. Stop blaming God, stop asking “why me?” Stop looking at the expanse of your lack or the seemingly “unfairness” of God, take your one talent today, and start working!

To be wise in the spiritual sense is to trust little in your wealth, your current status, your education, your connections, and even your present devotional practices. To be wise is to have a backup; something extra, something to hold on to should everything else fail. To be wise is to have some extra oil. What is that extra oil? It is, in the words of St. Paul in today’s first reading THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS.