DAILY HOMILIES

While growing up, we were told: “Say the truth and shame the devil.” This is a saying that does not apply to children only. Even as adults, even as grown-ups, we should remember that each time we tell a lie, we are giving credit to Satan, the father of lies. There is no justification whatsoever for telling a lie.

Money is useless without your soul. Do you feel blessed with some money? Has your business prospered? Then “give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:13-14). Do you have any extra money and you are thinking of what investment to do? Are you thinking of building a new barn? “You have it in the bellies of the poor,” says St. Basil and St. Ambrose.

In our society today, there are too many Herods who believe they can do anything, take any woman or man they want, tell any lie; steal any amount they so wish; and nobody, not even the Supreme Court can stop them. No matter the level of persecution we may have to face, let us remember that a greater judgment awaits us if we keep quiet and fail to speak the truth that God has put in our hearts.

In pain and disappointment, Mary and Martha buried Lazarus. It is not easy to speak of faith when we are faced with serious challenges; when prayers are not answered or when tragedies strike. When Mary and Martha were still mending their heart-aches, Jesus showed up. He asked Martha this question: “Do you believe?” Now imagine yourself in Martha’s shoes. what would your response be?

If you know a Christian who steals, develop a hatred for stealing yourself. If you know a cleric who is unfaithful to his vows, become the Christian who is faithful to his or her spouse. You cheat yourself if you walk out of the church because of something that Jesus Christ already warned us before now.

Can I say: “With Jesus alone, I am satisfied?” Am I willing to sacrifice all I have, all my friends and connections, all my possessions just for the sake of being part of God’s kingdom? Can I say with the psalmist today that “God is my refuge in the day of my distress?”

The question we must ask ourselves today is: “Am I a weed in God’s kingdom?” Let us join Jeremiah in today’s first reading to ask for God’s mercy that we may no longer be weeds but good seed.

It is interesting to note that despite turning down their request, James and John did not resign from the company of the twelve apostles. They went all the way, they drank the cup; they spread the message by their lives and by their blood. Do not live your life only for the sake of rewards. Just do what is right and you will find inner peace and happiness.

We ask from God because we are his children and by asking from Him, we also declare to live according to His instructions. Sin destroys our relationship with God. When we pray, we should have full confidence in God. At the same time, our prayer must affect the kind of life we live. If we beg from God, we must not forget there are others begging from us; others who need our charity; others who need our forgiveness; others who need us to intercede for them like Abraham did for Sodom and Gomorrah.

In any church, be sure to find the good, the bad, the very bad, and the satanic. And just as you cannot easily distinguish the wheat from weeds, Christians are not easily distinguishable today. We all dress alike, talk alike and pretend very well but it is when we get to the privacy of our homes that our true religion plays out.

The difference between clients and friends is this: clients can never be satisfied, they are always grumbling and complaining! But friends would stick with you in good times and in bad times. Clients are ready to end the relationship if service is interrupted and move on but friends value the relationship more than the service. Client-minded Christians worship God for the sake of benefits but Christians who have a personal relationship with God worship Him regardless of benefits. Am I a friend to Jesus?

We should never read the Bible just like any other piece of literature. We must first ask God to open our hearts before we begin to flip through the pages of the Bible. That way, the meaning becomes clear to us. We see things that others cannot see and we hear things that others will never hear.